Rating: Very Good
Source: Publisher
Description: The year of 1899 is drawing to a close. Frank and Sarah Malloy are getting ready to celebrate the New Year at Trinity Church when they notice Mr. Pritchard, a relative of their neighbor's behaving oddly and annoying the other revelers. Frank tries to convince Pritchard to return home with them, but the man refuses and Frank loses him in the crowd. The next morning Sarah and Frank are horrified to learn Pritchard was murdered sometime in the night, his body left on Trinity Place, the side street near the church.
The police aren't too interested in the murder, and the family are concerned that the circumstances of the death will reflect badly on Pritchard's reputation. To protect the family from scandal, Nelson asks Frank to investigate. Frank and Sarah delve into Pritchard's past and realize there may have been a deadly side to the dawning of the new century.
Genre: Mystery - Historical
Why I Picked This Book: I love this series and Victoria Thompson is pretty much an auto-read for me.
My Impression: I read this in a day. It's been a long time since I've picked up a book that wasn't a novella and read it from cover to cover in a day and I didn't even realize it was happening until I only had about 20 pages left. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish and loved revisiting the world of this series yet again.
I really enjoyed the mystery. Who killed Mr. Pritchard? Was it because of his obnoxious behavior? Was it because of whatever secret his son was obviously hiding? There are a motives coming out of the woodwork as all the people around him seemed to have been up to something and Pritchard was if nothing else an honest man.
But what I think really kept me reading and kept the pages turning was the subplot involving Black Jack Robinson. I liked him in Murder in the Bowery and really loved seeing him make an appearance here. And as always I love seeing Sarah and Frank and Gino and all the other people who inhabit their world and watching them interact.
I don't want to say too much about this one as I went in knowing just what the blurb said and found it to be an absolute delight. Will this knock your socks off and leave you in shock? No probably not. But it is a mystery that will keep you guessing and and a cast of characters that will have you smiling.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I've read by Thompson and this is no different.
Would I Recommend this Book? Definitely! If you enjoy historical mysteries or really just mysteries in general than this is a must not miss series. Don't worry about the high series number. You can jump in here or in pretty much any book with no problem.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Sounds like an intriguing read, Katherine! I liked this line: read it from cover to cover in a day and I didn't even realize it was happening until I only had about 20 pages left." That's a sure sign you've enjoyed a book. :)
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read the Thomas De Quincy series by David Morrell? I think you'd really enjoy these based on your reviews here.
Love when I'm so engaged that I read a book in a day. Good to know you can jump in anywhere too. Sounds like an interesting series.
ReplyDeleteOoo - what a lovely review! I'll keep an eye out for this author as I know you read a lot of historical mysteries and it's also a genre I enjoy. Many thanks for the recommendation:)
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