On her quest to find out who is stealing jewelry from the richest in New York City, journalist Genevieve Stewart is saved from a dangerous situation by millionaire Daniel McCaffrey who she suspects is the jewelry thief Robin Hood. When murders start happening, Genevieve and Daniel have to use their unique talents and contacts to find who the criminal is.

Deception by Gaslight is the exiting first installment in the new series A Gilded Gotham Mystery written by Kate Belli, published by Crooked Lane Books. The story is set in New York City 1888 where we follow journalist Genevieve Stewart. She works on getting information about famous jewel thief Robin Hood who is targeting the very richest. In her struggle to get information she sets her life in danger, and millionaire Daniel McCaffrey saves her. Genevieve is shocked to meet him again at an Astor 400 ball, and realizes he is not the street thug she thought but she suspects him of being Robin Hood. Jewelry keeps being stolen, and soon murders start happening too. Genevieve and Daniel use their unique contacts and talents to dig up information and as they come closer to the truth, danger to Genevieve’s life increases.

Main character Journalist Genevieve Stewart has suffered a great loss in her life, but is determined to work for a living. She seems a caring woman who treats people well and is a person who anyone would be proud to have as a friend. She is my absolute favorite of this story.

Supporting character millionaire and philanthropist Daniel McCaffrey comes from a humble background. He has learned to live between two worlds and makes this work in his philanthropic work. I found him an interesting character who sometimes struggles with his identity.
The characters felt like they could have been my friends in real life as they felt so well crafted and relatable.

This story was beautifully written and reminded me of Sarah M. Eden’s writing. The plot felt different as it contained an enjoyable and exiting collection of elements starting off with the mystery of Robin Hood’s identity. It had me turning pages into the wee hours of the night to get answers, and I was thoroughly surprised who Robin Hood turned out to be.

My favorite part of the story was the amusing way the relationship between Genevieve and Daniel developed. Starting with mutual distrust, they came to trust each other explicitly and rely on each other’s help as the story progressed. Least favorite part was when Genevieve found herself in a dangerous part of Town not able to escape threatening men.

Thank you to publisher Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Conclusion: Deception by Gaslight is the exiting start of the very promising new series which will captivate readers of cozy mysteries. It contains a collection of well crafted mystery elements and relatable characters that will stay in your memory for a long time.
I eagerly await the next installment in the series or any other release from this author. Similar authors to explore might be Dianne Freeman or Andrea Penrose.

Rating: 5 stars / 5
Main reason: interesting and entertaining plot, relatable characters, beautiful writing