Was really looking forward to the next in Belli's series as I've grown fond of these characters and want to see how their story continues to unfold. Before finding this series, I was hesitant to venture into anything historical as it tends to not be my cup of tea, but I am so glad I gave this series a chance, and here I am still captivated into the next iteration of Genevieve and Daniel's twisting path. I find the often heavy situations the pair find themselves in to be quite stressful with Belli's writing, but I know I will not be disappointed with her story crafting.

This series continues to get better and better! The second half of Opulence and Ashes had my heart-pounding as I raced to find out what would happen to Genevieve and Daniel. As always the romance was incredibly heart-felt and adorable. If you are new to these books, but enjoy Guilded Age New York, romance, adventure, and mystery, I recommend starting with book 1 to get the most out of it. I promise it will be worth it. Thank you to the publisher for sending me an early copy!

First time reading a book in this series. The mystery kept me guessing and I like the characters.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

Opulence and Ashes is the 4th book in Kate Belli’s Gilded Gotham historical mystery series. It was quite the ride as main characters Genevieve and Daniel prepare for their upcoming marriage while also trying to investigate a series of arson’s around the city—including the mansion they are in process of building. When Genevieve goes missing, Daniel must determine what happens to her before it is too late.

I am so glad that we finally get to see Daniel and Genevieve together in this one! And I was on the edge of my seat the entire time with the mystery. Belli manages to make two plot devices I don’t normally enjoy (the return of the long lost relative and the forced internment in an asylum) into a story I could not put down. I am glad we see Daniel and Genevieve with a happy ending but I hope there are more stories for them in the future!

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love this series and these characters, but the plot of this one felt like it needed pared down. There was one or may even two too many plot points that required a serious suspension of disbelief. That said, I love a book that talks about the horrifying conditions for women in asylum at the time.

Kate Belli gives us a fourth Gilded Gotham mystery with Opulence and Ashes. 1890 New York sees Genevieve, society journalist, preparing for her marriage to Daniel. Fires are being set, anti vice types are targeting many, and Daniel's possible brother turns up. Genevieve is kidnapped into a madhouse. How are they all linked? Read this fast moving thriller.

This is book 4 in the Gilded Gotham series. Daniel and Genevieve are eagerly anticipating their upcoming wedding. However, things are amiss, Daniel is assisting his friend Dagmar, a photographer, put together a series of photos depicting underprivileged people in New York to raise awareness. When he and Dagmar are locked in a room and the house set on fire, Daniel wonders who is out to get them.
This turns out to be one of a series of arson attacks and Daniel and Genevieve are working together to try and figure out the connecting thread.
There certainly were a lot 'situations' that cropped up in this fast paced book. I really enjoyed the story and learning a bit more about life in New York in the late 1800's.
I am happy to recommend this series of books. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

The wedding of Daniel and Genevieve is quickly approaching and her mother is trying to get her involved in the planning. Genevieve is an investigative reporter. Flowers and settings are the last thing on her mind. At one planning session she learns of a fire at a mission house that was barely mentioned in the papers. It is an incident that she decides to investigate. Daniel and his friend Dagmar, a photographer, have been working to raise money for charity. A second fire is set at Dagmar’s studio, trapping and almost killing them. A fire is also set at a women’s clinic where the doctor is killed. Genevieve is searching for a connection between these fires and is getting close to an answer when she is abducted. As the days count down to the wedding, Genevieve is nowhere to be found and Daniel is getting desperate.

Daniel grew up in poverty, with a connection to street gangs. His younger siblings were taken away when their mother died and he has never given up searching for them. He is approached by a man claiming to be his brother Connor. The hair and eye color and even his mannerisms are familiar. He even recounts an event from their past. While Daniel wants to accept him, he is still skeptical when Connor is at the scene of several of the fires. When he looks into Connor’s background he is surprised by what he finds.

Kate Belli’s Gilded Age New York is a city of mansions and wealth. It is also a city of gangs and poverty. Belli takes you into an asylum where women could easily be confined for hysteria. There is also the children’s home where children were sold as indentured labor. Genevieve’s mother fights for women’s rights at a time when the Comstock law made contraceptives illegal. While Belli shares so much history, this is also a story of love, family and mystery that is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen. I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this book for my review.

This is the first book by this author that I have read. It was interesting with lots going on. Murder, mystery, and fires along with a wedding. The characters were well written and the plot flowed nicely. I received this book as an ARC and freely give my review.

This book was so compelling and page-turning! I read the first book in the series back in 2020 when it first came out, but missed the second and third. I meant to go back and catch up before this one but didn’t get a chance. My reading experience wasn’t hurt too much by missing those, though I would recommend that anyone reading this series go in order as they build on one another a bit.

I was a little annoyed with Genevieve here as she kept charging into dangerous situations alone and then getting herself into trouble. I don’t relate to that character trait as I’m overly cautious, but people are different.

This was an interesting look at an American cultural trend that doesn’t get talked about much (the Comstock laws). The way it was handled felt a bit feminist, which was nice.

Overall, this was a great historical mystery that I would recommend for fans of the genre (with the caveat to go through the series in order!)

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

New York 1890

This is the first book I have read in this series, but I want to go back and read the rest as soon as I can!!

Genevieve, a journalist and her soon to be husband Daniel are working with Daniel, a photographer on a story about a workhouse for children.

Somebody does not like their meddling evidently because the photographers studio is burned and then later a future home for the couple.

A journey of mystery, suspense and amazing characters! Cannot wait for more!

1890 in New York and Genevieve and Daniel's wedding was only a matter of weeks away.

Both of them were investigating recent and suspicious fires when Daniel was caught with photographer, Dagmar, in his dark room, with the building on fire and the two of them trapped - deliberately it would seem...

The police deemed it an accident, and when Genevieve visited her physician one evening, she was locked in the cellar by persons unknown, and the house above set ablaze. (Dun, dun, dun...!)
Then, she goes missing!

When Genevieve went missing, Daniel and her family were desperate. So, Daniel rounded up the men he trusted and they searched high and low.
When they couldn't find her and neither could the police, they began to suspect the worst.

Would Genevieve be found alive? And would Daniel discover who wanted them dead?

Mystery series with couples tend to follow a certain path. The couple meets, they sleuth and they wind up together... GO READ IT!

Opulence and Ashes is book 4 in Kate Belli’s Gilded Gotham Mystery series, and the first 1 I have read.

In the Spring of 1890, Genevieve and Daniel are ready to be married while working with Dagmar Hansen in social reform and being a female journalist. To add to their busy schedule, someone has set fire to the Sunflower Mission House. The investigation leads to Dagmar’s studio as well as a female physician’s home being burnt down, and both Daniel and Genevieve barely escaping.

When Genevieve goes missing, and someone from Daniel’s past arrives, Daniel must put his personal feelings aside to figure out what is going on. Can he find Genevieve in time? Or will he lose her as he lost his siblings many years ago?

This novel is very fast paced. Readers are immediately introduced to the horrors of institutions. The whole reason behind why Daniel is so invested in social reform. This makes readers feel empathy for Daniel throughout the novel and relate to him. Then we must follow Genevieve’s more logical side. The healthy balance between practical and emotional made everything go very quickly, and while not graphic, there are some scenes that I read quicker than others.

The mystery is also practical and emotional. While there are more red tape protocols, there are still ways for corrupt individuals to move through life. The descriptions of the insane asylum, the medical staff’s behavior, and the House of Refuge are just tips of the iceberg of what citizens in 1890 had survive. Without having read the previous novels, I was unprepared for the ending. I suspected one thread of the investigation, but that was it.

Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Opulence and Ashes (A Gilded Gotham Mystery) by Kate Belli from Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.

… an amazing plot, heart-stopping twists, and compelling characters this well-written, fast-paced mystery is a page-turning historical mystery that keeps the reader engaged to the very last page….

The 4th installment in the Gilded Gotham Mystery series by Kate Belli Opulence and Ashes begins in spring 1890 with Genevieve and Daniel nuptials mere weeks away. In addition to wedding preparations, they are doing what they do best, working together. Interested in social reforms such as mental illness, false imprisonment, women’s reproductive health and homelessness, all causes dear to both their hearts they hope to put their social standing and riches to good use. When visiting a photographer, Dagmar Hansen who has been busy photographing the homeless in the dark corners of New York Daniel and Dagmar are barricaded in his studio when a fire breaks out nearly killing them both. The police declare it an accident, but Daniel and Genevieve believe differently. Genevieve working on a story about an arson at a local women’s shelter, they are convinced there is more to the story, and both are on the case to capture the culprit. They go on a chase that takes them along a path that puts Genevieve in peril, forcing her to endure fire, abuse, and abduction. When she goes missing, friends and family are beside themselves and the hunt is on to save the bride to be.

As always, I love this series, and in this installment, I can’t help but think although they were brilliant to begin with, they are becoming so much more. With an amazing plot, heart-stopping twists, and compelling characters this well-written, fast-paced mystery is a page-turning historical mystery that keeps the reader engaged to the very last page. I cannot wait to read more of Genevieve and Daniel’s adventures.

another stellar installment to this series!! as always, i was immediately hooked from the beginning. after three books of waiting for daniel and genevieve to finally get their hea, it was right on the horizon….but of course we wouldn’t have another story without another deadly mystery to solve. the mystery behind the fires and daniel’s possible brother was so gripping and i love that it was centered around reform that in some aspects is still relevant today! kate belli so expertly writes a gripping mystery every time and i never have any clue who the perpetrator/perpetrators are. this book was no different. i love genevieve’s continued strength, fortitude and boldness. she is the perfect match for daniel and i absolutely love them together. a lot stood between them and their hard won hea, but it was so worth it. this book was perfect. although i would have liked to see a little retribution for a certain nurse. i hope this isn’t the end of the line for this beloved couple, but i could also see the series wrapping up here. if that’s the case, this is a series i will definitely come back to as genevieve and daniel have become comfort characters for me and i just love their story. i’ve fallen in love with this time period and all of the wonderful secondary characters that have shown up in all four books. i can’t recommend this wonderful series enough!

thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy. my thoughts are my own!

What a ride! This installment of the Gilded Gotham series takes Daniel and Genevieve to the next level. There's not much I can say without spoilers, this being book 4, but I would give it 100 stars if I could. The mystery is deeply personal to both of our main characters, and extremely dangerous as well. It takes a bit to set up, but the mounting sense of fear and the unsettling developments as their personal lives and their investigation cross paths and overlap are just delicious. I LOVED getting more of a glimpse into Daniel and Genevieve's relationship as well, as we didn't have much of it in the last book. The way their feelings change the way they act toward one another (and the way they investigate) is realistic and adds a great layer without erasing their strong personalities. I'm already desperate for book 5, and Kate Belli remains an auto-read, auto-buy author for me!

This is an excellent historical mystery series and I thoroughly enjoyed it as it's well plotted, featuring great characters and a vivid historical background.
Somehow I discovered I missed the second instalment and will surely go and read it.
This one is a fast paced, action packed and gripping story and I couldn't stop reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I missed out reading the third book 'Treachery on Tenth Street' and will get to it as soon as I can to know what happened that has led to Genevieve Stewart and Daniel McCaffrey becoming romantically involved as well as engaged in this fourth book.

This series is a really good one with well developed plotlines and characters. Each new mystery/problem that Genevieve and Daniel have encountered so far seem to be interconnected and seamlessly follows from one book to another. Daniel has a past (poverty, stolen family, and gangs) which keeps rearing its head in the form of old acquaintances/enemies and in this book he finally comes face to face with a long lost brother. I really love Daniel's character; he is complex, compassionate and full of charm.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books and the author Kate Belli for the e-Arc of the book.

Opulence And Ashes is the fourth book in The Gilded Githam Mystery series by Kate Belli.

New York 1890

The wedding of Genevive and Daniel is only weeks away, and they are excited for that day to come. They are working on separate projects. Genievive is looking into a suspicious fire at a boarding house for black women who have escaped to New York City for a better life. This interview will lead Genevieve to a midwife dispensing information on birth control and whom the police have under constant observation. On a second visit, Genevive gets locked in the basement, and the house is set on fire; luckily, she can escape with only smoke inhalation.

Daniel is working with a photographer, Dagmar, and together, they are investigating young boys' workhouse conditions. While Daniel and Dagmar are developing the day's photographs, someone sets the studio on fire. Daniel can get them out; he only suffers minor injuries, whereas Dagmar requires that he go to the hospital.

Then Genevive goes missing. Daniel is beside himself and starts to scour the streets of New York City, looking for Genevieve. He calls on her family for help. Daniel also calls on his old friends from the Five Point area. Daniel is forever hopeful that he will find Genevive unharmed and they can proceed with their marriage. In addition, a man who claims to be his brother has arrived in town, but is he really?

This series is one of my favorite historical cozy mysteries. The stories are well-written and seem to be historically accurate. The characters are well-developed, very believable, and engaging. There were enough red herrings that I was guessing until the end as to the identity of the killer.

I can’t wait for the next book in this exciting series.

The fourth book in the Gilded Gotham Mysteries series and I have read them all so far.

Opulence and Ashes is set in 1890s New York and Kate Belli does her usual excellent job of setting the scene and describing the way people lived their lives in that city at that time. Genevieve and Daniel are preparing for their society wedding which is just a few weeks away as the story begins.

I remember commenting in my review of the third book that it had a few slow moments. There was nothing slow about this book. As our main characters move from one terrible danger to another it is amazing they survive. The book is action packed, suspenseful, very hard to put down and it concludes perfectly.

I will certainly be happy to read the next one. Highly recommended.