Death Was Not on the Guest List
- Judith D Collins
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
By: Jenni L. Walsh
ISBN: 978-1662536274
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 06/16/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
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?
Praise
“Completely entertaining! This witty and glam roaring twenties thriller is Clue meets Knives Out with the cleverest element ever—the fictional version of the debutantes who inspired the iconic characters in The Great Gatsby. Captivating dialogue reveals suspicion, gossip, ambition, and murder—and a terrific relatable story. Break out your champagne, your long pearls, and your cigarette holders…and don’t miss this glitzy and irresistible drama of the jazz age.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of All This Could Be Yours
“The best kind of whodunit caper, with sharp-witted female sleuths on the case. Death Was Not on the Guest List serves up a dazzling cast of take-charge women determined to unmask a killer, even as the body count rises. Clever and exciting, this page-turner kept me guessing alongside Ginevra and Edith as they pieced together a wonderfully tangled mystery.”
—Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book Society
About the Author
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 historical or contemporary. Jenni’s historical novels for adults include Sonora; Ace, Marvel, Spy; Unsinkable; The Call of the Wrens; A Betting Woman; Side by Side; and Becoming Bonnie. She also writes books for children, like the nonfiction She Dared series and the novels Outlook Unclear, The Bug Bandits, Operation: Happy, Over and Out, By the Light of Fireflies, I Am Defiance, and Hettie and the London Blitz.
A proud member of Tall Poppy Writers, Jenni is a graduate of Villanova University and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets. To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit www.jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media. WEBSITE
