I felt the science in this mystery more than in Lydia Kang’s other books. And the hinting of magical realism that was present in the other books (supernatural beings, unexplained events) is not present in this one. It seems more straightforward mystery.

Death at a dinner party. Everyone seems ready to write it off as a straightforward champagne induced fall down the stairs but Allene is not so sure. With the help of her one time estranged friends Birdie and Jasper, this New York socialite intended to get to the bottom of everything. While the rest of the world is dealing with war and the outbreak of Spanish Influenza, for Allene this puzzle is what’s important.

I got real “Emma” vibes from Allene (Jane Austen novel). Like Emma, I found Allene to be a vain young lady who can’t see past her own needs and wants to those of her friends/family yet views all of her actions as selfless. I think that was the biggest problem I had with this book. Granted, I really did not like “Emma” so that might have colored my opinion since almost from the first chapter I associated the main character with that book.
I liked the science based nature of this book more than the other two I read. I still very much enjoy Lydia Kang’s style and science based mystery genre. And while this might have been an accurate portrayal of an early 1900s socialite, I hope I don’t get too many Jane Austen vibes from future books (or at least make it a better character