Reviews

I knew who the killer was half way through but I got the reason why the killing occurred completely wrong. My reason would have been better, but Victoria Thompson did not ask my opinion before she wrote the book.

cjeanne99's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

A young girl is found dead in City Hall park - Malloy recognizes the clothes the victim is wearing and thinks that Sarah Brandt is dead. Unknown to Malloy, Sarah had recently donated some of her clothing to a mission for “wayward girls” - where the dead girl had lived. The wife of Sarah’s friend, and would be suitor, Richard Dennis, had volunteered at the mission before she died. Richard asked Sarah to help him understand why his wife would volunteer there - and in her usual fashion, Sarah takes charge. She organizes a fund raising party at her parents’ home, teaches hygiene classes at the mission and befriends one of the younger residents.
As the investigation into the death of Italian-American Amelia furthers, Sarah runs into roadblocks from the Irish priests who won’t assist with the burial of an Italian Catholic, confusing stories from Amelia’s parents about her lineage - which really had no bearing on the plot, and obfuscation from Mrs. Wells when discussing her girls.
Thompson starts to build a Richard, Sarah, Frank love triangle - going so far as to have Frank bemoaning to himself that he is below Sarah’s station and should resolve to never see her again.

But that triangle ends when Richard dies, killed by Mrs. Wells in the same way she killed his wife and Amelia and apparently other girls from the mission.

The mysteries in this series are not difficult to figure out - but they are a fun read. I also appreciate that Thompson knows her New York City society of the early 20th century - so we understand what an unusual lifestyle Sarah leads.

kayteeem's review

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While I didn't figure out the murder weapon right away, I did have my suspicions about the culprit.

The series was recommended to me on a book review blog, and this was the earliest volume of the series immediately available at the library, so I took a chance with starting partway through a series.

I found the mystery not mysterious enough, and this is not an era/location I'm strongly interested in, so I expect I won't be reading more of the series. But if you like cozy mysteries, early 20th century NYC and slow-burn character development across multiple books, this may be for you.

spevensie's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

retiredlibrarylady's review

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3.0

Better than the last one. The murderer is obvious early, but the rest of the story plays nicely. One thing that keeps me reading this series is the historical detail. And I do wonder if we're going to continue to keep Sarah and Malloy dancing around their feelings for one another for another 20+ books...