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    What the Dead Leave Behind
    What the Dead Leave Behind
    What the Dead Leave Behind
    Audiobook12 hours

    What the Dead Leave Behind

    Written by Rosemary Simpson

    Narrated by Sarah Zimmerman

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    About this audiobook

    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 fiance'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 fiance-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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateDec 26, 2017
    ISBN9781541488946
    Author

    Rosemary Simpson

    Rosemary Simpson is the author of two previous historical novels, The Seven Hills of Paradise and Dreams and Shadows, and three previous Gilded Age Mysteries: What the Dead Leave Behind, Lies that Comfort and Betray, and Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets. 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.

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    Reviews for What the Dead Leave Behind

    4/5

    64 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I listened to all 4 books in this series,
      I hope there are more to come.
      Such great writing .
    • 4/5
      This is a terrific mystery that captivated me from the very first pages. It's NYC in the 1800's among the entitled people and those that prey on them. Great story, well told.
    • 4/5
      It’s March 1888 in New York City. The day a huge blizzard blows in (this was a real event), Prudence’s fiancee (Charles, a lawyer) is out walking with a couple other men. One of them decides he can’t go on, but Charles goes on with his friend and fellow lawyer, Roscoe. Roscoe gets further ahead, and when Charles stops to rest, he is knocked out and dies in the cold.Prudence has also only recently lost her own father (a judge). She is now living with her hated stepmother, Victoria (Victoria and Prudence’s father had only been married a couple of years), and unfortunately, Victoria is trustee to Prudence’s inheritance until she turns 31. The trusteeship was supposed to have transferred over to Charles when they married in only 2 weeks. Prudence and Charles’ best friend Geoffrey (also a lawyer) work on trying to figure out what’s going on, and how to help Prudence get her rightful inheritance out of her stepmother’s grasp. I was very impressed with the descriptions of the snow storm. I also loved that Prudence was treated so well by her father; they were very close and he treated her more like a son… as in, he taught her a lot of lawyer-ly stuff that a woman, at that time, would never normally have learned. Prudence is smart and I like how the men/lawyers she is working with (Roscoe, in addition to Geoffrey) accept that she is capable. We have an idea what happened early on, but spend the book trying to figure out how it all happened. There were a lot of characters, though, so I did tend to forget who was who at times, and it was a bit of a tangle/maze even once it was revealed how everything happened. I have no issues with how things ended and I will continue with the second book in the series.
    • 5/5
      This was a dark mystery with the sleuthing led by the daughter of a Pinkerton. Lots of characters to keep straight but all the pieces fit together at the very end. I'm looking forward to the next one.
    • 5/5
      Excellent recreation of the period, nice fusion of feminist sensibilities with the realities of the age. Obvious villains but still an entertaining evolution
    • 5/5
      From the first pages of meeting Prudence MacKenzie standing at her bedroom room and watching for her fiance, Charles Linwood to come to her late father's home with final copies of marriage settlement documents in compliance with her father's will I could feel the captured emotions and understood that drama would be unveiled. Every person who has waited by the windows waiting for a loved one to come home as promised even in the midst of a view of "impenetrable white" knows what Prudence was thinking in her thoughts and feeling from her heart to the tips of her toes. Rosemary Simpson magnificently creates not only the scenery based on the Great Blizzard of March 1888 but has developed a story of characters that show us the many sides of living in late nineteenth-century New York.As readers we view…• the differences in those who live upstairs by birthright and those who will do anything to stake their claim to the same• individuals in service to employers whether in household or by trade (e.g. hansom driver)• the differences in accommodations for the wealthy and those who struggle to make a living• the differences in the rights of women in the late nineteenth-century and to respect their struggles but also to learn that as far as we’ve come some struggles remain the same• the devotion and love of parents to a child• a forward-thinking parent’s resolve to teach a child to discover, to think critically and analytically, even if the teaching is beyond society's norms of the times• a daughter’s remembrances of her loving parents• how a change in ethics and integrity of a person can occur and to learn if the person can reclaim their integrityI am deeply grateful that I had the opportunity to watch the television series and movie “Downton Abbey” as it gave me a new understanding and deeper appreciation for individuals in service that worked so tirelessly and lived in meager accommodations. In reading "What the Dead Leave Behind" I was not only immersed in Prudence’s progression through her grief for loved ones lost and the strength and courage she develops but also for the closer glimpses of the lives of Mrs. Barstow, Colleen, German Clara, Mrs. Daley, James Kincaid to name a few at the MacKenzie household, Josiah Gregory at the lawyer’s office, and Daniel (Danny) Dennis, hansom cab driver and owner of Mr. Washington.For me, one of the special features of the author's writing style was the italicized remembrances by Prudence of her father's teaching which give her strength, courage, and resolve as she negotiates living with a devious step-mother and her brother as well as answers that unfold more mysteries than Prudence could ever have imagined.I loved this novel from the opening pages to the end but thankfully I already knew that it was not a final adieu but au revoir as in a goodbye until we meet again in the next novel in the series.
    • 5/5
      What a delicious start to Rosemary Simpson's , "A Gilded Age Mystery" series. The writing is beautifully descriptive and often elegant; the historical detail - spot-on; and the mise en scène - historic perfection. The action and its air of suspense carries throughout the entire book. New York City - March 12, 1888Our protagonist, Prudence MacKenzie, having just recently buried her widower father, a respected judge, is at home anxiously awaiting the arrival of her fiancé during a fierce blizzard. He never arrives. All of the careful estate documentation prepared by her father is suddenly on unsteady ground as Prudence and her inheritance are now under the control of her stepmother. This was not her father's plan. But at least Prudence is worth more to her stepmother alive than dead. It certainly won't be easy and no doubt, quite stressful. Is it Prudence's imagination or is her stepmother trying to subject Prudence to her absolute control? Odd things happen to Prudence resulting in a touch of paranoia. But then again, just because one is paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get you. Thus begins this wonderful tale.I was introduced to Simpson's writing through her third book in this series, Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets . I had enjoyed it so much that I thought I should start from the beginning of the series. I was not disappointed and I look forward to reading the next installment in the series, Lies That Comfort and Betray.Synopsis from the book's dust jacket:"Set amidst the opulent mansions and cobblestone streets of Old New York, this enthralling historical mystery brings the Gilded Age to life in a tantalizing tale of old money, new love, and grave suspicion...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 that Charles' 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 he family fortune than Prudence's well being..."
    • 2/5
      From the inside flap: "As the Great Blizzard of 1888 cripples the vast machinery that is New York City, heiress Prudence MacKinzie sits anxiously within her palatial Fifth Avenue home waiting for her fiancée'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 fiancée - 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 that Charles' 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 he family fortune than Prudence's well being."Well, I'd say that the above blurb was rather over dramatic & Gothically eerie, and so too is the book. So why did I check the book out? I wasn't paying close attention to what I was reading, when I picked it up off the shelf, and one of my favorite Historical Mystery authors, Victoria Thompson, gave it a good review.So the book begins w/ Charles (who is carrying in his briefcase the legal marriage papers that will set Prudence free from her stepmother) following an older attorney out into the BLIZZARD attempting to make sure that the older man remains safe... Which I immediately questioned the sanity of. The author goes on to describe the ferocity of the blizzard and the fact that one could not see in front of them. Unbelievable for me was if one was unable to see, how would the murderer know that Charles was out & about and how could he follow Charles, cosh him in the head, and steal the briefcase?Then we read that Prudence's father married a much younger woman, who when the father was not present was beastly cruel to the young Prudence... and now Prudence has a dependency on Laudanum which she is weaning herself off of, by pouring her nightly warm milk (which her stepmother lovingly prepares) out the bedroom window.Prudence is just 19 and unable to be free of her Stepmother unless she is to marry, which she is about to do... Charles was on his way with all the legal marriage papers that would bring Prudence into full inheritance.I didn't like the writing, I didn't like the characters (which you all know is a deal breaker for me), but the plot was a good one, even if overtly Gothic. I also found the book to be rather violent, right up to the end, which was another -★.
    • 4/5
      What the Dead Leave Behind by Rosemary Simpson is a 2017 Kensington Publication. When a record breaking spring blizzard hits New York, Prudence Mackenzie’s fiancé, Charles, was one the weather’s casualties, or so it would seem. His death, upends Prudence entire future, as the provisions and dictates in her father’s carefully worded last will and testament, which depended upon Prudence’s marriage to Charles, became null and void. This puts Prudence in a very awkward and vulnerable situation- as well a dangerous one. Convinced that Charles met with foul play, Prudence seeks advice from Charles's best friend, Geoffrey Hunter, a former Pinkerton agent, to help her root out the truth. But, Prudence soon finds herself in the midst of a diabolical plot where her very sanity is at stake. Can she prove Charles was murdered, protect her inheritance and overcome her own personal demons before it is too late? This first book in the “Gilded Age Mystery Series’, sets the stage for what should be a fascinating series. Set in the Gilded Age, where women were very much at the mercy of men, Prudence exhibits a great deal of grit and pluck, circumventing traditional female roles quite cleverly. She is a most interesting amateur sleuth, coping with a malady that takes great will power to control. While this was a bigger issue than many know, during this era, the mention of Prudence’s struggles, while a big part of the story, it is at times given more prominence than the mystery. I am interested to know if this will be an ongoing battle in future installments, though.Other than that, the historical details are quite vivid,detailing the great blizzard of 1888, and the atmosphere is thick with sinister tension. The irony of the how everything comes together in the end is well played. The whodunit is quite apparent, as is the motive, but this doesn’t in any way hamper the suspense. The danger is palpable and builds to a taut crescendo!! This is definitely my kind of historical crime novel!!The foundation is neatly set and will leave readers as eager for the next installment as I am!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. The series had been recommended to me by a friend so I picked up the first book in the Gilded Age series. From the moment that I picked it up until I closed it on the final page, I was captivated by the story of young Prudence MacKenzie. The story begins with the real-life occurence of the Great Blizzard of March 1888 in New York City. In this book it all starts when a young man who is engaged to Prudence MacKenzie is cruelly beaten and left to die in the snow. From there we move back and forth from a mansion on Fifth Avenue, to a boarding house in Brooklyn, and to a magistrates office near Broadway. The action and the story move along quickly. The streets of old New York City come alive in this tale. At the heart, we have an evil woman who was married to Prudence's father, Judge Thomas MacKenzie and her dissipated brother. There is also a dark and mysterious butler that seems to have his own agenda. None of these people are there to look after Prudence's best interests, and she finds herself alone and frightened when her beloved father dies. Strange and dangerous things surround her and she is forced to strike out on her own to uncover the truth. An old friend of her fiance is there to help her and together they begin to unravel the web of intrigue and danger that surrounds Prudence. This book was so compelling because the characters are so wonderfully drawn and the suspense is relentless right up to the end. I have definitely stumbled onto another new and very exciting series and can't wait to read more.
    • 4/5
      3.5 Prudence was raised in a very privileged and wealthy environment. Her father a respected judge, and after her mother's death when she was nine, raised solely by him. Trained to notice things other young ladies in her circumstances were not, she was given an education usually afforded to men. The year is 1888, her father has now died, the widow he married three years preciously much to Prudence's dismay, her guardian until the marriage her father approved of takes place. The historic snowstorm will direly change her plans and place Prudence in danger.I really enjoyed this rather old fashioned mystery. The time period was interesting, the characters equally so. No serial killers but plenty of adventure and danger. Enjoyed the spunky Prudence who will do anything to uncover the conspiracy of her fiancée death and the mysterious underpinnings of her father's will and his marriage to a much younger wife. A true to life lawyer, an ex Pinkerton agent and an old style crook will aid her in her discoveries. Not flashy, no alternate storylines, just good plain old writing and a wonderful evokes atmosphere. Can't begin to tell you how refreshing this was.ARC from Netgalley..