Sarah Brandt, midwife to the poor women in the slums of Victorian New York City, becomes embroiled in a search for a serial murderer who is preying on "Charity Girls," shop girls trying to eke out a living who sell their favors for "nice" things. She seeks out Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, the quiet and stern Irish cop she worked with a few months ago, and together, they plot to not only find the murderer, but bring him to justice.

This is the second book in this series, and I enjoy the setting, the characters, the writing, and nearly everything about the stories. It strikes me that the author is writing from an outline, though, and for some reason, I'm not able to fully immerse myself in the time period. I'll keep reading the series, though. Maybe it's just me. ( )