Reviews

Mrs. Brandt's neighbor asks for her help in a "delicate situation". He met a young lady who needed his financial assistance after her mother died - and after what he believed was a one-night assignation - tells him now that she is pregnant. Mrs. Brandt accompanies Nelson to the boarding house where his beloved is living - thanks to his generosity in paying the rent. Sarah quickly surmises that something is amiss at the boarding house - from the couple who own the house, to the other boarders. When Nelson's young woman turns up dead in Washington Square, he quickly becomes the main suspect.
How luck for Malloy that Sarah's next door neighbor is his latest suspect! As the investigation continues, the intrigue grows including a side plot involving a newspaper reporter hot on the story.

Turns out that the owner of the Boarding House was an actor - who hired other actors to live there and help dupe married men into giving the boarders money. The owner played the role of himself and his wife - which the girls who lived in the house knew - but did not share with Sarah or Malloy. Even when the rank smell from the basement (of a dead body) got bad - they didn't figure out that their host was killing off their friends. A weak spot there in the plot

All in all - another fun read from Thompson.

spevensie's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

littletaiko's review

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4.0

Always enjoyable to spend time with Sarah and Detective Malloy. Sarah's friend has gotten himself into a bind with a young lady. When she's found dead, suspicion quickly falls on him. However, it seems that maybe the young lady had a few more friends who might have wanted her dead. This time the mystery was a bit more predictable as it seemed pretty obvious who did it through the majority of the book.

retiredlibrarylady's review

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2.0

Not at all up to the first two in the series. Too many loose ends throughout that aren't followed up by Sarah or Molloy.

lisalor16's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

bikes_books_yarn's review

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4.0

The 4th in the Gaslight Mystery series.

Sarah's midwife skills are called on once again when her neighbour's son, Nelson Ellsworth, fears his mistress may be carrying his child. Sarah goes to talk to the woman but finds her attitudes strange and confusing. The meeting turns into the mistress (Anna) accusing Sarah of being an abortionist and Sarah can't seem to convince her otherwise. The next day Anna is brutaly murdered and the police are convinced Nelson is to blame. Sarah once again teams up with detective Frank Malloy to try and prove that Nelson is not guilty and to uncover the true culprits. (I love saying culprits. How often do you get to write that word?!?)

Another good read! I really like this series and I really need to get back into reading them.

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