Bilyeau, Nancy

This fast-paced, engrossing novel from Bilyeau (“Joanna Stafford” mysteries) gives readers an up-close and personal view of New York’s Gilded Age, from the flash and glamour of the decadently wealthy to the hardscrabble conditions of newly arrived immigrants.

The problem with this historical is that there's just too much: too much travel, too much description, too many people willing to talk to someone who is, in fact, a nobody in a 16th-century royal court. That doesn't make it less entertaining, just a bit of a quagmire to muddle through, and a novel that also leaves the reader thinking: "Why is everyone willing to talk to this person?" Still, fans of this period of English history and readers who enjoyed the first two books might consider this title.