I am enjoying this series. I particularly liked the additional development of the characters of Sarah's parents in this installment. What struck me as very odd, and I didn't really care for it, were the several totally farcical scenes with the VanDyke family. They were funny, yes, but too suggestive of people just yelling and running on and off a stage. I hope we don't see that too often. ( )

When a bomb kills a wealthy businessman in his office, Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt personally assigns Malloy to the case. And, of course, the murdered man is an old friend of the Decker family, so Malloy finds himself thrown in with Sarah once again. As the two seek answers, the secrets of the whole Van Dyke family are exposed are a those of his partner Snowberger leaving Malloy with too many suspects.

Frank Malloy is more than surprised when he gets to work to be told to go straight to see Commissioner Roosevelt but he does as directed. The shocks just keep coming when he is informed that none other than Felix Decker, Sarah Brandt's father, had requested he be assigned to a case involving one of Mr. Decker's friends. He heads over to the house to find Sarah's mom and soon Sarah herself there and the entire household in an uproar. There are secrets aplenty in the house and the family. Matters are complicated by a brilliant murder scheme. This was one of my favorite books in this series and I highly recommend it to anyone.
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Gregory Van Dyke, a wealthy businessman, is killed in his office by an explosion. Teddy Roosevelt is sure that the perpetrators are anarchists, because as everyone knows the anarchists use bombs. He assigns the case to Malloy because he can count on his discretion when dealing with the upperclass.

When Malloy visits the family the first person he see is Sarah Brandt, she and her mother are on a condolence call. There will be no keeping Sarah out of this murder case. Or, Sarah’s mother either.

I am really enjoying this series, a step back to 120 years in New York.
At the beginning of the industrial revolution and the beginning of law and order. ( )

The plot of the sixth book in the Gaslight mystery series centers on the murder of wealthy industrialist Gregory Van Dyke who dies when a bomb explodes in his office. Was this the act of an anarchist group, those 19th century terrorists who were well known for both targeting rich business owners and using bombs, or was this a crime with a more personal nature? When Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy arrives at Van Dyke's home to investigate, he finds Sarah Brandt, a widowed midwife from an upper-class family, already there. Sarah becomes involved due to her family's association with the Van Dykes. She and Malloy have worked together on other cases, but Malloy swore that he would never see her again because he knows that the rigid social hierarchy prevents the expression of his burgeoning feelings. Sarah's mother gets drawn into investigating the deaths along with her daughter and not only shows how much they are alike but her wicked sense of humor comes across and adds so much to the story. I hope she joins Sarah in future books.

I admit to being addicted to Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series. She has developed the characters carefully and provided rich descriptions of the city and the various groups of people who inhabited it. I love that the mystery is set in turn of the century New York and the social barriers the characters must face are very realistic for the time. The interchanges between Sarah and Frank Malloy, as they weave their way through each mystery, is a high point in each story. The characters and their personalities are strong and well written. This is not a series for those who enjoy gritty thrillers but I wouldn't call it a cozy mystery series either. The themes are adult and the crimes are often quite vicious. I definitely plan to read the rest of the series.
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