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Rosemary Simpson

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.rosemarysimpsonbooks.com

Genre

Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Member Since

September 2016

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Rosemary Simpson's What the Dead Leave Behind is set in Gilded Age New York where the Great Blizzard of 1888 brings both disaster and independence to her wealthy and unconventional heroine. Lies that Comfort and Betray is the second in the Gilded Age Mystery series, to be followed by Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets
Rosemary is also the author of two stand-alone historical novels, The Seven Hills of Paradise and Dreams and Shadows.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. Educated in France and the United States, she now lives near Tucson, Arizona. ...more

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I picked up What the Dead Leave Behind because I've always thought that 1888 was an especially eventful year - along with the Great Blizzard and Jack the Ripper, the International Council of Women was formed, the London Matchgirl Strike happened, slavery was fully abolished in Brazil...are there any other major events that you'd like to incorporate into Prudence's story?

Rosemary Simpson You’ve hit upon one of the major problems associated with writing historical fiction, a real dilemma when the genre is historical mystery. Which real …moreYou’ve hit upon one of the major problems associated with writing historical fiction, a real dilemma when the genre is historical mystery. Which real events does the author weave into the story to create the atmosphere of time and place without distracting the reader from the story line? There is always so much that is fascinating during the research process. Unfortunately, it can’t all be used. Even history buffs can lose interest if they’re inundated with too many facts delivered too quickly and without apparent plot justification. I’ve settled on highlighting one contemporary major event/social problem for each of the books in the series, but I also try to add lots of period detail that the main characters hardly notice. Sometimes the event is the catalyst for the action, as in WHAT THE DEAD LEAVE BEHIND. As soon as I decided on the Great Blizzard of 1888 as the event and laudanum addiction as the social problem, I had to put other material aside . . . until future books in the series.
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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Rosemary Simpson When I was about fifteen I traveled alone by train from Paris to Munich. I'd left Paris seated in a very ordinary second-class compartment whose Frenc…moreWhen I was about fifteen I traveled alone by train from Paris to Munich. I'd left Paris seated in a very ordinary second-class compartment whose French- and German-speaking occupants exchanged polite greetings and then left one another alone. But sometime during the night, there was a problem on the rails. A conductor came through the cars, hurrying us off at a tiny station whose name I never did learn. I'm not sure how it happened, but I ended up on another train in what can only be described as a converted boxcar. Hard wooden benches, slatted wooden sides, the cold night air whooshing into the car as it clattered along. When it stopped, I stayed where I was, waiting for someone to tell me what I should do next, where I was supposed to go, if I had to change trains again. The only other occupants of the car were an elderly couple who spoke neither English nor French, the two languages in which I was fluent. They were very upset that I remained where I was, but I couldn't understand a word they said. Finally, the man picked up my suitcase (there were no overhead luggage racks) and his wife pulled me into the aisle and hustled me along after him, nodding and smiling to reassure me. Almost as soon as we climbed down the metal steps to the platform, they disappeared into the station, leaving me alone again. The train rumbled off and the lights inside the station went out though I never saw a station agent or conductor who might have extinguished them. I sat there on that dark, empty platform until daylight and the next train to Munich. I know it wasn't a dream, but I've also wondered from time to time if what I experienced was a tiny slit in time. Where was I, and what might have happened to me had the mysterious couple not hustled me out of that boxcar?(less)

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Rosemary Simpson’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 6,371 ratings · 912 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	What the Dead Leave Behind (A Gilded Age Mystery #1) 3.91 avg rating — 2,281 ratings — published 2017 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lies That Comfort and Betray (A Gilded Age Mystery #2) 3.95 avg rating — 1,255 ratings — published 2018 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets (Gilded Age Mystery #3) 4.04 avg rating — 857 ratings — published 2018 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death Brings a Shadow (Gilded Age Mystery #4) 4.05 avg rating — 700 ratings — published 2019 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death, Diamonds, and Deception (Gilded Age Mystery #5) 4.07 avg rating — 575 ratings — published 2020 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dead Cry Justice (Gilded Age Mystery #6) 4.27 avg rating — 442 ratings — published 2021 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death at the Falls (Gilded Age Mystery #7) 4.11 avg rating — 249 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seven Hills of Paradise 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1980 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dreams and Shadows 3.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1986 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Common Lisp: The Index a Cross Referenced Index to Common Lisp: the Language did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Welcome!

Welcome, everyone!

For me the excitement of 2017 really begins with the publication of WHAT THE DEAD LEAVE BEHIND, the first in my new Gilded Age Mystery series, due out on April 25, 2017.

Since the opening scene is during the Great Blizzard of 1888, I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of images of New York City after what was called the storm of the century blew in on March 12th of that yea Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 25, 2017 18:26 • Tags: gilded-age, goodreads, historical, mysteries

Series by Rosemary Simpson

A Gilded Age Mystery (8 books)
by

Rosemary Simpson (Goodreads Author)

4.00 avg rating — 6,359 ratings

Quotes by Rosemary Simpson (?)

“and a doctor had been in attendance, so there didn’t seem to be anything amiss that I could discern.” Warneke was taking great care with how he phrased his answers. “But there’s a reason why you particularly remember the Judge?” “He was a very well-known man, Mr. Hunter, often in the newspapers. His wife had begun to make her mark in society.” “Do you always know this much about the people you bury?” “Part of what we do is advise families on the most suitable services for the departed, tailored to the appropriate station in life. We assisted with Judge MacKenzie’s first wife, so we naturally assumed we would be serving the family again. There’s a certain comfort and trust in familiarity.” “I don’t remember much about what happened in the hours and days immediately after my father’s death, Mr. Warneke. By the time I was able to ask, I was told it would be better to remember him as he had been in life. I accepted that idea. Then. Now I want answers.” “I don’t wish to cause you undue pain, Miss MacKenzie. Or to reawaken your grief.” “I want the truth, Mr. Warneke. You may be one of the very few people who”
― Rosemary Simpson, What the Dead Leave Behind

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“The only way to make people listen to you is never to repeat yourself.”
― Rosemary Simpson, What the Dead Leave Behind

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“Ask few questions, answer none.”
― Rosemary Simpson, What the Dead Leave Behind

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