From the tenements to the town houses of nineteenth-century New York, midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy never waiver in their mission to aid the innocent and apprehend the guilty. Now, the latest novel in the Edgar®-nominated series finds Sarah and Malloy investigating the murder of a Knickerbocker club member who was made to pay his dues…

Sarah Brandt’s family is one of the oldest in New York City, and her father, Felix Decker, takes his position in society very seriously. He still refuses to resign himself to his daughter being involved with an Irish Catholic police detective. But when a member of his private club—the very exclusive Knickerbocker—is murdered, Decker forms an uneasy alliance with Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to solve the crime as discreetly as possible.

Malloy soon discovers that despite his social standing, the deceased—Chilton Devries—was no gentleman. In fact, he’s left behind his own unofficial club of sorts, populated by everyone who despised him. As he and Sarah sort through the suspects, it becomes clear to her that her father is evaluating more than the detective’s investigative abilities, and that, on a personal level, there is much more at stake for Malloy than discovering who revoked Devries’ membership—permanently.

Review

Sarah Brandt gave up her position in society when she married a physician. Now widowed, Sarah supports herself and her foster daughter by working as a midwife. Although he doesn’t always welcome her assistance, Sarah also helps Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy of the New York City police force investigate many of his cases. Sarah’s father, Felix Decker, hasn’t been pleased with Sarah’s involvement in murder cases or with her friendship with Frank. However, when a friend of Decker’s is found dead at their social club, Decker contacts Frank to discreetly investigate and even asks Sarah and her mother to help question the victim’s family. Sarah and Frank both suspect Decker is up to something besides finding out who killed Chilton Devries, but don’t know if in the long run the investigation will help or hurt Frank’s career and his friendship with Sarah.

The Gaslight Mysteries, which take place in 19th century New York, capture the place and time period perfectly. The crimes in these books have interesting twists and the characters are unique, realistic, and likeable. This installment takes an unpredictable turn with Sarah’s father initiating Frank’s involvement in a case and with him encouraging Sarah to try to get information from the society women involved in the case. Decker realizes the women would be more likely to share details with another woman of their class as opposed to a man, especially a police officer who is seen as socially inferior, but usually doesn’t want Sarah involved. I miss seeing Frank and Sarah questioning more witnesses together, but Sarah and her mother make a great team, and it’s entertaining to see them in action questioning the victim’s family and friends.

Although the book is well-written and interesting to read, there isn’t as much substance to the mystery or the investigation as in most of the prior books in this series. There are few scenes with Sarah doing her work, although her profession as a midwife does play an important role in the case. However, what is great about this book is there are some interesting developments in Sarah’s personal life. Past books are enjoyable for the setting, the characters, and the investigations done by Sarah and Frank, but the non-existent relationship between the two has become frustrating. They each have romantic feelings for the other, but because of the differences in their backgrounds, they can’t admit to even being friends.

The two characters are so likeable – they are kind, helpful to others, and want to see justice done regardless of the social background of the victim or of the perpetrator – that you can’t help but root for them to find the happiness they deserve. It’s hard to continually see them denied of what they both want without any hope of things changing. In this book, Sarah and Frank don’t actually spend much time, either on or off duty, but the moments they do have seem less tense than in past books. In addition, the fact that Sarah’s father is taking time to get to know Frank, mostly as detective, but also seeing the kind of man he is, seems encouraging. I am hoping this is a sign of good things to come for Sarah and Frank in future books. The series is still going strong even after several books and if something more can come of Sarah and Frank’s friendship, then it will be even more enjoyable. If you are unfamiliar with the series but enjoy Anne Perry, then Murder on Fifth Avenue may be a book you want to try. There enough background information given in this book that you will be able to catch up on the important details of the main characters and enjoy the story.

Reviewed by Christine K.

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