The Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson is one of my favorite mystery series, mostly because of the two main characters--Sarah Brandt, a young widowed midwife, and Frank Malloy, an Irish police detective--but also because it takes place in New York in the last part of the nineteenth century. I love that time period. And I love the spunkiness of Sarah and the steadfastness of Frank, as well as watching their relationship develop and grow over the course of the series.
But in
Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue, Sarah and Frank are in Europe on their honeymoon. So this time it's up to their nanny, Maeve, and police officer Gino Donatelli to solve the murder in Harlem with a little help from Sarah's high society parents, Elizabeth and Felix Decker. The mystery involves a battered wife, her murdered husband, and a Panamanian Railroad scheme intended to cheat a lot of people out of their money.
Watching the Deckers play detective is delightfully humorous. And Maeve and Gino are great, too, especially Gino who keeps trying to get Maeve to admit that she likes him. In fact, this unorthodox foursome was so much fun, I didn't even miss Sarah and Frank.
Any and all of the nineteen books in Thompson's Gaslight series are worth reading, although if you've never tried her books, it's probably best to start with the first one in the series. Though this novel could almost be read as a stand-alone. It's a very entertaining mystery, and one I would read again.
Happy Reading!
That's awesome that the main characters took a back seat and that it still was great. I've seen too many that switch main characters and then suck.
ReplyDeleteI was a little worried when I started reading this book because of that, but this book ended up being a great read...which is a testament to V. Thompson's skill as a writer. :)
DeleteLove the time period and this sounds like an intriguing read, too. I've not read any of her books so another new series to add to my wishlist. :)
ReplyDeleteCheck her out. If you end up liking her, you have 19 amazing mysteries awaiting you. :)
DeleteI'm always amazed when I see how many books are in a series! When you enjoy an author, there is little better than discovering there are many more books. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so true! I hate when authors end a series before I'm ready to stop reading about those particular characters. (Like John Dunning did.) But then, I'm greedy when it comes too good books...I want more and more and more. :)
DeleteThis sounds like such a great series. I definitely need to try it out.
ReplyDeleteThompson's books are well-written and the mysteries are always interesting without becoming too dark, and without a lot of language...which is nice. :)
DeleteI've always wanted to read these books. I am glad you enjoyed this one, Lark.
ReplyDeleteThey're fun. I hope you get a chance to try one someday soon. :)
DeleteWhat an intriguing way to mix things up a little -- send the main characters off on an adventure and let other characters solve the mystery. I think that's unique; I've certainly never encountered it before. I read one book in this series, a long time ago, but my library then didn't carry it so I didn't continue. I think my current library has at least some of the series, though. *goes off to put them on my list*
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to read a few more of them; they're really fun. :)
DeleteI'm a fan of these mysteries, too, and recently purchased Murder at Murray Hill at a large used book sale. I've already read it and put it in my Little Free Library. I'm trying not to add more books to my personal library until I read some I have.
ReplyDelete:D I know what you mean about not adding more books to the unread ones already on your shelves. But books are addictive...it's very hard (at least for me) to stop buying them. Thanks for commenting!
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