A Beautiful Poison

Allene Cutter's 1918 New York society engagement party turns into a disaster when her friend Florence topples to her death from a staircase. The scent of cyanide casts doubt on a determination of accidental death. Allene and her impoverished friends Birdie and Jasper are all drawn into the apparently motiveless mystery. Allene has knowledge of chemistry and Jasper works at a morgue in preparation for medical studies. While the author has a fine grasp of the world of 1918—the Spanish flu, dangerous work conditions for the poor, World War I conscription, class conflicts, and the beginnings of forensic science—she doesn't develop her characters, leaving them floundering in a fragmented and overly busy plot. Some secondary characters almost succeed in snatching the story, but potential directions result in dead ends. Reader Saskia Maarleveld has nice tones, but her slow delivery doesn't move the story.