Murder on Marble Row (Gaslight Series #6) by Victoria Thompson

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Victoria Thompson's Gaslight mystery series is an intriguing look at society and crime in turn-of-the-century New York City. With previous bestsellers in paperback, this captivating series makes its hardcover debut with Murder on Marble Row --- a story filled with fascinating characters from all walks of life. This time out, Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt calls Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy into his office for an especially difficult assignment. A wealthy factory owner has been killed by a bomb in his office, and anarchists are high on the list of suspects. Malloy isn't so sure that the easy answer is the right one…but Roosevelt wants justice done, whoever the culprits are. That could be tricky, when the other suspects include not only disgruntled employees but also the victim's friends and relatives -- people adept at wielding money and power to get what they want…and at hiding their secrets behind marble-walled Fifth Avenue mansions. Malloy is distressed to once again find Sarah Brandt involved in one of his cases. He wants the lovely society heiress-turned-midwife out of the line of fire. But he cannot afford to refuse when Sarah insists on using both her connections among to New York's elite and her experience in New York's seamy underside to bring the evidence Malloy needs to light. Sue Stone

From the Publisher

New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt is convinced that anarchists are responsible for the death of a wealthy industrialist. Assigned with proving this suspicion, Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy finds himself turning to his unrequited love--midwife Sarah Brandt--for help in navigating the high circles of Fifth Avenue society to catch a killer.

Publishers Weekly

Set in late 19th-century New York, Victoria Thompson's cleverly plotted Murder on Marble Row: A Gaslight Mystery, the sixth in the series (Murder on Astor Place, etc.), provides abundant fair play and plenty of convincing period detail. At the request of Teddy Roosevelt, one of the city's three police commissioners, Det. Sergeant Frank Malloy and midwife and do-gooder Sarah Brandt pursue a bomber whose infernal device has killed an influential industrialist. This light, quick read engages the readers' emotions. Agent, Nancy Yost. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In their sixth adventure the first of Thompson's "Gaslight" series to appear in hardcover Sarah Brandt, the nurse-trained daughter of wealthy New York City parents, and Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy tackle the bombing murder of a rich factory owner. Owing to the method used, suspicion falls immediately on the "anarchists," who recently enlisted the victim's disinherited son. Other suspects include the victim's much younger second wife, his alienated business partner, and perhaps even the younger son, who likes his step-mom a little too much. Fans of Anne Perry will certainly enjoy this Americanized look at class differences in turn-of-the-century New York and superior sleuthing. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

An Irish-American cop is allowed into a Victorian drawing room, though nobody offers him a seat. When the bomb detonated, it spewed nails, wires, and brandy-soaked bits of glass all over Gregory Van Dyke's office and person. Who wanted the well-to-do Victorian gentleman dead? His feuding business partner, Allen Snowberger, had seduced Van Dyke's greedy wife Lilly. Lilly had seduced Van Dyke's younger son Tad and, according to the besotted wastrel, suggested they marry. Daughter Alberta, in the family way, has been forbidden to marry her beloved Lewis because papa considered his private secretary socially unacceptable. But the most obvious culprit is older son Creighton, an anarchist who'd left the family fold. So when Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, a widower enamored of family friend Sarah Brandt, is assigned the case, he's eager to chat up Creighton. First, however, Sarah, a midwife, must wheedle Creighton's address from Alberta. Apparently determined to meddle in Frank's case, Sarah is soon traipsing about the Lower East Side and the Van Dyke mansion searching for clues. The killer will strike again before clever Frank and pesky Sarah figure out whodunit and gaze longingly into each other's eyes. Just what you'd expect from a Victorian melodrama: hysterical females, pompous males, class snobbery, and boudoir secrets-plus, in this sixth Gaslight Mystery (Murder on Mulberry Bend, not reviewed, etc.), a bit part for Emma Goldman.

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