About the Book:
Title: The Ivory City
Author: Emily Bain Murphy
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Release Date: November 4, 2025
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Synopsis:
THE IVORY CITY is a historical mystery that explores the lush and vibrant St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904, where a miniature city of palaces and pavilions becomes a backdrop for romance, betrayal, and murder.
Grace and Lillie are cousins and have been best friends since birth, despite Grace’s inferior social status. When Lillie invites Grace to the biggest event of the century—the legendary World’s Fair, also known as “The Ivory City”—Grace doesn’t hesitate.
Then: a murder. A young woman at the fair is brutally killed, and suspicion quickly falls on Grace’s cousin Oliver.
Grace has to help prove Oliver innocent before he is jailed and her beloved cousin’s family is ruined forever. And along the way, discover whether the city’s wealthy elite—not least of all Oliver’s handsome, irritable friend Theodore—aren’t quite who they first appeared to be.
Because a killer is still on the loose, and all the glitz, glamor, and magic of the Ivory City is about to become a lot more dangerous to behold.
Review:
*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher for review. Thank you for the opportunity. All thoughts are my own*
The Ivory City was REALLY good! I have read almost all of Emily’s books, so I had to read this one of course. You could tell that this book was well researched and that a lot of love was poured into the story. It’s a murder mystery set at The World’s Fair in St. Louis, featuring all of the glitz and glamour, and a slow burn romance. I instantly felt transported to 1904! I also loved how Emily explored the darker side of the time period, the differences between classes, and some of the inhumane ways that people were treated at the World’s Fair.
The romance was *chefs kiss* I won’t say more, as I don’t want to spoil anything.
I definitely recommend!
About the Author:
Murphy is the author of the YA fantasies The Disappearances, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and Splinters of Scarlet, which received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Bookpage and was nominated for the MASL Truman Readers’ Award. Both are available now from HarperCollins.
Murphy’s adult historical mystery Enchanted Hill is available now from Union Square and Co./Hachette. The Ivory City, a standalone adult historical mystery set at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, will be published in November 2025 from Union Square and Co./Hachette.
Murphys’s debut middle grade fantasy trilogy Lightseekers will be published in March 2026 from WaterBrook Multnomah/Penguin Randomhouse.
Murphy is represented by Peter Knapp at Park, Fine & Brower Literary and Media. She currently lives in the St. Louis area with her husband, three children, and a rescue bunny. Find her online at Instagram @emilybainmurphy and Facebook @emilybainmurphy.
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