Reviews

Really enjoyed this series and each book seemed to get better and better. Faye's descriptions of NYC in the 1840's are so vibrant as to make you feel like you're walking down the streets yourself. I knew a traditional happy ending was not in the cards for Mr Wilde but the author ties up the story and characters nicely, I think. The NYPD has a long and storied history and even though a work of fiction, I feel like Faye does them justice while not sugar-coating some of the less than honorable things that must have gone on during this time period. Highly recommended reading!

nevclue's review against another edition

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4.0

Wonderful finish to the series. I thought the mystery was not quite as compelling as the previous books, but the political threads and the character arcs were resolved in a deeply satisfying manner.

Val of course remains my favorite character and thank god, gets a reasonably happy ending.

tiffbaker's review against another edition

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5.0

Probably more like 4.75. Rounding up. Sad this is the last one in the series.

tracey_stewart's review

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5.0

I was very sad that this wasn't read by Steven Boyer like the other two in the series. I didn't hate Kirby Heyborne's reading as much as a review or two I've seen, but there is an odd rhythm to the narration. It took quite a while for me to pin down what it reminded me of, and finally got it: Stephen Hawking. Not kidding.

These are the kind of book I want to write. Beautiful and brutal, familiar and unpredictable, filled with vibrant settings and vivid people and loves and hatreds and the confusion between the two, causing smiles in the midst of tears and heart pangs in the midst of laughter, and – most of all – laden with the dread of pages running out. I could be happy with an endless stream of Timothy Wilde novels as New York grows and matures; coming from Lyndsay Faye I'd be happy with geriatric Wilde brothers cranky bickering away. Fortunately her other work is just as strong, so the blow that this is apparently the end of the Wilde road is softened a bit.

Characterization is marvelous, pulled off with such an apparent ease that "story" goes by the wayside, and "truth" is all there is. I'm not sure that says what I want it to say (why is it so much easier to nail down what's wrong with a book than to discuss what's right?) … What I want to say is that when Lyndsay Faye says something in one of her books, I believe it. I never liked the characters' use of "kinchen" (meaning children) throughout this series, but where in a book I mistrusted I would have been looking things up and trying to disprove them… I believe Lyndsay Faye.

She hasn't failed me yet.

hlizmarie's review

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4.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this series from beginning to end. Very different than my normal read but wonderful in its uniqueness. It made me feel the time period and the characters just jump off the page. A bit sad to see it end but am satisfied with the conclusion.

ahonzik1988's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

mkhaas29's review

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3.0

The least gripping of the three, this one didn’t hold as well as the first. And while likely historically fairly accurate, the flash talk did get old after a while.

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