Scan barcode
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Tenth in the Molly Murphy historical suspense series in the early 1900s in New York City.
Our Molly has only been in America a few years. After fleeing Ireland and trying a variety of the usual jobs, Molly dove into private investigation in the course of which she met Captain Daniel Sullivan. A good thing too as Capt. Sullivan has managed to bail Molly out of a few situations. But now, they are getting married at last and Molly will be retiring from that dangerous life…or, at least, that's what Molly has promised Daniel.
The Story
Growing increasingly frustrated (and irritated) placating Daniel's mother, Molly is thrilled when Gus and Sid write to tell her of a wedding party they plan to throw for her over the Labor Day weekend. And to add spice to their invite, Gus tells Molly of a mysterious, quite self-important visitor who is adamant that Molly take on an investigative job for his employer.
Who turns out to be Lee Sing Tai, a wealthy Chinese merchant who has lost a jade ornament. He says. After spending the day trudging to all the pawn shops and jewelers, Molly finds out the next day, that Mr. Lee was merely testing her resolve. The true lost treasure is a child bride whom Mr. Lee bought and smuggled to America for the Exclusion Act forbids the immigration of Chinese women. But Mr. Lee is desperate for a son. A Chinese son. Not the paper-son he has now.
Naturally, since Molly is involved, things go awry. Worse this time, as Molly had promised Daniel she would give up detecting once they were married and she has hidden, not only her quick trip to New York for the party, but that she accepted this job. A job which clashes with a major case in which Daniel is involved.
The Characters
Molly Murphy is a young Irish immigrant who earns her living as a private detective in New York City. Proud and independent, she has been very reluctant to give up her career. She certainly doesn't intend to give up her house or her bohemian friends after they are married!
Captain Daniel Sullivan has been attracted to Molly from the first book, Murphy's Law. He reluctantly helps Molly on her cases primarily because he can't bear to think of her being hurt but also because Molly has good investigative instincts. An ability he draws on in Bless the Bride. A most singular man for his time period.
Gus (Augusta Walcott…of the Boston Walcotts, don'cha know) and Sid are partners who live in the house across the way from Molly in Greenwich Village. They love to put on parties for their wide-ranging circle of friends and dress to thrill. They adore Molly as Molly loves them. Daniel…well, Daniel does not so love them.
Mrs. Sullivan, Daniel's mother, is not particularly welcoming of this bit of Irish "trash" so recently come over. She and her now-deceased husband had had such high hopes for their only son. Molly talks of her as sounding as though she was born with that silver spoon in her mouth although Molly does finally take mum down a peg when she informs her that Daniel has already related their low beginnings to her.
Mrs. S has been taking Molly round to meet the neighbors and not a one of them has been shy about making comparisons between Molly and what Daniel threw over.
Bo Kei is the 15-some-year-old Chinese girl bought and paid for by Mr. Lee. Made very unwelcome by the first wife, and, as a Christian, unaccepting of her intended role as Mr. Lee's concubine, Bo disappears.
My Take
I do like Molly and her friends. They are quite independent women, especially for that time period. Molly is going to have a tempestuous marriage all things considered.
This particular story was fascinating for its history of the Chinatowns and what caused them to spring up, why they lasted as long as they did/have. Got my mouth watering for one of those ducks hanging in the window…it's been a long while since I've had one…drool…
Another interesting bit of history was of the settlement house staffed by young volunteers from the upper strata of society. Quite useful that turned out to be. The whole series always makes me think of Jacob Riis and his photographs of the slums of New York. Bowen does a lovely job of describing what Riis photographed.
The Cover
The cover is lovely with Molly in a gorgeous all-over eyelet white gown holding a bouquet of peach roses and a huge fountain in the background.
Our Molly has only been in America a few years. After fleeing Ireland and trying a variety of the usual jobs, Molly dove into private investigation in the course of which she met Captain Daniel Sullivan. A good thing too as Capt. Sullivan has managed to bail Molly out of a few situations. But now, they are getting married at last and Molly will be retiring from that dangerous life…or, at least, that's what Molly has promised Daniel.
The Story
Growing increasingly frustrated (and irritated) placating Daniel's mother, Molly is thrilled when Gus and Sid write to tell her of a wedding party they plan to throw for her over the Labor Day weekend. And to add spice to their invite, Gus tells Molly of a mysterious, quite self-important visitor who is adamant that Molly take on an investigative job for his employer.
Who turns out to be Lee Sing Tai, a wealthy Chinese merchant who has lost a jade ornament. He says. After spending the day trudging to all the pawn shops and jewelers, Molly finds out the next day, that Mr. Lee was merely testing her resolve. The true lost treasure is a child bride whom Mr. Lee bought and smuggled to America for the Exclusion Act forbids the immigration of Chinese women. But Mr. Lee is desperate for a son. A Chinese son. Not the paper-son he has now.
Naturally, since Molly is involved, things go awry. Worse this time, as Molly had promised Daniel she would give up detecting once they were married and she has hidden, not only her quick trip to New York for the party, but that she accepted this job. A job which clashes with a major case in which Daniel is involved.
The Characters
Molly Murphy is a young Irish immigrant who earns her living as a private detective in New York City. Proud and independent, she has been very reluctant to give up her career. She certainly doesn't intend to give up her house or her bohemian friends after they are married!
Captain Daniel Sullivan has been attracted to Molly from the first book, Murphy's Law. He reluctantly helps Molly on her cases primarily because he can't bear to think of her being hurt but also because Molly has good investigative instincts. An ability he draws on in Bless the Bride. A most singular man for his time period.
Gus (Augusta Walcott…of the Boston Walcotts, don'cha know) and Sid are partners who live in the house across the way from Molly in Greenwich Village. They love to put on parties for their wide-ranging circle of friends and dress to thrill. They adore Molly as Molly loves them. Daniel…well, Daniel does not so love them.
Mrs. Sullivan, Daniel's mother, is not particularly welcoming of this bit of Irish "trash" so recently come over. She and her now-deceased husband had had such high hopes for their only son. Molly talks of her as sounding as though she was born with that silver spoon in her mouth although Molly does finally take mum down a peg when she informs her that Daniel has already related their low beginnings to her.
Mrs. S has been taking Molly round to meet the neighbors and not a one of them has been shy about making comparisons between Molly and what Daniel threw over.
Bo Kei is the 15-some-year-old Chinese girl bought and paid for by Mr. Lee. Made very unwelcome by the first wife, and, as a Christian, unaccepting of her intended role as Mr. Lee's concubine, Bo disappears.
My Take
I do like Molly and her friends. They are quite independent women, especially for that time period. Molly is going to have a tempestuous marriage all things considered.
This particular story was fascinating for its history of the Chinatowns and what caused them to spring up, why they lasted as long as they did/have. Got my mouth watering for one of those ducks hanging in the window…it's been a long while since I've had one…drool…
Another interesting bit of history was of the settlement house staffed by young volunteers from the upper strata of society. Quite useful that turned out to be. The whole series always makes me think of Jacob Riis and his photographs of the slums of New York. Bowen does a lovely job of describing what Riis photographed.
The Cover
The cover is lovely with Molly in a gorgeous all-over eyelet white gown holding a bouquet of peach roses and a huge fountain in the background.
ktaylor1164's review against another edition
3.0
Finally, Molly seems to be drawing some boundaries with Daniel that leave me room to hope she will not lose herself in the marriage. Not that I’m a fan (still want him to go away), but he at least became bearable by the end, and a marriage between them seems less a plot contrivance than it did before. As to the mystery, I thought this was an interesting premise that captures some aspects of the brutal oppression of the Chinese after the Exclusion Act was passed, but I felt many of the Chinese characters were more caricatures than fully fleshed out people, which pulled me out of an otherwise enjoyable story.
saraelizabetha's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
madbutterfly12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
2.0
In historical fiction with white protagonists I think there's a fine line between "accurately depicting how racism functioned at that time, with a critical lens" and "writing racism in such a way that simply reproduces racist ideas." I actually *do* think it's possible to do the former. This book, while far from the most egregious example of the latter that I've read, does not do the former.
wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
4.0
Ah good old Molly is back. Daniel is loosening his leash a little and we have hope that Molly will still be up to her ways now that she is a married woman. I look forward to developing Molly and Daniel's relationship as man and wife since there will be less of Daniel being too busy to show his face.
Anyways, this book was cool because we dove into Chinatown and Bowen meticulously placed some fantastic research about the community. I enjoyed the flow of mystery, and I enjoyed a larger than usual amount of Sid and Gus in this book.
Anyways, this book was cool because we dove into Chinatown and Bowen meticulously placed some fantastic research about the community. I enjoyed the flow of mystery, and I enjoyed a larger than usual amount of Sid and Gus in this book.
beckyreads2's review against another edition
4.0
This was another good story in the series. I am enjoying the Molly Murphy Mystery series. I really like Molly's independence, willingness to accept others for who they are, and her keen observations when solving mysteries.