IN DEADLY FASHION (Gilded Age Mystery Book 10) by Rosemary Simpson will be released on October 28, 2025, by Kensington Books.
Prudence MacKenzie is preparing for her society wedding ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter when her nearly complete wedding gown is destroyed and the seamstress who’d worked so hard on it is murdered. The wedding dress can be remade, but Prudence and Geoffrey are convinced the seamstress was targeted specifically because she was working on the wedding gown. The police are content to believe the seamstress’s mysterious boyfriend murdered her before leaving New York City. While Prudence focuses on learning more about the seamstress and helping the designer save her fledgling career, Geoffrey seeks out the person he believes is responsible for the murder. Many years ago, before leaving his home in South Carolina, Geoffrey was expected to marry the young woman who lived on a neighboring plantation. When Geoffrey failed to propose, the woman was forced to marry someone else. Now widowed, she is determined to prevent the wedding, remove Prudence from the picture, and finally marry Geoffrey.
IN DEADLY FASHION was an intriguing read up until the end. The plot moved quickly, and most of the various plots and subplots came together by the end. There were some secondary characters and subplots that did not really add much to the story. Why does the designer need an unknown society girl to wear her gowns and sing her praises when Prudence could do it much more effectively? It also seemed unlikely that Geoffrey and his former flame were both living in New York City and had no idea that the other was there. Sure, it’s a big city and there was no social media in the 1890s, but both are in contact with Geoffrey’s cousin. You’d think the cousin would have mentioned something…The big denouement when the guilty parties are revealed came as a letdown since neither Prudence nor Geoffrey were there to witness it. But Prudence and Geoffrey are finally married. It’s about time. I’m looking forward to their first case as a married couple.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.