Mansions of the Dead

Sweeney St. George #2

by Sarah Stewart Taylor

IN MANSIONS OF THE DEAD, the follow-up to Sarah Stewart Taylor's debut O' Artful Death, art history Professor Sweeney St. George investigates the murder of one of her students.

Sweeney is asked by police to consult about the death of one of her students, one who perhaps enjoyed her class a bit too much: Brad Putnam is found suffocated in his dorm room, his dead body adorned with nineteenth-century mourning jewelry. The situation is even stickier because he's one of "the" Putnams, a famous and prestigious family — one of the earliest colonial families — and a family whose history is as much gossip and scandal as it is politics and wealth.

Set in the Boston-area and the Newport, R.I. playgrounds of the rich and famous, Mansions of the Dead finds Sweeney exploring the secrets of Victorian Boston, the troubled history of a family with everything to lose, and the rocky terrain of her own heart.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Sarah Stewart Taylor lives with her husband and three children on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries.

Sarah is the author of the Sweeney St. George series and the Maggie D'arcy series. The first Maggie D'arcy mystery, THE MOUNTAINS WILD, was nominated for the Dashiell Hammett Prize and was on numerous Best of 2020 lists. The new Maggie D'arcy novel, A STOLEN CHILD, is out now. AGONY HILL, the first installment in her new series set in Vermont in 1965, will be out in 2024.

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweeney St. George while teaching a class on mourning practices becomes involved again in a murder, but this one is a bit different. The student killed is one of Sweeney’s students in her seminar on ‘mourning jewelry’. Sarah Stewart Taylor’s Mansions of the Dead (Sweeney St. George #2) is a truly phenomenal read especially for one such as myself. To borrow from the author, I enjoy studying ‘the art of death’. Let me be a bit more specific. I became attracted to epitaphs on tombstones when I was a teenager. This interest grew to study of various practices of mourning and treatment of death in different cultures which became art appreciation of funerary art found in cemeteries. In short, a hobby. This book discusses ‘the graveyard poets’ such as Robert Blair. “See yonder hallow’d fane, the pious work/ Of names once fam’d, now dubious or forgot,/.................../ And tatter’d coats of arms, send back the sound,/ Laden with heavier airs ‘From the low vaults,/ The mansions of the dead.’ “ These poets’ lines are often used as epitaphs. The two settings used are Boston and Newport. And just to let you know, Sweeney becomes involved in more than one death. The mystery is well-constructed; the players (characters) are so real that the reader believes she/he knows them; and this is a beautifully written book. 5 stars.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Taylor's 2020 "the Mountains Wild" and have gone back to read her earlier series starring Sweeney St. George, "an expert on the art of death" through the ages. This one involves Boston and Newport, events in 1863 and 2004ish, and a wealthy family, one of whom was introduced in "Sweeney St. George #1." I may have liked her 2020 book best because it was set in Ireland or perhaps she has become better at plotting. Either way the writing is good, Sweeney's own history is revealed a little more in this second book, and Detective Quinn has some good possibilities as a solving partner. And it felt appropriate to be reading about graveyards and mourning jewelry around Halloween.

[Leigh Merryday · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mansions of the Dead has some good things going for it. For starters, the protagonist is interesting and has depth. Not all of her personality quirks are so charming, and that adds a little credibility to her. Her background in funerary art and mourning jewelry is unique to the mystery genre and adds a nice intellectual aspect. (I even found myself looking up images of mourning jewelry and its history on the net.)

Sweeney St. George has, of course, a cop who both hinders and helps her in her sleuthing -- Quinn. Whereas other reviewers have been frustrated in Quinn's inconsistent relationship with his partner Marino, I actually found that inconsistency to be more real than the stereotypical loyal-to-a-fault partner or the do-anything-to-impede-the-investigation type. Marino and Quinn are just beginning to figure each other out, are unsure they will like each other, and already realize they have little in common. However, like most folks, they are trying to be decent to each other. That seems realistic enough for me.

While this novel has strengths, its weaknesses are annoying. While conducting her amateur investigation, she repeatedly makes contact with the Putnam family, uncovering secrets they wish to remain hidden. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, they continue to like this near-stranger and keep asking her to join them for various social/grieving events. This seems highly improbable. And as someone else pointed out, the police are not particularly upset by her sleuthing - which also seems improbable. Last, but not least, is the unlikelihood of them allowing her to make her "Let's sit down in the parlor while I reveal the identity of the killer" speech.

I liked Sweeney St. George enough to read this novel after finishing the first in the series - O, Artful Death. I'll probably read the next one, but I do wish that Sarah Stewart Taylor would lend as much credibility to some of the events in the story as she does to her well-drawn characters and fascinating backstories.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

MANSIONS OF THE DEAD by Sarah Stewart Taylor is Book #2 of the Sweeney St. George mystery series.
Sweeney is a noted art historian, a professor, a researcher, whose specialty is the ‘art of death’.
Sweeney is drawn into a murder investigation involving one of her students. When Brad Putnam (of ‘the Putnams’) turns up dead in his Cambridge apartment, the Cambridge Police call on Sweeney St. George’s help in identifying the antique mourning jewelry found at the scene.
We meet a new character in this title, Homicide Detective Timothy Quinn.
We also meet Sweeney’s aunt, Anna, at her Newport cottage, where many personal details of Sweeney’s earlier family life emerge.
I am enjoying this title and series very much. I like the interesting, very detailed, very personal characters; the locations (In MANSIONS OF THE DEAD we are out and about in Boston, in Cambridge and Newport, Rhode Island.); and the very fascinating subject of death and mourning.
I like to learn while I read and I have picked up so much fascinating info on graveyards, grave stones, funeral rites, mourning rituals, mourning art, and grief. I particularly liked the discussions of the ‘value of ritual’. I agree with Sweeney when she says, “That’s what ritual does - it kind of puts an end to suffering. It allows you to go on.”
I especially like the prologues - set (in this title) in 1863, which creates a backdrop for both the story, the mystery and the art.
This title and series is highly recommended. *****

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The style of this second in the Sweeney St. George series appears to be less lyrical and rather more of a standard whodunit. But I enjoyed it more!! Sweeny's involvement is a bit more natural; it's one of her favorite students who is found murdered. In this installment, we learn about Victorian funeral jewellery which her student had been studying in his seminar with Sweeney. Her friend, Toby, is again the tie between Sweeney and his wealthy friends, the parents of the dead student. Sweeney is romantically tempted by the dead student's older brother, but Brit Ian is still in the running and trying to keep his ties to Sweeney. A new character, the policeman investigating the murder, Homicide Detective Timothy Quinn, is introduced with his backstory and events. The characters are interesting and the plot is as intricate as the Victorian death jewellery.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a student of Professor Sweeney St. George is murdered, she is ask about the mourning hair jewelry so she becomes involved in the case. The student was Brad who was found in his apartment dead from a plastic bag over his head and mourning hair jewelry on him. Brad is a member of the elite of Putnam family of Newport. Sweeney meets the Putnam family and becomes interested in Jack Putnam, an artist and brother of Brad. Sweeney is still not dealing with her life like leaving her father's paintings in a warehouse and not deciding what she wanted from Toby. Sweeney finds some interest things about the Putnam family and works to find the killer.

[N. Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a shockingly good book. Sweeney has such affection for Brad Putnam, a rich college kid that is killed in his apartment. She looks into clues to solve the mystery of his murder. Sweeney goes off on hunts for deceit in Brad's family, reasons his friends would cover up their involvement, there are so many mysteries. They live in a posh area of Boston and the Putnams never give away their secrets. So many twists and turns. I really liked the way that Sweeney was attracted to Jack Putnam and how she uncovered so many details about the Putnam family tree. Fascinating novel....

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one of her students is murdered, art historian Sweeney St. George is consulted by the police regarding mourning jewelry found on his body. But, even after she provides the information they want, Sweeney continues her research, and discovers a strange anomaly — but does it have anything to do with Brad's death, or was there a different motive? Fascinating story full of interesting characters and an ingenious plt.

[Trish W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing was a little uneven and the characters at times seemed to be saying or doing some pretty improbable things for their roles. I also came away with the impression this this story wanted to lean a bit towards "crime romance" if such a thing exists. But for an author's second effort it wasn't a bad read.

[Jeanne Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweeney St George, the heroine of this series, gets involved in the murder investigation of one of her students. Again, we look more closely than is usual at 19th or early 20th funerary artifacts. Well-written and very enjoyable book.

[Toni Wanic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lackluster

I enjoyed her first book in the trilogy but this book was a disappointment. The plot was weak and the book just dragged on and on.

[Nancy Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweeney's world is shattered when one of her students is murdered, can Sweeney put the pieces together to solve this mystery? Awesome book.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this story rather choppy. Unlike Taylor's later books which kept my interest from the start. Perhaps it is due to having read this before "O Artful Dead."

[Tracy Mitchell thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Whitney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a taphophile too, so I wanted to like this book. I'm not sure why, but it seems like the plot drags, and there's a lot of extra verbiage that doesn't need to be there. Also, for me, the motive made no sense. I mean, there was an explanation given, but I just don't understand how killing the victim helped the murderer at all.

Still, I was willing to allow for all of that. After all, this is a light beach read. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Then the ending happened. Or, more accurately, the story was finished and we were in the resolution part of the story.

One of the characters committed suicide. It was like a punch to the gut. That punch wasn't what it made it bad. What made it bad was that this was a side character who had nothing to do with the main plot. She was part of a side plot meant to flesh out a main character. To have her off herself during the denouement upset the rhythm of the story.

There are a few reasons to have the story take a turn like this, but I can't think of any good ones.

[Blaire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have given this book a better rating if the depiction of the police had been a little more believable.
The relationship Detective Timothy Quinn and his partner was confusing and unfocused. The author begins by suggesting that the older of the two, Marino, resents his partner the rookie and then makes nothing of it in their interactions. Their tolerance for the amateur sleuth's meddling is impossible to believe, particularly at the end when they step aside to allow her to deliver the classic summing up for the benefit of all. It worked for Agatha Christie, but not so well in a contemporary novel.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed other aspects of the story. I found the historical part of the story fascinating, particularly the cemetery trivia and the mourning jewelry. The plot and some of the characters were pretty well done, and it had a couple of plot twists I didn't see coming.

[Julie Golding Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started this book, I was a bit wary of the main character and "detective," Sweeney St. George - I liked her quirky character, complete with fiery red hair and vintage clothing, but I wasn't as sure about her academic and personal fascination with gravestones, mourning jewelry and other equally macabre subjects. However, I stuck with her and came to appreciate her by the end. I also enjoyed the setting of Boston and the Cape Cod area, and I will be reading the others in the series to find out what she's up to next.

Despite this, I found myself somewhat annoyed at various points in the book, as the writing was occasionally uneven, with repetition of something from an earlier part of the book almost verbatim later on. This did not happen often, though, and I did not notice anything like it after I got about half-way through the book. Hopefully these editing gaffs will be cleared up in future volumes, so that readers will no longer be distracted by them.

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

a decent mystery, although not particularly remarkable. sweeney is a likable enough amateur sleuth - stronger here than in the first book, although maybe i'm just getting used to her. but, as other have noted, the writing is sometimes a bit laborious and goes on a bit/repeats itself. i think that my major quibble is that stewart obviously did a lot of research and as such seems intent on sharing all that she learned in the course of it with the reader. and sometimes that's just not necessary.
additionally, some of the side stories, especially the bits about quinn and his homelife, felt really out-of-place and unnecessarily melodramatic. i assume this was done so that his relationship with sweeney can go in a certain direction in later books, but i really wasn't keen on it. and no, real cops would not be that tolerant and inclusive of someone like sweeney.
still, pretty readable and engrossing while in the midst of it.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art history Professor Sweeney St. George investigates the murder of one of her students.

Sweeney is asked by police to consult about the death of one of her students, one who perhaps enjoyed her class a bit too much: Brad Putnam is found suffocated in his dorm room, his dead body adorned with nineteenth-century mourning jewelry. The situation is even stickier because he's one of "the" Putnams, a famous and prestigious family — one of the earliest colonial families — and a family whose history is as much gossip and scandal as it is politics and wealth.

Set in the Boston-area and the Newport, R.I. playgrounds of the rich and famous, Mansions of the Dead finds Sweeney exploring the secrets of Victorian Boston, the troubled history of a family with everything to lose, and the rocky terrain of her own heart.

second title in the Sweeney St.George series

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As several others mentioned, I was a little leary about a novel featuring a main character with an outlandish name like Sweeney St. George and I'll admit I considered putting it down several times. I'm not a huge fan of Bostonian culture. However, the subject matter was interesting enough to keep my attention and at some point something clicked and I wanted to find out how it ended. Perhaps a good indication that something is working, right? Aside a few typographical and several chapters that simply could have been omitted, the book itself was fairly entertaining. I'm on the fence about reading the remaining books in the series.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a cozy mystery. This is a more complex and intricate story than a cozy. The heroine is also not as stupid as some, as well.

While the lead character, a professor who specializes in gravestones and funerary art, does start investigating the death in the book, she really is drawn in because of her interest in the mourning jewelry found on the body, a student of hers. She also doesn't try to show up the cops in the book and keep information back that she has learned so she can be the one that solves the mystery, rather than them. How refreshing - more true to life, I think, as well.

I find the subject of funerary art interesting as well. Not a macabre subject at all.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two and a half stars, really. I felt like it held together better than the previous book in this series that I read. (Which was the third book. Nothing like reading series backwards.)

But it still had some flaws. Like a few other reviewers have commented, I'm not sure how the killer thought the murder was going to benefit them. I could've seen it if this were a case of semi-accidental murder (you know, ye old "I hit him and he fell and hit his head on the edge of the fireplace" kind of thing), but this was far more thought out than that. And then there's the tragic side plot that's just...there. I don't even know why it's there.

Ah well.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Sweeney's students is found murdered with burial jewelry on his body. Because of his connection to a wealthy and powerful family, it becomes a huge case. But can Sweeney figure out what that jewelry means? Another good mystery, but I didn't care for the new character of Timothy Quinn and his sub-plot.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Suzanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. It was fairly interesting, an easy read, fairly predictable, but entertaining. It didn't make me want to read more by the author, but it did make me mildly curious about mourning customs of past generations, particularly mourning jewelry. I might visit the subject in a non-fiction format down the road.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would get four stars if not for the occasionally very clunky writing. I loved the setting (Boston), the topic (graves/gravestones/graveyards/mourning jewelry), and the protagonist (crazy female academic).

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot but I have a morbid fascination with tombstones and graveyards. Did I figure out who did it? No, but I did figure out early on why someone did it. Still I didn't want to put the book down and read it almost in one sitting.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first book in this mystery series. She's an art historian, so you get some interesting history stuff thrown in. I will eventually grow tired if she seems to fall in love/lust with someone in every book.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, a quiet yet engaging mystery. Taylor doesn't focus on big sweeping scenes of increasing horror; her mysteries are somewhat mundane yet realistic. I'm already quite fond of the main character; Taylor's depiction of the inquisitive professor isn't overblown or too far out of focus.

[Sue johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, will probably look for more in this series.