Murder on Gramercy Park: A Gaslight Mystery

The core characters in this book remain the same: Sarah Brandt, a midwife who makes her livelihood by assisting the poor woman of early 20th century New York; she is a widow whose husband, a doctor, was robbed and killed coming home from a house call. Frank Malloy is an Irish Detective Sergeant with a young son whom he largely has ignored, unable to separate the child from his wife's death during his birth. This book centers around an important New York doctor who administers unusual remedies to rich women suffering from intense pain. His young wife, who is close to delivering their child, returns one afternoon and finds him dead in his study, a pistol by his hand, his bloody head slumped over his desk. When Malloy is called to the house to work the suicide, he discovers that the wife, Letitia, is going into labor; he therefore sends a runner to get Sarah to tend to the wife. Then he discovers the suicide is not a suicide at all, but rather a murder, and the hunt is on. This is a fine mystery, with lots of twists and turns—some of which are startling; some of which seem predictable. Sarah and Malloy still are at odds sometimes, but they also work together more naturally than in the first two books. I’d recommend reading the series in order, but this book could certainly stand on its own. A nice evening read!

I must say she is an amazing writer. Her character are rich, believable and very interesting. You would think that they are your next-door neighbors. Ms. Thompson has written I believe 12 in her gaslight mystery books. And believe me when I say I started from book one I am now off to book 9 and I will read all of them. Her plottings are all the same in every book, but don't think for one minute that her books of boring. Mrs. Brent and Detective Sergeant Mallory are so fun to read. And because they are not ghastly mysteries and bloody murder you can actually go to sleep at night, or you could read as much as you want . Her background information is quite unique. Her facts are spot on. You can tell she's done a lot of research and there is no such thing as the good old days. I've gone to the library to take a look at books that reference the late 1800s and I would never want to live in that era. So if you love mysteries with the same characters that you know you really want to meet then these are the mystery books for you.

Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy reluctantly draws Sarah Brandt into detective work in this third installment of the Gaslight Mystery Series. Frank would rather be doing anything else but investigate an apparent suicide of charlatan magnetic healer Edmund Blackwell. The non-doctor has a bullet in the head but due to Sarah's influence, Frank refuses to believe it's a suicide. To complicate matters, the man's wife is ready to give birth. We see a turning point in Frank's attitude toward his detective work. Instead of declaring suicide, take a bribe and be done with it, he's starting to get principles. It's something that Sarah begins to notice and they become closer. They even have two pseudo-dates.The mystery takes a dark turn when another body is found. Frank is particularly affected by the second murder. Sarah helps the wife to deliver a baby, but is disgusted to find the mother's addiction to morphine. As usual, the suspects are interesting and deceptive. I never knew what was in store for me on the next page. I was stumped to the very end! I really enjoyed this book! I can't wait for the new release "Murder on Amsterdam Avenue" coming out in May 2015!

This book had me enthralled throughout the entire book. By now I'm feeling comfortable with Sarah Brandt, midwife and Detective Frank Malloy as a sleuthing pair. The home base for the series is Bank Street where Sarah lives. When Frank feels he might compromise his job or can't get inside the upper class, he grudgingly relies upon the quick wit of Sarah, who was born to the Knickerbocker set.In this series, we learn of old New York City, as it suffers the pains and pleasures of growth. This book revealed the underbelly of the Opium dens (which were quite legal then, circa 1900's) and it's appeal to the Ladies of society.We also learn how very expensive it is to be on the police force, if you wish to be promoted, or actually want a crime to be solved. Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt truly had a mountain to climb to bring in an honest force.Then the world of medicine. The reader is taken back to a time when repairing club feet was short of a miracle. Also, an X-ray was just a new concept and not reliable at all. Not to mention, not trusted by many that were not sure they wanted such an invasion into their private persons.Life has changed but the issues do remain as Author Ms. Thompson reminds us in her Author's Note.This is an excellent novel and whets my appetite for the next book in the series.

I didn’t want to get sucked in to Ms. Thompson’s Gaslight Mysteries series, but her good stories and lovable characters have done it in spite of myself. Set at the turn of the 20th century, Sarah Brandt is a golden-haired, widowed midwife who comes from an unimaginably wealthy society family in New York City. Through her work, she becomes acquainted with widowed Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and, as unlikely as it seems, together they begin solving murders among the poor and downtrodden as well as the rich and famous of their day. As these books unfold, the reader becomes intimately acquainted not only with Mrs. Brandt and Malloy, but their families, neighbors and friends. Each novel in the series develops these characters more fully, but also stands alone as a stimulating murder mystery. Start with the first book and just keep going (I’m already up to Book 5).

Historical interest good characterisation

really good

J'aime beaucoup cette série et l'époque que l'auteur décrit si bien, ainsi que l'intrigue policière.

Love Victoria Thompson. Have now read the whole series so far.

great series