Customer Reviews

Murder on St. Mark's Place

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

The 1900s setting is interesting, and Thompson obviously has a good time creating and describing her two protagonists, but the murderer's guilt is too easy to guess, and the whole story is too moralistic. The deaf boy aspect is especially heavy handed. It costs Thompson credibility; I can't buy the idea that the father couldn't figure out about the boy's disability without Sarah's help. I realize Sarah's discovery serves the story, but it's not realistic.

I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit; the period details were interesting, and the characters fairly sympathetic. But as the book moved past the "setting up" stage and into the actual mystery part, I got pretty frustrated because of the obviousness of the plot.

I agree with many of the criticisms of a previous reviewer. First, the clues were littered about in a pretty heavy-handed way. I think mysteries are generally better when the readers and the heroine are getting clues at the same time/rate. Here the readers had so many clues 2/3 of the way into the book that the heroine's inability to figure out the culprit made her seem incompetent. Even worse, the fact that she still thinks she's a good amateur sleuth makes her seem slightly out of touch with reality _and_ makes it seem that the hero is just humoring her sometimes. (One other annoying habit of the heroine is that she favors solving the mystery by direct confrontation with potential villains, which adds to the sense that she doesn't know what she's doing. This happens in the third book of the series too.)

While I like the romantic sub-plot, the problem of authorial heavy-handedness is also present there. (I rolled my eyes when I read about the hero's keeping the heroine's lock of hair. Not that I think this is unrealistic behavior, but the way it was written makes it seem like the author is trying to hit us over the head with a big club stenciled, POTENTIAL ROMANCE.)

Anyway, I think my review ended up being more negative than I wanted it to be. The book was still a fairly quick and enjoyable read.

Just wanted everyone to know that MURDER ON ST. MARK'S PLACE has been nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America. The Edgar, named for Edgar Allen Poe, is the oldest and most prestigious of mystery awards. The awards ceremony will be held May 3 in New York City.

Murder on St. Mark's Place is the second mystery in the Gaslight Mystery Series. I have read and enjoyed both, but if I were to be honest, I would have to say this one reaches deep into the heart of the series' characters. Having read the first mystery where Sara the midwife and Malloy the detective are introduced, I am familiar with them and their families. I was already impressed and pleased with the new series, but in this mystery, I am doubly pleased by how well Ms. Thompson pulls the best and worst out of the main characters. This isn't an easy read, nor is it a cozy. The author delves deep in to the turn-of-the-century way of live, and it's not all pretty. There are some light moments, and the main character, Sara, does her best to lift others up during moments of hopelessness, but the better part of the story is pretty serious. The twist and turns used to keep readers guessing do just that, but what impressed me the most was the storyline as a whole.

When Sarah heads over to St. Mark's Place in New York, she is expecting to deliver another baby into Little Germany. She arrives to find a policeman and neighbors gathering at Agnes Otto's door, but not for the delivery of a baby. Instead it's bad news. Agnes' sixteen-year-old sister, recently brought over from Germany, was found beaten to death. Sarah tells Agnes that it may take a reward to get the police to work on the case. Unable to pay, Agnes gives up all hope of finding her sister's killer and overcoming the shame it has brought. It seems Gerda found some new friends at her job that introduced her to a dance hall and a way to get things that they as young women in life could not afford. Gerda becomes what is known as a Charity Girl. Sarah, being the kind person that she is, decides to take the case to Malloy in hopes of getting him to join her in investigating it together as they had the last case. Back for a return engagement with Sara and Malloy are Malloy's mother and his son, Sara's neighbor Mrs. Elsworth, and Sara's parents. The story line with Malloy and his handicap son is very touching; I hope the storyline grows as the series does.

The author gets into the mystery right away, and although the main characters lives are ongoing in the series, they don't interfere or take away from the mystery. So, if you like historical mysteries, especially series mysteries, this one is well worth looking into. It's a stirring mystery with characters that will touch you.

Victoria Thompson's new series of Gaslight Mysteries are a treasure. Her characters breathe with a vibrant immediacy that is as compelling as the storylines that propel her novels. The historical detail is wonderful, with an attention to the minutiae of the period that is as satisfying as viewing intricate beadwork. Every drop of distilled description adds to the fragrantly complex whole. In this outing, the facets of a shopgirls' life in her off-hours are heartbreakingly portrayed, and the descriptions of Coney Island are a beautiful braid of social commentary, exposition, and simple color. I highly recommend this, and its predecessor Murder on Astor Place.

Last year, MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE introduced us to Sarah Brandt, a mid-wife in turn-of-the-century New York City. Not what she would appear to be on the surface, Sarah was a delightful, prickly daughter of society who ventured to new worlds when her dearly beloved husband died. The world of the ordinary person is so far removed from that of the Upper Four Hundred as decreed by the inhabitants of Society as to be incomprehensible. The author never mis-steps in showing us both worlds.

Fortunately for the reader, MURDER ON ST. MARK'S PLACE continues this excellent travelogue. There are so many hardships for young women to overcome in the big city, when working in a sweatshop may be the only legal way to earn a living. A living that is barely that, more of a mere existence. When the young women are mainly immigrants, the way is even more difficult. All too many of them fall into the trap of becoming a Charity Girl, the name for one who trades her favors to a 'gentleman' for a pretty bonnet or pair of shoes, or a visit to Coney Island.

There would appear to be one of these men who wants more than just favors -- instead he wants her very life, and it's the dedicated Sarah who persists in tying the three women victims to one man. Before the days of computerization, a murder in one precinct might well be unknown to the detectives in the precinct right next door. Once again, Sarah turns to Sergeant Frank Malloy to help her in her detection. Of course, appealing to Malloy exposes Sarah to his particular burden--his young son who has been considered a mentally deficient, rather than the deaf child he really is.

I do hope Ms. Thompson continues this series so that we may learn more about the efforts to assist young Brian, not to mention the marvellously-detailed history of New York in this bustling era. As long as we can tag along while they solve a few more crackling good mysteries.

I enjoyed this book for its description of the times and of New York City, and the contentious relationshiop between Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy. But I was extremely disappointed by the "mystery". I'm one who never figures out whodunits, but this one was painfully obvious.

The suspect list was anemic, and I couldn't believe that the protagonist hadn't a clue. I figured out one guilty party and waited 134 painful pages for her to get her first clue, and then was relieved to see that there were only 66 pages left for her to get the second clue. As I stated, I'm lousy at figuring out whodunits, but if memory serves, even Carolyn Keene was better at disguising the bad guys. Perhaps Thompson could learn a thing or two reading Nancy Drew.

I hope Thompson doesn't continue to ruin an interesting series with such a skimpy plot. She was obnoxiously heavy-handed with her clues, which made Sarah Brandt seem all the more incompetent. Also, Thompson has fallen into the trap of placing the protagonist in violent struggles with the bad guy(s), which is neither exciting nor surprising. Just cliche.

I hope the next installment won't be as frustrating as this one.