Murder at the Breakers (by Alyssa Maxwell)
As a lifelong visitor to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, I’ve long been intrigued by the Vanderbilts. I love learning about that house and the family’s history, so when I saw Murder at the Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell available on Amazon Prime Reading, I thought it would make a great fictional mystery to download to my Kindle. The story is set at The Breakers, the Gilded Age mansion once owned by the Vanderbilts.
In the late 1800s, The Breakers served as the summer “cottage” for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, his wife Alice, and their seven children in Newport, Rhode Island. I would love to visit the magnificent property someday. It has about seventy rooms (roughly thirty-three of them for servants), spans multiple floors, and occupies a large footprint on roughly 13 acres.
Murder at the Breakers is the first book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series. Set in August 1895, it follows twenty-one-year-old Emmaline “Emma” Cross, a resourceful young society reporter and distant (less wealthy) relative of the Vanderbilts. She attends a lavish ball celebrating the newly completed Breakers mansion. During the glittering event, Emma witnesses the murder of Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who is pushed from a balcony. Her half-brother Brady is quickly arrested after being found nearby in compromising circumstances, and Emma sets out to clear his name by investigating among Newport’s elite.
There’s nothing particularly wrong with this book—it simply didn’t meet my expectations, and that’s not necessarily the book’s fault. I had hoped for richer descriptions of the mansion itself. I love stories that offer a deep sense of place, and this one didn’t deliver that. It’s strictly a murder mystery, a straightforward whodunit. That is the premise, and it doesn’t offer much beyond it.
I’m confident I won’t be reading any more books in this series, largely because I didn’t particularly care for the protagonist. I appreciate a female character who defies the societal roles and expectations of her time by stepping into primarily male-dominated territory. However, I found Emma impulsive, quick to jump to conclusions, and overly reactive. She grew increasingly annoying, and by the end I was mostly just eager to find out who had committed the murder.
On a positive note, I was genuinely surprised when the murderer was revealed. Kudos to Maxwell for keeping my attention diverted and delivering an unexpected conclusion. I was satisfied with how the mystery itself was resolved. I still wasn’t a fan of how the book left Emma, though—I found her final moments disappointing.
All in all, it wasn’t the spectacular story I had hoped for, but that happens. It’s simply part of the reading experience.
I couldn't be happier with my Amber Mystique gladiolus this summer. Their color palette matches the book cover beautifully, and I can easily envision them growing on the grounds of the opulent Breakers "cottage." Not to mention that the name 'Mystique' feels fitting for a murder mystery.
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