Review: Secrets of Sloane House by Shelley Gray

Series: Chicago World's Fair Mystery #1
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Publisher: Zondervan 
Released: July 29, 2014
316 pages

About the Book:

One woman's search for the truth of her sister's disappearance leads her to deceit and danger in 1893 Chicago.

Rosalind Perry has left her family's rural farm in Wisconsin to work as a housemaid at Sloane House, one of the most elegant mansions in Gilded Age Chicago. However, Rosalind is not there just to earn a living and support her family-she's at Sloane House determined to discover the truth about her sister's mysterious disappearance.

Reid Armstrong is the handsome heir to a silver fortune. However, his family is on the periphery of Chicago's elite because their wealth comes from "new money" obtained from successful mining. Marriage to Veronica Sloane would secure his family's position in society-the lifelong dream of his ailing father.

When Reid begins to realize that Rosalind's life may be in danger, he stops thinking of marriage prospects and concentrates on helping Rosalind. Dark things are afoot in Chicago and, he fears, in Sloane House. If he's not vigilant, Rosalind could pay the price.

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

Rosalind’s sister has gone missing while working for a wealthy family in Chicago. Her father is unable to get any answers from the police which leads Rosalind obtaining a job at Sloane House under an assumed name. She arrives in Chicago from Wisconsin timid and scared of the big city but she is determined to bring answers back to her family and forces herself to find the courage needed to find answers. Reid is friends with the son of the house and ends up befriending Rosalind even though she is a servant in the house. Rosalind has been struggling and in a moment of weakness ends up spilling her story to Reid. He has been suspecting for awhile that things are not as they seem in the Sloane House and decides to try to distant himself from Douglass, the son. He agrees to help Rosalind discover what happened to her sister. The other servants begin to treat Rosalind as an outcast and eventually she is let go and kicked out of the house. She has no where to go and feels she has to ask Reid for help but doesn’t know how to find him as her only contact with him was at the Sloane house. In what can only be described as God’s guidance Reid finds Rosalind and his family takes her in. Events continue to unfold that eventually lead to figuring out what really happened. While I suspected a portion of what had happened I was shocked by who was actually the culprit in the end. I did find the story dragged a bit at times and was a bit repetitive. I hated the arrogance of the entire Sloane family (the dad was probably the only redeeming quality). I liked that the servants in the Armstrong house showed Rosalind that the treatment of servants was not the same everywhere. My favourite character was Reid, I appreciated that he was willing to see past the divide between himself and Rosalind. He did not care about their stations in life, he accepted her for who she was. I did not find the faith message strong in the story I did like that Reid’s mother taught Rosalind that faith will help you though challenging times and that you have to stand up when you believe a wrong has been committed.

Favourite Quote: 

“I can't promise all your efforts will have a happy outcome, Rosalind. No one can promise that. But I can promise you that your faith will carry you through.”

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)