Description: As the Great Blizzard of 1888 cripples the vast machinery that is New York City, heiress Prudence MacKenzie sits anxiously within her palatial Fifth Avenue home waiting for her fiancé's safe return. But the fearsome storm rages through the night. With daylight, more than two hundred people are found to have perished in the icy winds and treacherous snowdrifts. Among them is Prudence's fiancé--his body frozen, his head crushed by a heavy branch, his fingers clutching a single playing card, the ace of spades ... Close on the heels of her father's untimely demise, Prudence is convinced Charles's death was no accident. The ace of spades was a code he shared with his school friend, Geoffrey Hunter, a former Pinkerton agent and attorney from the South. Wary of sinister forces closing in on her, Prudence turns to Geoffrey as her only hope in solving a murder not all believe in--and to help protect her inheritance from a stepmother who seems more interested in the family fortune than Prudence's wellbeing ... Filled with richly colorful characters, fascinating historical details, and thrilling moments of suspense, What the Dead Leave Behind is an exquisitely crafted mystery for the ages.
Brief description: Rosemary Simpson is the author of the Gilded Age Mystery series, as well as The Seven Hills of Paradise and Dreams and Shadows. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. Educated in France and the United States, she now lives near Tucson, Arizona.
Review Quotes:
"Gilded Age New York comes alive in a mystery that spans social classes and harbors dark secrets. Prudence is a strong but flawed heroine shaped by her tragedies, and her battle against a laudanum addiction adds even more dimension to her character--and more tension to the mystery. Geoffrey brings a bit of romantic tension, as well as muscle and Southern charm, to the mix, and a host of secondary characters brighten up the cold, bleak landscape of a New York winter."
-- "RT Book Reviews (4 stars)"