Murder on Fifth Avenue, Victoria Thompson
Midwife/amateur detective Sarah Brandt and Irish detective inspector Frank Malloy return to the streets of New York in this fourteenth book in the Gaslight series, and it’s an odd reversal of strengths and weaknesses for the author. First off, if you’ve never read any of Victoria Thompson’s suberb mystery novels set in turn-of-the century New York City, you should, because they are beautifully atmospheric, and start with Murder on Astor Place, the first. However, if you have, this isn’t the best in the series.
A society man has died in the highly exclusive men’s club managed by Sarah’s father, and he calls in Frank trusting him to both solve the murder and be discreet about it. The first mystery is how and where the man was killed, as he was stabbed before arriving at the club and then slowly bled out with out pain. Frank follows a bizarre trail of secrets that leads him to the Italian mob, an innocent-seeming mistress, and the dark underbelly of wealthy New York society. The plot and pacing are significantly stronger – despite a melodramatic center, the reveals are made gradually and deftly and underscored with enough evidence and character development to make sense. The pacing is sharp and the book is as gripping and perhaps even more gripping than most Victoria Thompson novels – a mini page-turner that is hard to put down.
Coffee and Irony 