This is the first in the Gaslight Mysteries set in turn of the Century(1900) New York City. The central character is Sarah Brandt, a midwife who was born to the aristocracy but married "beneath her station" and now that she s widowed must earn her way in the world.
The mystery centers around a young woman who is strangled in a boardinghouse. Our heroine's involvement is that she recognizes the victim as being the sister of an acquaintance of her youth. Sarah makes every effort to assist Detective Sega rent Malloy in apprehending the murderer.
The twisting and turns which reveal social taboos of the day lead to a gruesome ending but not something that is surprising. IMHO, not a great mystery but readable. ( )

Sarah Brandt is a midwife in New York City in the late 19th century. During a routine middle of the night delivery in the squalor of a tenement rooming house, Sarah discovers that one of the tenets is a girl she recognizes, the youngest daughter of a very wealthy family. When it is discovered that the girl was murdered in the wee hours before dawn, Sarah feels compelled to find out who did it and why this girl was living in such squalid circumstances. Because Sarah herself is the estranged daughter of a wealthy man on Astor Place, she uses her societal connections, weak though they are after all these years, to help her gain entrance to houses she hasn't visited in years. Police Sergeant Frank Malloy is not very comfortable working with an upstart female with a mind of her own, but he has to admit, he can't solve this on his own.

This was a very well written book and I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though I figured out what was going on about halfway through the book. I'll read more in this series. ( )

Set in late 1800's New York City, former elite family member, Sarah Brandt is now a widow working as a midwife having been estranged from her family since her husband's death. While at a delivery late one night a familiar face from her prior life is seen briefly. Later, Sarah discovered the young girl had been murdered. For various reasons Sarah finds herself caught up in this murder and wants desperately for the murderer to be brought to justice. This brings her into Detective Frank Malloy's life as much as he'd like to keep her out.

I found this book to be filled with wonderful historical details about New York City that really made the story come alive. The pacing was well done. Motivations for both Brandy and Mallow were revealed in time with the story. Both characters also grew while trying to unravel the mystery. And, as for the mystery, it was full of extra twists and turns that made the book a real page turner from start to finish.

I'm looking forward to reading more books in the Gaslight series! ( )

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