Opulence and Ashes is book 4 in Kate Belli’s Gilded Gotham Mystery series, and the first 1 I have read.
In the Spring of 1890, Genevieve and Daniel are ready to be married while working with Dagmar Hansen in social reform and being a female journalist. To add to their busy schedule, someone has set fire to the Sunflower Mission House. The investigation leads to Dagmar’s studio as well as a female physician’s home being burnt down, and both Daniel and Genevieve barely escaping.
When Genevieve goes missing, and someone from Daniel’s past arrives, Daniel must put his personal feelings aside to figure out what is going on. Can he find Genevieve in time? Or will he lose her as he lost his siblings many years ago?
This novel is very fast paced. Readers are immediately introduced to the horrors of institutions. The whole reason behind why Daniel is so invested in social reform. This makes readers feel empathy for Daniel throughout the novel and relate to him. Then we must follow Genevieve’s more logical side. The healthy balance between practical and emotional made everything go very quickly, and while not graphic, there are some scenes that I read quicker than others.
The mystery is also practical and emotional. While there are more red tape protocols, there are still ways for corrupt individuals to move through life. The descriptions of the insane asylum, the medical staff’s behavior, and the House of Refuge are just tips of the iceberg of what citizens in 1890 had survive. Without having read the previous novels, I was unprepared for the ending. I suspected one thread of the investigation, but that was it.
Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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