Author Description

“A taut, suspenseful, and complex murder mystery with gorgeous period detail.”—Susan Elia MacNeal Through her exquisite prose, sharp observation and deft plotting, Mariah Fredericks invites us into the heart of a changing New York in her remarkable debut adult novel, A Death of No Importance. NEW YORK CITY, 1910. Invisible until she’s needed, Jane Prescott has perfected the art of serving as a lady’s maid to the city’s upper echelons. She works for the Benchley family, who are dismissed by the elite as “new money,” and who cause outrage when their daughter Charlotte becomes engaged to notorious eminent playboy Norrie Newsome. But when Norrie is found murdered at a party, Jane discovers she is uniquely positioned to find the killer—she’s a woman no one sees, but who witnesses everything; who possesses no social power but that of fierce intellect. Jane also knows that in both high society and the city’s underbelly, morals can become cheap in the wrong hands; scandal and violence simmer just beneath the surface—and can break out at any time. *BONUS CONTENT: This edition of A Death of No Importance includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide