Murder on St. Mark's Place [Mass Market Paperback]

Having read the first book, "Murder on Astor Place", in this series of turn-of-the-twentieth century mysteries that take place in New York City, I was sufficiently intrigued to read others in the series. In this second book, the author does not disappoint. In fact, I enjoyed this one even more than the first. It is well-written and fast-paced with an interesting plot.

Sarah Brandt, society girl turned midwife, and New York City Police Department Detective Sergeant, Frank Malloy, are once again teamed up. When Sarah is summoned to the home of German immigrant, Agnes Otto, she goes, thinking that Agnes is about to have her baby. When she arrives she discovers Frank Malloy at the Otto home, because Gerda, Agnes's sixteen year old sister, caught up in a life of fast living, has met a most untimely end.

Since Gerda is no more than a recent immigrant, and the police department is still rife with corruption, despite Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt's ongoing efforts to root it out, no one really seems to care much about what has happened to Gerda except Sarah. What she discovers, however, is sufficient to persuade Frank Malloy into seeing that justice is done. Once again they join forces, and the two find themselves traversing the great social divide that exists in the city, from the teeming tenements of the poor to the magnificent mansions of the socially elite in pursuit of justice.

The two main characters continue to be fleshed out, as are the cast of reoccurring secondary characters. While the mystery is important to the book, so is the evolution of the characters. Once again, the author draws the reader in with her finely spun web of period details and the social mores of the times. The author captures the sights, sounds, and smells of a bygone era. Moreover, the lives of Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy continue to cross paths in ways that, seemingly unbeknownst to them, seem to bind them together. This is a well written series of historical mysteries, and I look forward to reading the next one.

As a historian I am most familiar with British history of the last few hundred years and tend to favor fiction reflective of the times or written during this period of time. I was desperate for a new series, however, and gave the Gaslight series a chance. I was not disappointed. Midwife and only child of the wealthy Decker family, Sarah Brandt and Irish Catholic Detective Sergaent Francis "Frank" Malloy are wonderful creations, their interaction is humourous and interesting. Brandt, like Peter's creation, Amelia Peabody Emerson, tends to put herself in jeopardy...repeatedly. While the Gaslight series is set during the same period as Perry's William and Charlotte Pitt series (though countries apart) the mood is lighter. Brandt is a bit on the polictically correct side...she scolds her mother's prejudices and associates with an Irish Catholic cop! I love their interaction, though, and eagerly await the next in the series; I'm constantly rereading the series in its entirety.

I gave this book three stars strictly because of a mathematical average: it got one star as a murder mystery, and earned five stars for being an enjoyable novel. This is the third novel in this series that I've read (yes, I read them out of sequence) but predictable patterns are developing. In the three novels I've read, the murderers were well-known society figures and almost all the victims were females. It becomes pretty obvious, early on, who the killer is and which female character is going to get killed off. (My only regret is that Sarah's neighbor, the extremely annoying Mrs. Elsworth, isn't one of those female victims. Am I the only one who is irked by this character?) But, like the old Columbo tv shows, there is an enjoyment in finding out how Sarah and Frank will catch the killer. In that sense, this installment in the series is recommended. The vivid descriptions of Coney Island during its heyday are particularly enjoyable. Pick up this book. Like a scary Coney Island ride, you know it will end okay, but its the bumps and turns along the way that make it worthwhile.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points