Library Journal
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The blizzard that hit New York City in March 1888 killed 200 people. Lawyer Charles Linwood is found frozen to death with a playing card, the ace of spades, clutched in his hand, and his head crushed by a branch. He and heiress Prudence MacKenzie were to marry in less than a month. With Charles dead, Prudence's stepmother, Victoria, becomes the trustee of Prudence's inheritance. After discovering Victoria trying to slip her laudanum, the intrepid Prudence pairs up with ex-Pinkerton agent Geoffrey Hunter, Charles's old school friend, to investigate the woman's past and find a way to escape her clutches. In their search for answers, they join forces with unusual allies: a hansom driver, a legal secretary, a former police officer with ties to the underworld and the old Confederacy, and a blind code breaker. VERDICT -Launching an atmospheric new series set in Gilded Age New York, Simpson (The Seven Hills of Paradise) incorporates historical events and figures to add verisimilitude to this tension-filled story. Suggest for mystery readers who appreciate period detail, including fans of Anne Perry's "Thomas and Charlotte Pitt" mysteries.-LH © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The Great Blizzard of 1888 in New York City provides the perfect cover-up for murder in Simpson's third novel, the first of a historical mystery series set during the Gilded Age. In a short period, Prudence MacKenzie loses her beloved father and her fiancé in what could be a murderous plot to steal her inheritance. Luckily, she is taken under the wing of her father's lawyer, as Judge MacKenzie's will is somewhat irregular. Cue the wicked stepmother and her equally repugnant brother. Readers will hope Stepmama is a murderer, but so much happens as the plot unwinds that it's not a foregone conclusion. This is a story to savor, despite a few unlikely coincidences (the fiancé's rich attorney friend available at all hours to help Prudence), with an admirable teenage heroine who changes from drug-addled to determined and then takes charge. Prudence is a stubborn, quick-witted American heroine who will remind readers of Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Ashton and Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey.--Baker, Jen Copyright 2017 Booklist