Murder in Murray Hill

March 10, 2014
Thompson convincingly portrays late-19th-century New York City in her 16th Gaslight mystery, but she has put her male lead, NYPD Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy, into an awkward spot. Toward the end of the previous entry, 2013’s Murder in Chelsea, Malloy learned that he was going to inherit a fortune. Once word reaches Malloy’s police colleagues of his imminent windfall, he realizes his job is on the line. At police headquarters, Chief O’Brien fires him, saying, “You’re a good man, but millionaires aren’t cops.” Malloy, who was in the midst of a missing-persons case involving women who answered a personal ad in the newspaper, manages to keep his hand in as a private investigator. While Malloy may be on track to follow this new career path in future installments, Thompson will have some work to do to make this scenario plausible. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

May 1, 2014

Sarah Brandt, midwife, and Frank Malloy, police detective, may have grown up in different worlds in late 19th-century New York City, but their love has developed through this series. Now, as they plan their upcoming marriage, they are at a crossroads. Frank is dismissed from the NYPD because of his new status as a millionaire (see Murder in Chelsea). But he is involved in a final case--a distraught father has reported his spinster daughter missing. Frank learns that the young woman had been lured into meeting a man through a newspaper's personal ads (think online dating gone bad). He asks Sarah to help him track this stranger down, and signs of despicable sex crimes soon confront them. The ringleader of the sex ring is killed, but evidence in the house suggests many young women may have been murder victims, too. Ever determined, Frank and Sarah meet the challenge. VERDICT The horrors of the modern-day Cleveland abduction case will come to mind in this disturbing entry in Thompson's long-running historical procedural series. Partner with Stefanie Pintoff and Rhys Bowen (Molly Murphy series).

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.