What was to be a happy time becomes a murder investigation for Prudence and Geoffrey. Eleanor is set to be married but she disappears before her wedding day. What secrets I’d the island and its inhabitants hiding? Who is killing islanders to keep these secrets?Great series as we watch Prudence and Geoffrey’s relationship change.
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I really wanted to love this one. I really enjoyed the previous book and had such high hopes for this one but it didn't really come to be. The mystery was okay though a bit disjointed but my primary problem was with Prudence herself. She is completely out of her element and refuses to read the room or take advice from Geoffrey who is on her team and far more familiar with the way things work. After awhile she just comes off as immature and arrogant. As well she makes a logic jump that made no sense at all given the knowledge that she had while reaching the conclusion. Unfortunately, the book is told primarily through Prudence's eyes and by the end I was glad to see the last of her. I did really enjoy the previous book so I might pick up another book in the series but it definitely won't be one that takes place out of New York.

sadly this one just didn't make the cut for me at all it had everything I like, but the story just didn't win me over or even keep me pulled in to the story at all so I won't be going with this series even though this is the only one book I've read from it ,With that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it .

This series has a dark edge to it which I absolutely love. Here the characters struggle with their recent past involving plantations and the slave trade. There is always a sense of doom when I read about this aspect of American history and it came it across well in this story as well. The murder mystery itself was again extremely well plotted and I was completely surprised by the series of events that eventually led up to that fateful day.
A fantastic read.

I love this series of books and Death Brings a Shadow does not disappoint. Prudence and Geoffrey travel to the South of Geoffrey’s youth for a friend’s wedding which turns into a tragedy. Terrible family secrets are revealed as the magic and brutality of the South post Civil War is revealed.

Rosemary Simpson continues a Gilded Age mystery series with Death Brings a Shadow. Prudence and Geoffrey leave New York for the South to witness the wedding of her friend Eleanor's wedding to Teddy, a southern plantation scion. Then Elanor dies mysteriously and the bodies start dropping. A deadly secret lies at the heart of her murder and Prudence and Geoffrey are determined to find the murderer whatever family secrets are laid bare. Prudence also runs up against Geoffrey's past from the south. A deadly secret involving relations between master and former slaves. Excellent plotting and brooding atmosphere.

I have read all of the books in this series and have enjoyed each and every one of them and this one is no exception. The location is moved from New York to the swamps of Bradford Island, Georgia where Prudence and Geoffrey are attending a wedding. They continue their hit or miss attempts at developing their relationship with both carrying lots of emotional baggage, that sometimes wears a little thin. But overall it is a very compelling story dealing with a the very delicate topic of how former slaves were treated so inhumanely in the South, even after emancipation. There are quite a few unsavory deaths in this one, most that you can see coming but it is still disturbing when they happen. The characters are all interesting and there are enough clues and red herrings to keep it moving along. I look forward to the next adventure for these two. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent installation of this well-done historical mystery series. A bit macabre and southern-gothicesque, which really added to the experience. Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

In the 4th installment of the Gilded Age Mysteries the detecting team of Prudence McKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter travel to an island off the coast of Georgia for the wedding of Prudence’s friend Eleanor. Their plans are abruptly upended when the bride is found dead in the swamp. Though deemed an accident, Prudence finds indications of foul play. She and Geoffrey investigate and unearth disturbing facts about the island and its once grand family—the kind of facts gentlemen don’t speak of, and the former slaves wouldn’t dare reveal.

I thought I’d miss the New York City setting, but the island, with its swamps, mists, voodoo, and Southern tradition create a foreboding atmosphere in this suspenseful mystery. Looking forward to the next.

Death Brings A Shadow is the fourth book in The Gilded Edge Mystery series.

This is a wonderful addition to this exciting and informative series.

Prudence MacKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter are heading for Bradford Island, Georgia for the wedding of Prudence’s childhood friend, Eleanor Dickson, at their winter home. On the trip down, Eleanor had confided in Prudence that she felt eyes on her after she and Teddy Dickson had announced their engagement.

The next morning Mrs. Dickson comes to Prudence’s room looking for Eleanor. A quick search of the house fails to turn Prudence. Prudence and Geoffrey, along with the Teddy and his family organize a search party and set out to scour the island. The body of Eleanor is found face down in the swamp, with the Bennett family calling it an accidental drowning. But Prudence and Geoffrey aren’t so sure and set off to determine what exactly happened for Eleanor to lose her life. The Bennett family isn’t used to the independence that Prudence shows and Geoffrey has to tread softly between the two. They will soon get some valuable information from some former slaves to get them going in the right direction.

I really enjoy this series and the main characters and how they are able to work out the solution without any of the current technology. Although Prudence’s independent thinking causes some problems, Geoffrey is able to correct the situation before either come to too much harm.

The book is well-written and plotted and has a cast of interesting believable cast of characters. The author doesn’t overdo the historical information, but just enough to enlighten the reader to how life was at that time.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this informative and interesting series.

I'm in two minds about this book: on one side I appreciated the atmospheric and nearly gothic plot, on the other side I had a hard time in warming up to the characters.
It was more of a historical novel than a whodunit as it was quite easy to spot the culprit.
I think it's better to read the previous installment as I felt something was missing.
I think it can be appreciated but it was not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

It's Summer 1889 and Prudence and her partner in investigation are more than a bit like fish out of water. While Geoffrey was raised in the South, it was pre-civil War and he has lived in the North long enough to be almost a newcomer to Georgia. Prudence is a New Yorker, born and bred and a very independent one, at that. Together they have traveled to Bradford Island to witness the marriage of their friend Eleanor. She and Prudence are almost like sisters and Prudence can't wait to see her. Eleanor is also a Northerner and very much an outsider in this post war South. Her soon to be husband's family has fallen on hard times and her money will make a big difference in the family's future. Sad to say, before the wedding takes place, Eleanor is found dead in a swamp, the victim of homicide. Prudence and Geoffrey shift gears and start to investigate but find it hard to do without the resources they would have had if this had been in New York. Prudence has a hard time working to find a killer when the Southern culture is so alien to her. She is a woman ahead of her time and she speaks her mind, attributes that are not very welcome in the North and certainly not accepted in the South. This South is a whole new world to both of them.
This is one of the best historical series being written today. There is no sugar coating of the history of the South and the damage done by the Civil War. This mystery has an edge to it and sometimes I wanted to look away when it made me uncomfortable. Burt, uncomfortable or not, I enjoyed this entry in the series. I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for Prudence and Geoffrey in the next book.

3.25 stars

This historical mystery series features an ex-Pinkerton agent and an independent-minded young woman who chafes at society's gender bias. This entry is a little different as it takes place in the post-Civil War south where Geoffrey Hunter, the Pinkerton op, is originally from. He and Prudence MacKenzie are in Georgia for the wedding of one of Prudence's dearest friends. Unfortunately, the bride is found dead in the swamp before the wedding can take place.

This is an atmospheric novel -- in my view often to the point of being overwrought. The South, both culturally and geographically, is viewed in dark, evil terms. Hunter, being Southern himself and having left over the horror of slavery, tries to explain to Prudence how different views and daily life is there.

Prudence is hard to warm to. Although she is intelligent, she has such a chip on her shoulder about people being over-protective of females that she often places herself in danger and is foolhardy, just to prove them wrong.

That the plot line has to do with the sexual assault of female slaves by white landowners is no surprise. Certainly the truth of slavery and post-slavery society is terrible. But this felt heavy-handed and many of the Southern characters were little better than caricatures.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Prudence MacKenzie and her partner Geoffrey Hunter are traveling to Bradford Island, Georgia to participate in the wedding of their friend Eleanor Dickson. In Death Brings a Shadow by Rosemary Simpson, Eleanor is a New York debutante and an almost-older sister to Prudence. She has fallen madly in love with a gentleman from an old Southern family. Teddy Bennett's family lost much in the "War of Northern Aggression" as the Confederates like to refer to the Civil War. But tragedy strikes before the wedding day. An excellent mystery blending history with intrigue.

Moving from New York City to post-Civil War Georgia, this is the fourth in the Gilded Age mystery series, but it can easily stand alone. The post-slavery Deep South setting left me feeling very uncomfortable but I suppose that was the authors intent. I love how Rosemary Simpson crafts her mysteries - more of a “why done it” than a “who done it”, and I can’t wait to see how this experience has changed our lead characters in the next installment.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

It's 1889 and Prudence and Geoffrey find themselves odd people out when they go to a wedding on Bradford Island, Georgia. Prudence's friend Eleanor is the bride but horribly, she's found drowned- murdered. While the couple are ace investigators in New York, things are very different in Georgia and even though Geoffrey is at least familiar with some of the customs, they are completely ignorant of what things are like in the post Civil War South. I've been a fan of this series not just because of the murder mysteries (and there's more than one death here) but also because of the terrific historical settings. Moving this from New York to Georgia was risky (as it was, of course, for Prudence and Geoffrey) but in the end, it made for a fresh take for this pair. They are well developed characters with some interesting issues. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books- this will be a fine and rewarding read even as a standalone.

Having lived in Georgia for 30 years and going to Savannah on numerous times. the description of this book caught my eye. So good. I am really surprised that I have not read this author before. I am going back and read all her previous novels with these two characters. Can't wait for the next one!

"Death Brings a Shadow" by Rosemary Simpson is the fourth installment of the series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone novel. I have not read the previous three books (but I definitely will now) and had no difficulty following the plot. In this story, which takes place only a few decades after the Civil War, Prudence and Geoffrey travel from New York to a small island off the Georgia coast to attend the wedding of Prudence's dear friend Eleanor. Unfortunately, a series of tragedies occur and it is up to Prudence to unravel the mystery of the multiple murders in a culture that is largely foreign to her.

I was thoroughly engaged by the plot of this book. The mystery-lover in me really liked the "who dunnit" aspect, while the historical fiction-lover in me greatly enjoyed the historical backdrop, how, even though the Civil War had been over for many years, life had not changed very much for former slaves,. It was pretty clear to me early on who the murderer was, but that did not discourage me from reading further to find out why the killer violently took the lives of the victims. Overall, the characters were well developed and multi-dimensional. The plot was realistic and the author did an amazing job at setting the scene.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rosemary Simpson does a complete change of venue in Death Brings a Shadow. We're wisked away from the bustling streets of New York City to the swampy, heavy vegetation of Bradford Island, Georgia. There's going to be plenty oppressive heat and dastardly characters that frame this one in the summer of 1889.

Prudence MacKenzie is the daughter of the late Judge MacKenzie of New York. She had been apprenticed under her father in the study of law. She also has been blessed with a fine-tuned investigative ability. That's what led her to Geoffrey Hunter, a former Pinkerton detective who has opened a practice along with Prudence.

This time Prudence and Geoffrey are heading to the Old South of Georgia to attend the wedding of a dear friend of Prudence. Eleanor, though a big city girl of the North, is to be wed to Teddy Bennett whose family lives in an antebellum house on Bradford Island. The wedding will be small with only close friends and family.

Early the next morning, Eleanor goes missing. The search party finds her body in the swamp. Both Prudence and Geoffrey know that this was no accident. Who had such hate for this bride-to-be? But Eleanor won't be the only victim in Death Brings a Shadow.

Simpson carves deeply into this story with the unhealed wounds of division after the Civil War. Geoffrey was born in the South and tries to explain a far different way of life while painting hues of a very complicated, ages old saga of human indignity and generational families. Prudence must cut through all of this in order to center on who is eliminating people on this small, isolated island. Her own life will be in danger.

While this is the fourth book in the series, it does read well as a standalone. Simpson does a fine job with the character of Prudence who suffers with an earlier addiction to laudanum which was given to women for every ache and pain. Prudence is a feisty individual and Simpson keeps her actions within the time period unlike other authors who bathe their heroines in 21st Century attributes. There is limited romance between her and Geoffrey for which I am eternally grateful. Save us from dewy eyes and swooning. Mystery is what Simpson does best and there's plenty here for the reader's delight.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Publishers and to Rosemary Simpson for the opportunity.

This was an ok addition to the series. I liked it but I didn't. I feel like this series started out really strong. I loved the first book, and really liked the second one, but the last two have not been as good. They both have the same problems really. One, there is no real mystery as to who the murderer is in this book. It was very obvious. The mystery was about why they did it, but that wasn't too hard to figure out either. Once again Prudence was stupidly reckless in the name of independence. She wants to be taken seriously but then does something stupid and gets mad and stamps her foot when Geoffrey follows her. The foot stamping was just childish.

I didn't particularly like the setting of this book. It felt weird and out of wack with the tone of the previous ones. I also thought the dangers of the Island; alligators, snakes, the swamp, etc. were played up a little bit too much. It seemed like no one could go anywhere without something happening.

The whole big theme of this book was the South and how it struggled to recover after slavery. There was a lot of emphasis on how prejudiced the South still was years after the slaves were freed. I've no doubt that was true. There was a mentality there that could only be erased after several generations passed, and unfortunately some still have it. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how people can look at another person as not a human being, but chattel just because they are different.

At this point I think I will continue on with the series, but that could end up changing. I'm slightly on the fence.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.