For the Love of Mike (Molly Murphy Series #3) by Rhys Bowen

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Rhys Bowen, who is also the author of the popular Constable Evans mystery series, continues her Agatha Award–winning historical mystery series set in turn-of-the-century New York City.

Since the death of her mentor, J. P. Riley, Irish immigrant turned private eye Molly Murphy is finding it hard to make a living as an investigator. Divorce cases are definitely not her cup of tea…and they all too often lead her to places where it's not easy for a respectable young woman to blend into the scenery. Still, she finds the challenges of investigation more to her taste than the other options open to women in her position: working in sweatshops or the fish market or undertaking an even less savory life on the streets.

Just as things are at their bleakest, two new commissions come her way. First she's hired to discover who is stealing a fashion designer's drawings and selling them to the competition -- a job that takes her undercover, enduring bitter conditions as a seamstress in a sweatshop. Then she's asked to find a missing Anglo-Irish heiress who ran off to America with a handsome Irishman -- a task she accepts with relish. These two captivating mysteries are enriched by vivid descriptions of a time gone by -- from gangs on the streets to spies in the fashion industry, from freethinkers in Greenwich Village to struggling immigrants, crooked politicians, ardent union organizers, and anarchists. Sue Stone

From the Publisher

A woman ahead of her time, Molly Murphy is determined to be a private detective. Having inherited the cases of her deceased mentor, Paddy Reilly, she's following philandering husbands, tracking down a runaway Dublin debutante, and working in a sweatshop to discover who's purloining dress designs. None of her jobs seem dangerous...at first. When a woman's body is fished out of the East River, Molly fears it's the missing society girl. Then Molly's sometime beau, police captain Daniel Sullivan, reveals that another corpse may be the girl's scalawag lover, Mike Kelly. But Molly has to know their identities for certain. Now as threads of passion and greed weave a tapestry of violence, Molly descends into the underworld of the gangs of New York. It's no place for a lady, and even a scrappy Irish lass may need more than her street smarts to get the truth...and get out alive.

Publishers Weekly

In Bowen's engaging third Molly Murphy historical (after 2002's Death of Riley), Molly finds it's not easy to be a female detective with a brogue as thick as ham in 1901 New York. Late one night, two brutish cops haul her off to the slammer because they think she's a prostitute; they don't believe her claim that she was staking out the house across the street. She makes things worse on herself by refusing to mention her friendship with police captain Daniel Sullivan, who could have her released in a jiffy. Instead, she spends a different sort of night in a cell full of whores. Having taken over the detective agency of her recently deceased mentor, Paddy Riley, Molly pursues a couple of cases that form the guts of the story. In one instance, she goes undercover in a sweatshop to ferret out possible industrial espionage; in the other, she looks for an English gentleman's runaway daughter, who is, in turn, searching for her husband. All the threads come neatly together in a fire at a dress-making shop. The question left dangling is a romantic one: will Molly settle for a good friendship with labor leader Jacob Singer, or will she fall back into the arms of her police captain? Only Bowen's next Molly Murphy mystery will tell. (Dec. 8) FYI: The first in the series, Murphy's Law (2001), won an Agatha for Best Novel. Bowen is also the author of the Constable Evans series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Following the death of her employer, Molly Murphy (Murphy's Law; Death of Riley) continues her investigation business in 1901 New York City. She hates tracking down errant spouses, however, and vows to change her focus: she lands an undercover job looking for a thief of fashion ideas and searches for a Dublin heiress who decamped to America with her unsuitable boyfriend. Meanwhile, Molly's intrepid life among Greenwich Village artists, Tammany Hall flunkies, and various street denizens and her attachment to the family she accompanied to America provide ample historical cement for a lively period re-creation. Highly recommended. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Pioneering private eye Molly Murphy's third adventure allows both her and her author to take wing amid the seediest settings. Despite the death of her boss, Paddy Riley (Death of Riley, 2002), Molly has remained in New York in 1901, trying to keep Riley's tiny detective agency afloat. Another worry is the plight of the two children she had shepherded on the ocean voyage from Ireland and for whom she still feels responsible. Molly's first solo case brings her to the Canal Street garment factory of Mostel and Klein, where someone is stealing the sketches for Mostel's latest designs and making sure that the Lowenstein factory, Mostel's major competition, is first to get them into stores. Finding the thief requires Molly to learn the sewing trade and makes her aware of the cruel sweatshop conditions that prevail. Her second job is heralded by a letter from a Major Favisham in Ireland. His daughter Katherine has sailed off to New York with no-good estate worker Michael Kelly, and the Major desperately wants her found. As matters proceed, Molly's two assignments begin to intermingle, with near-tragic results. In compensation, there's a new admirer who just might overcome Molly's attraction to police captain Daniel Sullivan. Molly grows ever more engaging against a vibrant background of New York's dark side at the turn of the century.

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