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Death of Riley

by Rhys Bowen

Series: Molly Murphy (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5872540,616 (3.65)35
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML:

Death of Riley, the fascinating, well-researched, and suspenseful second novel in Rhys Bowen's Agatha Award-winning series.
Molly Murphy has finally begun to forget the unpleasant murder of a would-be rapist back in Ireland, not to mention her investigation into the murder of a fellow recent Irish immigrant, and is finally free to begin her life in New York City. Given her experiences so far in the New World, Molly has decided that her first order of business is to become a private investigator, a people finder of sorts, working for families in Europe who've lost touch with relatives in America. Not only might this put some food on her table, but her second order of business is to hook the handsome NYPD police captain Daniel Sullivan, and she envisions lots of opportunities to "seek his counsel" in her new profession.
Paddy Riley is a tough old Cockney P.I. who specializes in divorce work, and with a little persuasion he's ready to take on Molly as an apprentice. It's not exactly what she imagined, but she plans to make the most of it. That is, until she comes in to work one day to find her new world turned upside down and all expectations for her professional life suddenly up in the air.
Before long, Molly has set off on a journey that will take her through the back alleys of Manhattan and into the bars and lounges of the literary scene, where she spends time with writers, actors, poets, and musicians. It's quite an eye-opening turn for innocent young Molly, but she's resolute in her decision to find out exactly what happened that day in the office of Paddy Riley. Armed with nothing more than her fiery will and matching wild red hair, Molly has no idea of the danger her pursuit may bring ...

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» See also 35 mentions

English (24)  German (1)  All languages (25)
Showing 1-5 of 24 (next | show all)
I wasn't super impressed with this installment of the Molly Murphy series. There were many coincidences and several pretty hokey parts: the mysterious "language" that was really just backward writing (not much sleuthing required there...). Also I thought Molly did several out of character things like falling for Ryan so quickly and becoming weirdly jealous---even after she found out he wasn't interested in women. This story was kind of dull and didn't really capture my interest. Hoping for a better one in book three. ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
I enjoyed this book. Ste around the early 1900's New York it is a quick and easy read. A lot of times people who write historical mysteries get to caught up in the history of the time.

Bowen does a great job of letting the history seamlessly sit in the background. Looking forward to the next one. ( )
  cdaley | Nov 2, 2023 |
Death of Riley
3.5 Stars

Irish immigrant Molly Murphy is acclimating to life in New City at the turn of the century, but is finding it difficult to hold on to a position due to her fiercely independent nature. After witnessing a private investigator at work, Molly is determined to apprentice herself out to him and all seems to be going well until Paddy Riley is murdered and Molly sets out to discover who killed him.

It took me a bit longer to get into this installment as compared to the first book mainly due to the slow pacing while Molly attempts to find employment. The story picks up in the second half with the murder and Molly’s investigation, and the inclusion of an actual historical event makes it all the more interesting.

Molly is an endearing and likable character albeit somewhat naive about the harsh realities of life. This could be explained by her rural upbringing or a reflection of a time in which people were more trusting of others. Sid and Gus are a charming pair, but meeting them is, once again, a very lucky coincidence.

Molly’s romance with Daniel takes an unexpected and disappointing turn. His potential as a love interest was established very well in the first book, however, his actions in this one leave much to be desired. I really hope that this plotline does not drag on for too long. Looking forward to Molly’s further adventures. ( )
  Lauren2013 | May 5, 2023 |
I give this three and a half stars. I adore the character of Molly Murphy. She sure gets into some crazy situations. ( )
  dmurfgal | Dec 9, 2022 |
It’s 1901. Molly Murphy arrived in New York City not long ago from Ireland. She wants to train as a private investigator, but when she finds an investigator (Paddy Riley), he isn’t terribly interested in training her. He does, however, hire her to clean his office. Mollly still hopes that she’ll still be able to learn something, although Paddy won’t share any of his case information with her. She’s only been working with him a short time when she arrives at the office to find him dying (though she initially thought him asleep); she finds someone ransacking the back office and he hits her and runs; Molly only gets a brief glimpse, but the police don’t seem terribly interested in trying hard to investigate, so Molly will.

This was really good. It started off good – I do like the feisty Molly – but it picked up in the last 1/3 of the book, as things became dangerous for her. I wasn’t sure initially about Sid and Gus – two women that took Molly in with a room to live in – but I sure did like them by the end! The book seems to do a good job of portraying early 20th century NYC, as well. ( )
  LibraryCin | Apr 9, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 24 (next | show all)
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"You want me to do what?" I demanded so loudly that a delicate young female walking ahead of us glanced back in horror and had to reach for her smelling salts.
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Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML:

Death of Riley, the fascinating, well-researched, and suspenseful second novel in Rhys Bowen's Agatha Award-winning series.
Molly Murphy has finally begun to forget the unpleasant murder of a would-be rapist back in Ireland, not to mention her investigation into the murder of a fellow recent Irish immigrant, and is finally free to begin her life in New York City. Given her experiences so far in the New World, Molly has decided that her first order of business is to become a private investigator, a people finder of sorts, working for families in Europe who've lost touch with relatives in America. Not only might this put some food on her table, but her second order of business is to hook the handsome NYPD police captain Daniel Sullivan, and she envisions lots of opportunities to "seek his counsel" in her new profession.
Paddy Riley is a tough old Cockney P.I. who specializes in divorce work, and with a little persuasion he's ready to take on Molly as an apprentice. It's not exactly what she imagined, but she plans to make the most of it. That is, until she comes in to work one day to find her new world turned upside down and all expectations for her professional life suddenly up in the air.
Before long, Molly has set off on a journey that will take her through the back alleys of Manhattan and into the bars and lounges of the literary scene, where she spends time with writers, actors, poets, and musicians. It's quite an eye-opening turn for innocent young Molly, but she's resolute in her decision to find out exactly what happened that day in the office of Paddy Riley. Armed with nothing more than her fiery will and matching wild red hair, Molly has no idea of the danger her pursuit may bring ...

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