Book Review for Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh

 

Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh

Published:  June 16, 2026 by Thomas & Mercer

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Taken from Goodreads:  From USA Today bestselling author Jenni L. Walsh comes a witty Jazz Age mystery where rivalry, ambition, and deceit glitter under every chandelier…and no one gets out until the killer is unmasked.

In Chicago’s Gold Coast district, twenty of the city’s most glamorous socialites gather for a charity whist drive at the Bellevue House mansion. Brightest among them are Ginevra King Mitchell and Edith Cummings, real-life debutantes who inspired Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby.

But when their sharp-tongued hostess turns up dead and a blizzard traps everyone inside, suspicion and gossip give way to fear. After all, one guest has a habit of burying husbands, another a proclivity for poison. Their charming veneers belie jealousies, ambitions, and deceits aplenty, enough to drive any one of them to kill.

As whispers turn to accusations, the police start closing in. Ginevra and Edith compete to solve the murder, uncovering secrets far more dangerous than the gossip columns ever revealed. But when a second body is found—strangled with Ginevra’s own pearls—their restless rivalry becomes a race for survival. Who’s next? And is the answer hidden in Fitzgerald’s exasperating novel?

 

My Thoughts:  I had this book on my wish list from the first time that I heard about it.   It lived up to everything I wanted it to be.   The characters, especially the Big Four, were great with HUGE personalities and even bigger lives.   They are elite women with their own secrets and secrets about each other.  No one is innocent but who is guilty of murder?  

Death Was Not on the Guest List is a fun murder mystery.  I was kept guessing and loved getting to know the characters as the story went on.  I had guesses, I tried so hard to follow the clues, but I was no match for Ginevra and Edith.  

The Chicago setting is perfect.  The snowstorm was depicted perfectly; those Midwest storms are brutal.  The 1920’s is an era of knowing the right people and keeping up appearances, all found perfectly in the book. 

Thank you to the author for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Meet the Author (taken from herwebsite):  Jenni L. Walsh is a USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud member of the Tall Poppy writers, a graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets.

For adults, Jenni has written historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, Unsinkable, Ace, Marvel, Spy, Sonora, and the forthcoming Death Was Not on the Guest List. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, Operation: Happy, The Bug Bandits, and the forthcoming Outlook Unclear. To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media.