Enjoyable read of the continuing story of a woman who lives just outside of the Newport elite. She works for a newsletter with her fiance, and finds herself investigating a possible murder.

This is the first book I have read in this series and I loved it! I realized I loved the Gilded Age after watching The Gilded Age on HBO Max. I love the characters and that the protagonist isn't part of the 400. And the setting in Newport is amazing being right on the water. This book is full page-turning action and intrigue. I highly recommend it! This is a stand-alone book, but I'm looking forward to catching up with the first nine books in this series.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Kensington Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A fun cozy that’s a you’ve of a throwback.

An intriguing murder mystery that also addresses interesting social and cultural issues of this historic period, eg: a woman being admitted to the Yacht Club. The trio of Emma, her fiance and Detective Jesse Whyte are determined to dig deep and get justice for the victim despite the official verdict of suicide and the many attempts of the Newport elite to play down the incident. The motive was an interesting one!


With thanks to @Netgalley @KensingtonBooks and the author for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Take a moment to step back in time. This murder mystery takes us into the world of the privileged New York yacht club set, off the Rhode Island coast, in the 1900's. I have to admit, I zeroed in on this novel because of the name. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, just east of Beacon Rock in Southern Washington, on the Columbia River. At first, I had to remember that I was reading about a place a whole country away, in a time that I didn't know much about. As I got further and further into the novel, I fell in love with the characters and most especially Emma Cross, who is remotely related to the Vanderbilt's, and has a spunk about her that reminded me of my own mother. There were times that I caught myself talking out loud to Emma, in hopes that she could hear my words of warning. Alyssa Maxwell does a great job of leading you in and out of rabbit holes in the attempt to discover who murdered young Miss Lillian Fahey and why. What a fun peek into the lives of the Carnegie's, Vanderbilt's and the JP Morgan's of the world.

Loved this cozy mystery that took me on a wonderful ride! I really enjoyed the story and of course the fun characters. Can't wait to read more by this author!

1900 After a dinner party hosted by the Morgans at their home of Beacon Rock reporter Emma Cross discovers a body of a female. But why and by whom was she killed, unfortunately the suspect pool was very small. With the help of her fiance Derrick Andrews she investigates. But soon there will be another death.
Overall an entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its array of likeable and interesting characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

reporter, cozy-mystery, 1890s, law-enforcement, class-consciousness, amateur-sleuth, friendship, family-dynamics, murder, murder-investigation, historical-novel, historical-figures, historical-research, history-and-culture, relationships, yacht-races*****

The publisher's blurb is a good intro to the story. Emma is a shirttail relative to the Vanderbilts, engaged to a higher member of the snob set, the owner/reporter of a local newspaper, and a good amateur sleuth who has a good friend in the police department. This time she is at a boring soiree at Beacon Rock when she and the widow Lucy Carnegie discover the body of a well-dressed young woman under the pier. Let the sleuthing begin!
There are exquisite descriptions of both attire and surroundings, plus exhaustive descriptions of the lineage and implications of financial heredity as well as the general snobbery of the era.
The mystery is well done, and the characters are both interesting and believable. A very good read.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

Reporter Emma Cross finds herself involved with the glitterati of the New York Yacht Club in Newport for a gathering. Even though she is now engaged to Derrick Andrews, the Four Hundred still look down on her. She is tangentially related to the Vanderbilt's but that doesn't seem to matter to them. When she discovers a young woman's body at the edge of the pier at Beacon Rock, the Yacht Club members immediately become suspects. Always a pleasure to read how Emma rises above what is expected of women of the times and discovers the culprit.

Another intriguing Gilded Age mystery from Alyssa Maxwell! From start to finish, "Murder at Beacon Rock" had me hooked. As usual, Emma is in the thick of things, trying to solve a series of murders. This time, her fiancé Derrick is by her side helping, along with Detective Jesse White and the other detective, Myers (I don't like him at all!) Once again, I didn't suspect who the culprit was until well into the story. Discovering I was right to think that was indeed the criminal was thrilling. The only time I got annoyed was with Emma and her, by now, tedious worry over her and Derrick being of different stations. I get for the time period that was a big thing ( still is to be honest), but Emma is too strong a character to be so hesitant about her relationship with Derrick. Thankfully, she finally seemed to get over that and I hope it stays that way in future books. The highlight for me is the afterword, where Maxwell gives you the true history behind some of the characters and events. I think that kind of gives the book a little closure but at the same time allows the reader to look for other books about those characters and events. It's a gateway to more learning, which is always a good thing. I look forward to more of her work, and highly recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Alyssa Maxwell and Kensington Books for this ARC, which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma Cross, reporter for a Newport paper at the height of it's fashion ability, finds a body while attending a society dinner. 10th in the series, but read even if y
This is new to you. Filled with tidbits about sailing, yaghts, and society at the turn of the century. Delightful.

This is a first time I have read this author’s books. I enjoyed the mysteries that continued throughout the book. Edwin Morgan had built a summer cottage on the shores of Benton Cove. He and his wife were having a small dinner party with members of the New York Yachting Club. Emma Cross, a female reporter for the Messenger in Newport was part of the group along with Derrick Adams. Emma was engaged to Derrick Adams who also was the owner of the Messenger and a member of the Yacht Club. After the meal Emma went outside for air and Lucy Carnegie, who was the widow of Thomas Carnegie, followed Emma outside. They heard a noise down by the boats and walked down to the water to check out the noise and they found the body of a female. The body was identified as Lillian Fahey, the daughter of Evan Fehey an engineer specializing in aerodynamics as related to mechanical objects that worked with the racing yachts. The Newport police officers that came to the scene were Jesse Whyte, a friend of Emma’s and Gifford Myers’s who thought little of females. Another murder and attempted murders were part of the story before the mysteries were solved. Easy read that moved along.

In this latest installment of the Gilded Newport Mysteries, Emma is at a crossroads. Her engagement to a member of the New England elite is about to become public knowledge, awakening all her concerns and insecurities about whether she truly belongs in his world. It doesn't help when, after a fancy dinner one evening, she discovers the body of a young woman washed up by the tide, and feels called upon to investigate.
Emma's character has been tempered a bit in this latest book, and I found her investigative methods to be less intrusive than they sometimes were in the past, which helps her come across as a more sympathetic sleuth.
The identity of the murderer is not particularly difficult to guess, as there are hardly any legitimate suspects.
If you're looking for a turn-of-the-century mystery series with a beautiful setting and a sort of outsider-looking-on perspective at all the rich and famous people, you may very well enjoy this!

Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Ms. Maxwell for the advanced review copy!

Set against the background of 1900s America, Miss Emma Cross visits the Newport summer "cottage" of Edwin and Elizabeth Morgan, Beacon Rock, to attend the small but exclusive gathering of the New York Yacht club. Emma had attended and reported many events that took place in Newport. But this is different - it is the first time she is appearing as the fiancé of Derrick Andrews who himself is a part of the club. Trouble arrives in the form of a woman who washes up against the coast of Beacon Rock. Identified to be the daughter of the yacht designer's daughter, Emma and Derrick, along with Inspector Jesse, began to unravel the mystery behind the woman who was a Mathematics genius and her untimely death.

The language has a quality to it which makes the narrative lyrical. One can easily imagine the setting and the atmosphere and the narrative draws the reader in. I was hooked from the very beginning. Emma has a distinct voice that urged me to continue reading. She is fearless but not irrational. She knows the ways of society and perhaps she doesn't conform to them. But she is not unkind to those who stick by the rules and she sympathizes with their trouble as shown in the case Lucy Carnegie.

Derrick is a supportive and loving partner and he is on equal footing with her in every aspect of life. He cares for Emma and understands her passion but at the same time, he is worried about her safety. Their romance is not a passionate one but it is one of those sweet love stories which is, to be honest, realistic. I loved the friendship between Jesse and Emma and kudos to the writer for depicting their relation in such a beautiful manner.

Though I guessed the killer quite early on, I liked the revelation and the reason behind the mystery. For me, this was a very well-written mystery with an interesting coterie of characters and an engaging protagonist.

I read this book in two days because it was that good. I’ve read all the books in the series and this lastest novel is a wonderful addition. It’s expertly well written drawing the reader into the characters and story from page one. I appreciated all the fine historic details of the time period as well as learning about racing and sailing. The mystery itself is interesting with many twists and turns. Another five star novel to a great mystery series!!!!

Socialites...fancy homes...ordinary places...marriage...love...friendship...mayhem...murder and intrigue...this book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. The characters are likable...some of them...others not so much...the author has woven a story that reads like true life...the characters come alive on the pages, and the reader knows them...enjoy this book by this gifted author.

Another excellent entry in what has long been a very strong series. Maxwell excels at weaving the historical detail into her books without distracting from the characters and plot.

Engaged but still hesitant Emma and her intended Derrick become embroiled in another mystery that pits wealth and privilege against justice and the truth. They pursue their own investigation at the risk of alienating important members of Newport society even as Emma confronts her own fears about marriage and her place in Newport. Less of a role for Jesse this time, but the lovely nature of the relationships among the main characters still shines through and the plot is fast-moving and compelling.

A great storyteller, Alyssa Maxwell has weaved a fantastic cozy mystery.

Murder at Beacon Rock is about Emma, a reporter who along with her fiance Derrick attends a small gathering at Beacon Rock. While at the club, Emma finds the body of a woman bobbing against one of the hulls of the boats.

Emma does not agree with the findings, and to prove it was not suicide, she embarks on a search for the truth and the real killer.

Emma, the reporter, is at it again. Finding a dead body and working clues to find out what happened. Lots of details about sailing and racing, that went over my head, and set in the time of the Vanderbilts and such, it shows a time that I knew little about, which is fine. Overall, a good cozy mystery and one I highly recommend.

Murder at Beacon Rock by Alyssa Maxwell
Note from the author about how publishing company was sympathetic to her family and length of time to took to bring this book to light.
Fascinating tale of 1900's in historic Newport, RI, I live down the other end of the island and the author has a way to make history interesting.
This story is about Emma the newspaper reporter and she's engaged to Derrick and they spend time at friend’s house while men separate to discuss the America's Cup races and sailing.
They are gathering facts about others who might've known the woman that was found dead on the rock. They even travel to Long Island, NY and visit relatives at the same time while discovering more clues.
She is lured to the boathouse when Lucy summons her. She is caught and not sure how to get out of trouble and turn the killer over to the police.
Love the streets That I have driven on, Reading Room mention where my brother in law has worked in the past summers, ferry rides, America's cup and sailing and scenes described to perfection.
Scary at times, romantic at others, fashion, house adornments, photography techniques, sailing techniques, mysterious events and she knows ti won't be much longer...
Love this series and can't wait to read more. I never guess right who the culprit is...
Love the notes at the end of the book describing things you may have questions about and other mysteries to this day still unresolved.
A KEEPER!
I received this review book from The Kensington Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#MurderatBeaconRock #NetGalley