My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As other reviewers have mentioned, this book starts slowly. Fear not the action picks up and draws the reader into the lives of the influential New York society in the 1920s.
Julia Kydd has returned from London to claim her inheritance, only to find that her older half-brother and guardian has contested their father's will and intends to claim the entire estate as his own. Her friend, Glennis, also returned from Britain, finds herself in a similar position, chaffed by the monetary oversight of her proud and ambitious older brother. The two are joined by their common woes, older brothers who feel morally and intellectually superior to their younger siblings, when they receive news of the death of Glennis's outrageous, outspoken eldest sister. The two find there are many unanswered questions as the remainder of Glennis's socially prominent family seems to sweep the death under the proverbial rug.
What follows is a very finely written mystery that explores much deeper questions about feminism, equal rights and the unwarranted belief that women should be held to a different standard than men. This book is highly recommended with the caution that patience will be needed in the beginning.
