I have to admit that I gave up on this after about 20% I couldn’t identify with the characters or picture the story.

Release Date: September 25, 2023
📖📖📖📖

St. Patrick’s Day, New York City, 1899. Spectators along Fifth Avenue, unaware of impending doom, enjoy the parade and the bands playing Irish tunes. Suddenly marchers halt at the immense and luxurious Windsor Hotel, watching terrified women at upper-floor windows cringe at the flames—and then leap. Within two hours, the fire kills close to one hundred people.

What set it off? Hotel guest Marguerite Wells decides she and her two wealthy friends can discover what started the terrible inferno.

#Infernoonfifth is inspired by the true story of the fire that leveled one of Manhattan’s most elegant hotels twelve years before the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The book was really well done. It kept my interest all through the story as I tried to figure out what happened to cause the fire. Not to mention what happens to all the people in the hotel at the time. I would highly recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#infernoonfifth #marlieparkerwasserman #newyorkcity
#fifthavenue #levelbestbooks #independentbookpublishersassociation #netgalleyreads #cozymystery #bookreview #bookstagram #booklover #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #booktok #bookrecommendations #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookblogger #igreads #goodreads #bookclub #bookreviews #bookblog

The Windsor Hotel in Manhattan burned to the ground in 1899.

Marlie Wasserman uses this historical event as a jumping off place for her fictionalized account of the hotel, the affluent guests who stayed there, and the maids and other service personnel who worked in the hotel.

Many of the people are historical characters including Marguerite Wells who, with George McCluskey (another real person) investigate the fire, Theodate Pope, an aspiring architect, and Angelica Gerry. All three of these young women became successful women. Marguerite became the third president of the National League of Women Voters. Theodate Pope became a licensed architect in New York City. And Angelica became a noted philanthropist and gardener.

Wasserman gives the same attention to the fictional characters, especially the three maids, Tara, Molly and Bridget, and the young men they loved. Although fictional, these ‘downstairs’ young women were even more interesting to me than the families they served. I really enjoyed reading about these gritty determined women.

Wasserman posits her theory of the fire that destroyed this hotel, using opinions that were current at the time. Actual quotes from the newspapers are scattered throughout the novel, giving it an ‘I am there’ feel.

Combining historical characters with fictional, and using a historical event as the setting, is difficult to do but Wasserman pulls it off. Inferno on Fifth Avenue has a real ‘ripped from the headlines’ vibe.

Highly recommended.

Another winner by this author! A historical fiction story of a tragic fire in an upscale NYC hotel. The characters are numerous, their engagement surrounding the fire and its aftermath are engaging. The sleuthing, particularly by Marguerite, to find the catalyst for the fire is so interesting. You will find yourself making excuses to keep reading this book. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

410 pages

5 stars

This book is based on a true story.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day in 1899 New York City. Thousands are gathering along the sidewalks and rooftops to watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Unfortunately, given the times in which this disaster took place, the newspapers focussed mostly on the wealthy people. (Shades of the Titanic coverage in the papers. Things didn’t change.) The maids, caregivers and regular working folks were glossed over and mostly seen as semi-villains. Thus the author didn’t have a great deal of success finding out about the workers. The story then must be mostly about the wealthy people that were in the Windsor Hotel on the day of the fire. Ms. Wasserman did a remarkable job of surmising what the experiences of the ordinary person were like.

We meet three young women (who were considered spinsters), who became friends. They are from wealthy families and are the sole child of each of the families. The women all adore their fathers and are genteel and well educated.

We also meet Bridget, a maid who is a team leader on her floor of the Windsor. She meets and fancies herself in love with Clay who is a temporary carpenter at the Windsor. Bridget and Clay then hatch a plan. Bridget draws in the ladies who work with her and Clay draws in some acquaintances of his. Their plan is audacious and risky.

As the crowds gather outside to watch the parade, someone notices fire. The Windsor is on fire!!

What follows is the tragic story of the fire that devastated the hotel. The brave firemen, policemen and guests of the hotel act without thinking of their own safety.

In the aftermath of the fire, the newspapers printed all kinds of outrageous stories, most of them false. This upsets Marguerite, one of the young ladies. She gets together with her friends and they set out to set the record straight. Marguerite especially. She meets the detective in charge, McClosky. (I’d love to see their relationship develop. Hint, Ms. Wasserman.)

Everyone was blamed in the papers, the owner, the manager, the engineers who worked in the basement and a careless cigar. All based on pure supposition. The real story was much different…

This is a remarkable book. Based on a real event only adds to the terror and thrill of the story. Ms. Wasserman developed the characters thoroughly. I had a real sense of who the people were. I truly enjoyed this story. I will read it again.

I want to thank NetGalley and Level Best Books/IBPA Members’ Titles for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Inferno on Fifth is a many-layered, fictionalized narrative of a deadly fire that took place in New York’s Windsor Hotel near the close of the Gilded Age. The period details are finely drawn, but the real pull here is the way the structure of the story reflects the events. Each chapter is headed by a rotating cast of characters, and each provides a small but tantalizing piece of evidence that allows the reader to draw conclusions regarding the source of the fire in tandem with amateur sleuth Marguerite Wells. We learn in the afterword that Marguerite became the third president of the National League of Women Voters, but within the context of the story she is a complex and thoroughly engaging young woman whose intelligence and fierce loyalty propels her investigation. Inferno on Fifth delivers a riveting and thoroughly satisfying story.

Inferno on Fifth was a great thriller about a devastating Hotel Fire in 1899.
This fire really happened & many of the characters are factual, if only tenuously.
Their are three main women who figure prominently in the story & all come from immense wealth
The maids, also offer a lot,as they are on the take,as the fire is a supposed foil for a robbery, which all goes awry.

This is a very well thought out story by a great author,which really held my interest & I would like to thank her & also NetGalley for the opportunity to read & review it.

I am a fan of historical fiction and this novel about a very brutal fire at the turn of the 20th century is a must read.

Based on a true story, Inferno recreates the fire at the Windsor Hotel on Saint Patrick's Day 1899 in New York City. It is a horrific fire that captures the attention of the country.

Two hotel guests decide that they will find the reason for the fire while three out of work maids work to figure out their lives.

The events are captivating, the characters are multi dimensional and book is a must read

I enjoyed this novel for the most part, the only thing I didn't like that. Too many characters told their POV.
Different pov without missing a beat I should say. I almost DNF it but now I am glad I did!
After I got into it I couldn't put it down!
The characters wouldn't let me.
This story reminds me of the Triangle Shirt waste factory tragedy. Lots of similarities.
I did like the backstop leading up to it. The details were interesting and I loved the scene where Marguerite and Angelica meet. Ships are cool. You meet lots of different people.
I also enjoyed dinning at the Captain's table. It was quite an honor.
Also my favorite scene. Wasserman described it so well so that why I said that.
Another favorite was the tour of the hotel. I really enjoyed that!
I learned something new that I never knew about and found myself looking up the Windsor hotel. Just wow!
I'm giving this one 5 stars even though I didn't like the many POV but I loved the many other things in this book.
I got this book because of the cover. It looked mighty interesting and I wasn't disappointed except for I described in the beginning.
I highly recommend it!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.