It's Chicago during
the 1893 World's Fair. Rosalind Perry hasn't come to enjoy the
World's Fair. She's come to try to find out what happened to her
sister. Her plan is to obtain work as a maid in Sloane House, one of
the greatest Chicago mansions, and the house where her sister worked
before she disappeared.
Rosalind is
successful in finding a job as a maid at Sloane House, but finding
out what happened to her sister is more difficult. The class
structure in Sloane House is rigid. She's at the bottom, and the
other servants are unwilling, or afraid, to answer too many questions
about her sister. In addition, to the difficulties of her job,
Douglass, the son of the owners, is paying more attention to her than
she finds comfortable. His best friend, Reid, heir to a silver
fortune, sees the problem and tries to protect her, but the issue of
class is always present.
The book portrays
the world of Chicago during the World's Fair in all it's glamour,
danger an injustice. It makes the era live. Likewise, the issues of
class are well illustrated in the interactions of the characters. The
Sloanes don't consider their servants real people. The servants
are there to serve them and when their usefulness is over, they
forget about them.
Rosalind, Reid, and
Douglass are rather stereotypical. I found Rosalind a strange mixture
of bravery and naivete. She continually thinks about how frightened
she is and then takes terrible risks. Reid is also an unsettled
character. His family is part of the nouveau riche. He's trying to do
what his father wants and marry into high society, but he's not sure
the glamour is for him.
The ending or the
book is much darker than I expected although it follows well from the
plot and characters. Personally, I think the ending is worth reading
through some of the less interesting parts of the book. If you enjoy
historical mysteries, this is a good one.
I reviewed this book
for the Thomas Nelson BookLook Bloggers program.
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