Secrets of Sloane House

Written by Shelley Gray

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Against the backdrop of the 1893 World’s Fair, a new kind of crime comes to Gilded Age Chicago . . . and a lonely young woman is always at risk.

Back on the farm in Wisconsin, Rosalind’s plan had seemed logical: Move to Chicago. Get hired on at Sloane House, one of the most gilded mansions of Chicago. Discover what transpired while her sister worked as a maid there—and follow the clues to why she disappeared.

Now, as a live-in housemaid to the Sloanes, Rosalind realizes her plan had been woefully simple-minded.

She was ignorant of the hard, hidden life of a servant in a big, prominent house; of the divide between the Sloane family and the people who served them; and most of all, she had never imagined so many people could live in such proximity and keep such dark secrets.

Yet, while Sloane House is daunting, the streets of Chicago are downright dangerous. But when Rosalind accepts the friendship of Reid Armstrong, the handsome young heir to a Chicago silver fortune, she becomes an accidental rival to Veronica Sloane.

As Rosalind continues to disguise her kinship to the missing maid—and struggles to appease her jealous mistress—she probes the dark secrets of Sloane House and comes ever closer to uncovering her sister’s mysterious fate. A fate that everyone in the house seems to know . . . but which no one dares to name.

“Gray writes with honesty, tenderness, and depth. Her characters are admirable, richly layered, and impossible to forget long after the story is done.” —Jillian Hart

• Part of the Chicago World’s Fair Mystery series:
  • Book one: Secrets of Sloane House
  • Book two: Deception on Sable Hill
  • Book three: Whispers in the Reading Room
• Book length: approximately 95,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780310363491

Shelley Gray

Shelley Gray is the author of The Heart of a Hero series. Her Amish novel (written as Shelley Shepard Gray), The Protector, recently made the New York Times best seller list. A native of Texas, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Colorado and taught school for ten years. She and her husband have two children and live in Southern Ohio. Visit her website at www.shelleyshepardgray.com Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray Twitter: @ShelleySGray

Reviews for Secrets of Sloane House

[mm_jones · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very disappointed. I came across this book in the mystery section cover labels it as "A Chicago World's Fair Mystery". Really a romance novel (without sex) disguised as a mystery. Published by Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. It has a thin overlay of scripture and references to prayer. Nothing regarding the Chicago World's Fair that couldn't be derived from a quick read on Wikipedia. The cover wording and description is rather misleading, outlining a poorly told tale.

[stephlaymon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a decent mystery set in historical Chicago during The World's Fair. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. There was a slight undercurrent of romantic tension which was nicely done.

[debs4jc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book offered a fascinating look at life from a servants perspective during the time of the Chicago's World Fair. This combined with a mystery and a hint of a romance made for an enjoyable read, although I was dissatisfied with the ending. The story centers around Rosalind, a young woman who is desperate to find out what happened to her sister. She decides to apply for the same position that Rosalind was working at--and so she ends up working as a maid at Sloane house. She hides her identity from the family and does her best to discover the secrets hidden underneath the surface--secrets that might lead her to the truth about her sister. Rosalind has a lot to learn about being a good housemaid, navigating the big city, and about her new employers, however along the way she gets some unexpected help from a young man named Reid Armstrong--but she questions why someone from a wealthy family like his would be interested in her? Rosalind's questions are eventually answered--but in a way I did not find entirely satisfactory.If you like period histories that show the contrast between the classes this would be a good pick. The mystery aspect of the book could have been put together a bit better, in my opinion, but I did enjoy the historical aspects and the way the characters used faith and moral reasoning to help guide them.

[nevans1972 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book and will be reading next in series.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Secrets of Sloane House by Shelley Gray is a Christian cozy mystery. It is the first book in the Chicago World’s Fair series. Rosalind grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and is not used to city life. But when her sister Miranda stops writing, the family wants to know what happened to her. Rosalind is sent to Chicago to discover what happened to her sister. Rosalind obtains a job at Sloane House where her sister worked before she disappeared. Life on the farm did not prepare Rosalind for living in the city or working in such a fancy home.Reid Armstrong is a friend of Douglass Sloane. Reid feels loyal to Douglass because of help he gave Reid at boarding school. However, Douglass’ is hanging out with an undesirable crowd and Reid is not comfortable with them. Reid comes from a Christian home and has very different values from the Sloane’s. Reid is attracted to Rosalind. After hearing about Rosalind’s missing sister, Reid wants to help her. Reid and Rosalind set out to find Miranda or at least discover what happened to her. Secrets of Sloane House is set in 1893 while the World’s Fair is in Chicago. There are great descriptions of the pavilions, displays, and the Ferris wheel. Secrets of Sloane House has romance and mystery. I give Secrets of Sloane House 4.5 out of 5 stars. It is well-written, engaging, and intriguing!

[cinachilders · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Secrets of Sloane House really surprised me. It wasn’t exactly a typical heartwarming read like so many others books of its kind. It was realistic, dark, and true down to the unforgiving, ruthless natures of society people of the time. The Sloane family is an alarming example of how status governed over what they could do and get away with, no matter how ugly their offences could become, like Douglass and his mother, Mrs. Sloane. I admired Rosalind, although there were times I couldn’t really connect with her, but it’s not exactly easy to put myself in her shoes, so it’s understandable. I loved Reid and applauded him for not going through the motions of marrying someone just because it would increase his social standing, and allowing himself to have true happiness. I hated the Sloane family. I hated Douglass and his sister Veronica. They were such terrible people. Trust me, you’ll hate them. While everything doesn’t turn out like Rosalind had originally hoped when she came to Chicago, she found herself some new happiness and a new purpose in life that she didn’t have before. She became more of a courageous, strong woman than she probably would have if she had just stayed home. I’m looking forward to the second book, Deception at Sable Hill, which is about Miss Eloisa Carstairs. I’m curious to see what happens to her next, especially with that terrible thing that happened to her in this book.

[alekee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great book from Shelley Gray, and again the setting is in Chicago at the time of the 1893 World’s Fair. How I loved being back and am becoming familiar with the layout and the buildings here, thanks to Shelley.This book is a mystery that left a family with a hole in their hearts. A missing member, a sister, a daughter, where could she be? To find answers, a younger sister Rosalind decides she has to leave her Wisconsin farm home, and safety, and go to where her sister was last seen. She takes off and enters a very unfamiliar world, and becomes a servant in the Sloane House, as her sister had before her. She is incognito, and looking for clues, where could her sister be? What a scary world she seems to have entered, having lived a rather sheltered life. Everything is so new, but she has to remember her station in life, if she is to exceed. Someone must know something?We have arrived at a time when being in high society meant everything to the elite and here we also experience the Gilded Age Chicago. We meet some people who feel everyone accept them are subservient people; they have a protruding silver spoon in their mouths. Are they above the law? You feel that perhaps they are! There are others who appear quite the opposite and you have the feeling that there is some hope. I had the feeling that there were some who were walking with Satan, and other who loved the Lord.Will Rosalind be able to stay on the right path, or will the evil that seems to pervade in Sloan House consume her? Don’t miss this one, a page-turner from beginning to end.I received this book through Book Look Bloggers, and was not required to give a positive review.

[lostinavalonor · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Book Description: Against the backdrop of the 1893 World's Fair, a young woman finds employment with an illustrious Chicago family--a family who may guard the secret of her sister's happiness.I'm the first to admit that I'm picky about my tastes in historical fiction, but with a Mount TBR the size of mine, I can't waste my time on less than the best. I can handle a few fact discrepancies, ill-chosen words, or underdeveloped characters, here and there, but when the novel is so saturated that I find myself tripping over them, that's when I'm ready to call it quits.I was put off from the very beginning by the context of the story's beginning. It starts right in the middle of a scene with little back story or character development. I was still lost on the relationship between Reid and the Sloanes at the third chapter and finding myself having to reread the first two chapters because I thought they were step-siblings. The lack of character development was a theme throughout and made the story very difficult to follow.Another distraction was that the author, unfortunately, chose to use uncommon words in odd places. The staff's accents were also inconsistent and irritating. It was very frustrating to read over them. I much rather prefer when an author alludes to the accent but writes it legibly, using terms like, "he drawled" or "she answered in her clipped way of speaking".Finally, it's very difficult to take a historical story seriously when the history is glaringly off. The hymn, How Great Thou Art, is referenced as an "old hymn" and "dear to her heart". However, the very first English version of the hymn was not published until 1925! Also, the term "pipe dream" wasn't even used for the first time until just three years before this, and a young girl of limited means had likely never heard it by 1893. In addition, since the book is marketed as centered around the World's Fair, (a fact that should make it unique among other historicals) it would have been nice to find more details and curiosities about the Fair, rather than surface allusions.All in all, I was disappointed in the story and remain a bit embarrassed for the author.