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A review by thebrownbookloft
The Edge of Dreams by Rhys Bowen
4.0
Shortly after Captain Daniel Sullivan receives another threatening note, his wife, Molly, and their one-year-old son, Liam, are involved in a horrific elevated train accident. Several people were killed and many more were injured. Luckily, Liam wasn’t wounded and Molly came away with only cracked ribs and a bump on her head.
A weird incident just before she boarded the train causes Molly to wonder if she was the intended target. The Sullivan family are still recovering from having their house firebombed by a gang. No wonder they’re edgy!
Daniel finally tells Molly that the note is part of a series that he receives each time a murder occurs. Every murder is different; there are no discernible patterns. Daniel is getting a lot of political pressure to solve these murders. His job may be on the line. Despite her cracked ribs, Molly begins her own investigation, aided by her friends, Sid and Gus.
Gus has just returned from Europe, studying the interpretation of dreams under the renowned Doctor Sigmund Freud. The young daughter of two of the murder victims is having baffling, dark nightmares. The police think she killed her parents. Molly is also having disturbing, recurrent dreams that appear to be prophetic. While Molly interviews victims’ family members, Gus urgently seeks a professional to help interpret the dreams to help Molly and save the young girl.
This is a fun series that takes place in turn of the century New York. In the earliest books, Molly is an Irish immigrant who works as a detective to make a living. She gives up her career after she marries Captain Daniel Sullivan, but she just can’t suppress her inner sleuth. In the early days of their marriage, Daniel absolutely forbids her from detecting and I honestly couldn’t stand him. Their relationship ruined the series for me and I stopped reading it for a couple of years. But Daniel is finally coming around. He still wishes his wife would just keep house and have babies, but he grudgingly admits that she’s good at seeing things the police miss. The fact that she’s a woman gives her an advantage when interviewing some witnesses.
Daniel’s misogyny aside, The Edge of Dreams is a particularly good entry into the Molly Murphy series. The author incorporates an historic event, along with the rise of psychoanalysis, to create a thrilling mystery.
My Rating: 4.25 Stars, Grade B+
A weird incident just before she boarded the train causes Molly to wonder if she was the intended target. The Sullivan family are still recovering from having their house firebombed by a gang. No wonder they’re edgy!
Daniel finally tells Molly that the note is part of a series that he receives each time a murder occurs. Every murder is different; there are no discernible patterns. Daniel is getting a lot of political pressure to solve these murders. His job may be on the line. Despite her cracked ribs, Molly begins her own investigation, aided by her friends, Sid and Gus.
Gus has just returned from Europe, studying the interpretation of dreams under the renowned Doctor Sigmund Freud. The young daughter of two of the murder victims is having baffling, dark nightmares. The police think she killed her parents. Molly is also having disturbing, recurrent dreams that appear to be prophetic. While Molly interviews victims’ family members, Gus urgently seeks a professional to help interpret the dreams to help Molly and save the young girl.
This is a fun series that takes place in turn of the century New York. In the earliest books, Molly is an Irish immigrant who works as a detective to make a living. She gives up her career after she marries Captain Daniel Sullivan, but she just can’t suppress her inner sleuth. In the early days of their marriage, Daniel absolutely forbids her from detecting and I honestly couldn’t stand him. Their relationship ruined the series for me and I stopped reading it for a couple of years. But Daniel is finally coming around. He still wishes his wife would just keep house and have babies, but he grudgingly admits that she’s good at seeing things the police miss. The fact that she’s a woman gives her an advantage when interviewing some witnesses.
Daniel’s misogyny aside, The Edge of Dreams is a particularly good entry into the Molly Murphy series. The author incorporates an historic event, along with the rise of psychoanalysis, to create a thrilling mystery.
My Rating: 4.25 Stars, Grade B+