Review: Opulence and Ashes

Opulence and Ashes by Kate Belli is the fourth, and more than likely, final book in the author's Gilded Gotham Mystery series that I've glommed my way through the past couple of months. The author could likely keep things going but if this truly is the end, it's a solid finish to the series that neatly ties up a number of new and existing plot threads.

After the previous books' ho-hum (yeah, I said it) serial killer plot, it was nice to see our crime-solving couple sink their teeth into something a bit more unique, there appears to be a serial arsonist on the loose, but finding connecting threads is proving challenging.  Society reporter Genevieve Stewart and former Five Points gang member turned wealthy man, Daniel McCaffrey, are engaged, mere weeks away from their wedding, and building a new home of their own. They're also continuing their reform work, teaming up with police photographer, Dagmar Hansen to shed light on the House of Refuge, a children's workhouse and conditions in Five Points.  Genevieve is also looking into a fire that destroyed the Sunflower Mission House, a home for women of color who escaped from sex trafficking. 

However, someone isn't happy about what Daniel and Genevieve are doing. Dagmar's studio is set on fire, with both he and Daniel trapped in it, and Genevieve barely escapes a fire set at the home of a doctor providing health care (including contraception, illegal during this time thanks to the Comstock Act) to women. As if this weren't enough? One of Daniel's long-lost siblings, Connor, kidnapped off the streets as a young child and packed off on an orphan train, has returned to New York.  Genevieve and their friend Rupert don't trust the man, but Daniel's feelings are much more fraught and complicated. As the arsonist heats up, so does the danger to both Genevieve and Daniel.  Will they survive to defeat the arsonist and see their wedding day?

The author does a good job ratcheting up the tension in this story. Truly, from the beginning, it's hard to see how all these episodes and incidents tie together other than fire is involved - and fire in New York City during this time wasn't exactly a rarity. It takes time for the author to set the stage and start her characters down a path that ultimately leads to their highest stakes yet - Genevieve getting kidnapped. This is when the story really started to cook for me. Daniel out of his mind and Genevieve in a horrific situation, trapped with other women in a 19th century mental hospital.

I'll admit it, after Genevieve's various bouts of foot stamping and feistiness in previous (and this one as well) entries, there was a certain amount of satisfaction (not the right word, but you get my meaning) to see her get a bit of comeuppance. Should she have been forcibly institutionalized? Of course not - but it sure was fun to read about how she was going to wiggle herself out of that nightmare - and wiggle she does.

Ultimately this last book in the series does what all good last books should do - that is tie everything up, including a few callbacks to earlier entries, to a satisfying conclusion. To that end, I cannot stress enough that these four books should be read in order. With some series a reader can hop around (I do it all the time actually) but not here. The author builds each book off the foundation of the books preceding it which leads us to a very satisfying conclusion, and yes - a happy ending for both romance and mystery fans.

I've had a really good time reading this series. It's the first one I've read in a long time that satisfied both parts (mystery and romance) of my genre loving brain. I'm a little sorry to see Daniel, Genevieve and their menagerie family and friends go, but better a satisfying conclusion than a slow and disappointing descent into banality.

Grade = B