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mg_in_md_ 's review for:
Murder in Murray Hill
by Victoria Thompson
to be reviewed
A "new-to-me" series, I picked up the latest installment in the Gaslight mysteries after seeing it was nominated for the 2014 Agatha for Best Historical Novel. I'd heard the author speak at a mystery conference I attended a couple of years ago and have been interested to check out this series ever since. Although I haven't read earlier installments in the series and did feel like it would've helped me appreciate the story more, I still enjoyed this book quite a bit and felt like the author did an excellent job of drawing in enough details from prior books to understand the backstories and characters. While I'd say this is a cozy mystery, it was equally unsettling, dark, and twisty since the plot centered around a serial stalker (and murderer) who preyed on lonely, insecure women. The details of his crimes were chilling and the reader couldn't help but hope that his victims would be able to see that justice was done for the horrible things he did to them. Even though the book is set in New York in the late 1800s, the story still resonated and was, sadly, relevant to today's society. As I read the book, I was reminded of the fairly recent news story about the women who were held captive in Ohio. And after reading the author's note at the end, I learned that news story was inspiration for the plot in this one. If this offering was indicative of the earlier books in the series, this series will definitely be on my "to read" list. The two main characters, Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and midwife Sarah Brandt, are characters I'd like to get to know more and hope to get a chance to do so soon.
A "new-to-me" series, I picked up the latest installment in the Gaslight mysteries after seeing it was nominated for the 2014 Agatha for Best Historical Novel. I'd heard the author speak at a mystery conference I attended a couple of years ago and have been interested to check out this series ever since. Although I haven't read earlier installments in the series and did feel like it would've helped me appreciate the story more, I still enjoyed this book quite a bit and felt like the author did an excellent job of drawing in enough details from prior books to understand the backstories and characters. While I'd say this is a cozy mystery, it was equally unsettling, dark, and twisty since the plot centered around a serial stalker (and murderer) who preyed on lonely, insecure women. The details of his crimes were chilling and the reader couldn't help but hope that his victims would be able to see that justice was done for the horrible things he did to them. Even though the book is set in New York in the late 1800s, the story still resonated and was, sadly, relevant to today's society. As I read the book, I was reminded of the fairly recent news story about the women who were held captive in Ohio. And after reading the author's note at the end, I learned that news story was inspiration for the plot in this one. If this offering was indicative of the earlier books in the series, this series will definitely be on my "to read" list. The two main characters, Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and midwife Sarah Brandt, are characters I'd like to get to know more and hope to get a chance to do so soon.