Mariah Fredericks is the author of the Edgar-nominated Y/A novel Crunch Time (. She was born and raised in New York City, where she lives today with her family. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in history and was the head copywriter for Book-of-the-Month Club for many years.

I was delighted, upon picking up A Death of No Importance, to be swept into another world. In a simple, elegant writing style, Ms. Fredericks describes the life of a wealthy but troubled family in 1910 New York City. Jane Prescott is ladies’ maid to Charlotte Benchley. A gruesome murder disrupts what was to have been Charlotte’s engagement party to a wealthy society playboy and Jane realizes that she is in a unique position to ascertain the identity of the murderer. With the help of a friendly journalist, she searches for the truth.

The second book, Death of a New American, picks up two years later, and Jane is now accompanying the family to Long Island, where their second daughter, Louise Bencley is to be married. The father of the groom is known to have vanquished an Italian mafia family, so when one of the family’s employees is found murdered, it is at first assumed to be a possible revenge killing. But the friendly journalist who helped Jane in the first book again requests her help, and Jane used her impeccable manners, years of service, and understanding of human nature to once again reveal what actually happened.

I look forward to the next book in the series, due out in 2020