The Last Hamilton

It’s New York City, early morning, and a woman throws herself in front of a subway train. Did Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of Alexander Hamilton, commit suicide? Or was there something more nefarious behind her death?

Just before her death, Elizabeth sent a message to her best friend, Sarah: “Call Ralph.” The next day, Sarah receives a box of historical documents and letters from Elizabeth, acknowledging that she knew her life was in danger. Sarah teams up with Ralph, the heartbroken and mystified husband. Both share that, over the past two weeks, Elizabeth had been acting anxious and short-tempered and had not been going to work. Instead, she went to places that seemed mysterious and unexplainable.

From the information in the box of documents, Sarah learns that Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, founded a secret society, and Elizabeth was a member. With no one left in the family, Elizabeth selected Sarah to continue the secret society’s mission: to protect the U.S. from financial ruin.

Now Sarah knows her life is in danger because someone—or some entity—is secretly siphoning off the world’s gold, attempting to corner the gold market. If successful, this would cripple the U.S. financially and destroy the government.

While Sarah and Ralph investigate on their own, NY Detective Schwartz finds a 200-year-old key inside Elizabeth’s pocket, and his team discovers a tiny camera installed on her glasses—a camera that stalked her every move. He shares his information with Sarah. He’s convinced that a major crime is in the works but doesn’t know what it is. Now, with Sarah having access to this information and the key, she becomes a target of a man who is one step away from cornering the gold market and needing that key.

The main question that everyone wants answered is: Did Alexander Hamilton hide enough gold to prevent anyone from cornering the market and ruining the U.S.? And where does that key fit?

Jenn Bregman delivers a dark, gripping contemporary thriller woven with rich historical details, set against a colorful New York City. From Riverside Park to New York’s Whitney Museum, from Hamilton Grange to the New York Historical Society, the author not only makes the city come alive but drops us into a historical mystery that fuels the modern story of two people out to save the U.S. Using just enough background on the banking industry and Hamilton’s history, the author keeps the suspense and intrigue at a high pitch, with enough plot twists and reversals to tie the reader in knots.

Bregman also gives us fascinating characters with strengths and flaws, including the Hamilton family members. By putting us in Sarah’s shoes, we see how her mind follows the clues via her research and intuition, ultimately discovering who is cornering the gold market. Major kudos to the author for giving the reader the right amount of both financial and historical details without burying them in research—a tricky and successful move.

If you loved Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and/or The Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg, Jenn Bregman’s thriller is your next golden find.