Reviews

Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson

guardianofthebookshelf's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

saviem01's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

thesubwayreader's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I always learn something new about old New York when I read a Gaslight Mystery installment. Like, I didn't know that the Theater District was at Union Square before it moved up to Times Square.  This time around, we meet Parnell Vaughn and Madame Serafina again - remember them? Vaughn gets murdered and Malloy is at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets accused of killing him. Since Vaughn is an actor and gets murdered in a theater, we learn about theater superstitions. My favorite has always been the ghost light. The mystery part is very predictable, but I keep reading these books to catch up with Malloy, Sarah, Maeve, Gino, the children, and even Mrs Ellsworth and Mother Malloy. 

johnw613's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A stage actor is murdered and Frank Malloy is a suspect! The dead man was the legal, though not biological, father of Catherine, the little girl Frank and Sarah wish to adopt, and while he told Frank he was willing to relinquish his parental rights to the Malloys, his mistress wanted a bribe. Frank arrives at the theater with the documents for the actor to sign only to find a corpse in the dressing room and suspicion aswirl. Frank, his investigator partner Gino, along with Sarah and their nursemaid Maeve investigate, learn a lot about the superstitious nature of many in the theatre world (vigorously acknowledged by their equally superstitious neighbor Mrs. Ellsworth), and identify the killer. The story wraps up with Sarah and Frank triumphantly celebrating their adoption of Catherine (and Sarah’s adoption of Frank’s son Brian) making their family complete at last. On another delightful side plot, Sarah opens a rooming in house for pregnant women, and one of the women who gives birth there is the medium who conducts a seance to help Frank and Gino on their investigation. 

veereadstoomuch's review against another edition

3.0

This story has a lot of returning characters from different books.

The story starts off with the possibility of adopting Catherine. Malloy and Sarah can finally do it!....Oh wait, can they? As I learned in my Will and Trusts class, they cannot! Catherine's mother was married to Parnell, Parnell is legally her father (even though we all know that isn't true). What are they going to do? Find Parnell, of course, and ask him to sign over his parental rights.
He agrees and then...Frank finds him dead! And Parnell's fiance (or was she?) says Frank did it!
The team works together to investigate. The Deckers are not really involved in this one. Mother Malloy shows up a bit and so does Mrs. Ellsworth.
I found the book entertaining, but it did feel like it was going around in circles. May be too many suspects? Not sure. I rated it 3 out of 5 at this reading.

xkay_readsx's review

3.0

I really liked the first half of the book. The plot was exciting and, uh, a little kinky. The dialogue about Mrs. Hawkes made me giggle. The second half was a bit slow and drawn-out.

argentrabe's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

jonetta's review

4.0

Frank and Sarah Malloy are ready to move forward with the adoption of Catherine, the young orphan she’s been raising for almost two years and who views both of them as parents. They run into a major legal obstacle requiring them to first get approval from actor Parnell Vaughn, the man who was married to Catherine’s mother at the time of her birth, even though he isn’t her biological father. When they approach Vaughn, his conniving fiancée asks for money, even though he’s more than willing to give them rights without conditions. Frank agrees and returns with the legal documents, only to find the man beaten to death. Unfortunately for Frank, he becomes the prime suspect for the murder.

The backdrop is the theatrical world and solving the murder is complicated by having to investigate and interview people whose livelihoods are based on how well they can convince you they’re someone else! The list of suspects are all part of this world and it’s hard to tell when they’re lying or telling the truth. I certainly couldn’t. But, the real substance of the story is more the developing sense of family created by Sarah and Frank. They’re surrounded by extended family and friends, deepening relationships through the new investigation agency and women’s clinic. There are moments of humor and tenderness that bring something different to this series.

I liked this story, though the discussions around the many theories were tiresome at times. But, the family and friendship themes, infused with lots of humor, made this story special. Frank has a few precious moments that just warmed my heart. Combined, they make this series a wonderful place to return.

slc333's review

3.0

Like a visit with old friends I enjoy catching up with Frank, Sarah and the gang especially the delightful Maeve as they solve another murder - this time to clear Frank's name. However I did find the mystery less compelling than usual and a wee bit repetitive. That is they question the 4 suspects repeatedly. Then after each round of questioning they gather together and go over everything they have learned repeating the old, adding the new and speculating about motive. The constant revisiting got a bit boring. I figured out who dunnit pretty much as soon as the second body was discovered but I

Spoiler

like Maeve

was holding out hope for it to be another.

aworldshapedbybooks's review against another edition

3.0

This being my 21st book in the series, it's obvious that I have an unhealthy obsession with the lives of Sarah and Frank. Their journey from the first book is so good, albeit super slow and requiring a considerable amount of dedication. They mystery in each book could also be enjoyed as a standalone mystery, not so much this one as it factors in their quest to adopt Catherine and characters featured in prior novels. I'm sure it would still be interesting even if you didn't have the context though.

So in the grand scheme of her 20 other novels, this one didn't hit quite as hard. I think the mystery was a little weighed down with the legal jargon and how to make it make more sense in the time period which it was set. That's fine but really made it feel like a bit of a filler. I think that the murderer was fairly obvious from the beginning and that the whole seance thing felt a bit counterproductive.

That being said, I really love seeing how Sarah and Frank are building their lives with each other along with apart from one another. How their separate projects intertwine with one another and how well they communicate with each other about it. I lost it every time they were having one of their little banter sessions with each other. It's really crazy to see how they each have grown from their introductions, Malloy really wasn't likeable at all at the start. So don't give up if you feel weighed down by it all, this series is amazing and totally recommended.

This review and all my others can be found at: https://aworldshapedbybooks.blogspot.com/