Murder in Little Italy

Did I really just erase my review!?! Aughhh. It was a melancholy review so maybe it's just as well. I was brooding over the fact that this is the last of the GM's read by Callie Beaulieu. I have grown so used to her voice that when I read GM#9&10 I wanted to boo Suzanne Toren off the stage (no offense ST, but your reading of Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy have forever changed the vision of them in my imagination - the former now sounds dowdy and the latter gruff - where's the romance in that?????).

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I can try to pick up where I left off…where was I?....Oh, yes. Sarah Brandt is called to the Italian immigrant family who live above their successful (and Sarah’s favorite) Italian Restaurant. She show more must deliver a vastly premature baby to the fifteen year old wife of the family’s youngest son. What ho? This vastly premature infant is a robust full-term baby and everyone is counting the months back to the time that the couple first met (about five or six months prior to the delivery). The quick -tempered Italian Matriarch barely tolerated her daughter-in-law to begin with but now she is hurling insult after insult to the “Irish Mick” whore who ensnared her youngest son – lots of prejudice here between the immigrant classes. Mama Ruocco tells the daughter-in-law, in no uncertain terms, that she is to pack up and crawl back home to her mother because she and the baby are not welcome in her house. Sarah convinces Mama Ruocco that the DIL only just delivered the baby and that she should at least be able to rest the night and leave in the morning. DIL could care less about the baby she has just delivered, who is a terrible inconvenience, and she is happy to let her barren SIL M help out in the meantime. Sarah returns in the morning, and what do you know? DIL is found dead in her bed. Sarah suspects murder, rival gang turf war in stirring in the streets, she calls in Frank, and the fun begins…..this book was a little more obvious than some of the others. It’s not too hard to figure out who committed the murder and why – nor is it hard to figure out who is the father – but there are still twists and turns to enjoy as well as the chemistry between Frank and Sarah (and the final performance by CB). show less

Murder in Little Italy
4 Stars

Well written as always with a realistic portrayal of the animosities and conflicts between the different ethnicities in New York at the turn of the century, which adds to the authenticity of the mystery.

Although the culprit isn't as obvious as in previous books, it is possible to figure out the "who-dun-it" by following the clues and conversations.

Frank and Sarah's slow burn romance is going strong. While some readers find this a little annoying, for me it makes sense both because of the time period and because the genre of historical mystery and not historical romance.

Overall, another engaging story in the series. Recommended for fans of cozy mysteries with light romance.

Sarah Brandt visits a new mother to do a check up only to find her dead in her bed. Nainsi was an Irish girl living with her Italian husband and family. She had managed to alienate pretty much all of them with her ways and behaviors. She was not the average Italian wife and had no intention of being so.

The murder was obviously motivated by the fact that the baby was not her husbands and his family's anger over it. Sarah contacts Frank Malloy and soon they are swimming in suspects. Now with Tammany Hall whipping up the Irish to start riots and control the Italians, time is running short. They must find the killer before there is another murder.

Called to attend a birth in Little Italy, Sarah Brandt finds an anxious family. Young Nainsi Ruocco's baby is being born too early. Sarah soon finds trouble on her hands when the full-term baby she delivered helps prove that ,although Nainsi was pregnant when they were married, Antonio Ruocco could not possibly be the baby's father. Nainsi's mother-in-law, Patrizia, matriarch of the family, wants Nainsi to take the baby and go. Sarah convinces her to let them stay until Nainsi has recovered from the birth. When Sarah returns the next following morning to check on her patient, she finds Nainsi dead.

The family insists that the death was from complications of childbirth but Sarah is unconvinced. Soon the mystery has inflamed the tensions show more between the Italian and Irish immigrants, and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy must find out the truth before a full-scale street war develops. Once again, he's going to need Sarah's help to unravel the secrets of this troubled family, bring a killer to justice, and restore order to the volatile community.

This novel shares many strengths with its predecessors, but it is a bit more predictable. As a result I didn't enjoy it as much as the prior mysteries but it's a perfect story to pick up when you want to visit turn of the century New York. I enjoy this “comfort” series and plant to continue with them. show less

When a young Irish girl finds herself unexpectedly expecting she turns to a dalliance with a young Italian to secure a future for herself and her newly-growing family. Sarah Brandt is called in to deliver the child "early," but the shrewd midwife and unforgiving mother-in-law quickly put two and two together, and realize that the healthy full-time baby couldn't possibly be the offspring of the young Italian. Tempers fly, challenges are made, and Sarah does what she can to mediate for the sake of the newborn. Interestingly, the young Irish girl remains calm and smug despite the threads, and assures the midwife that things will work out just fine indeed.

Which, in the world of mystery novels, means she's destined to die as soon as someone show more turns their back.

I enjoyed this mystery as much as I have the others, but I've come to realize that I've made a mistake in judgment in relation to this stories: I've always worked under the assumption that the female protagonist is extremely intelligent. Sarah Brandt is an seemingly a wonderful midwife and confidant, and her upbringing makes her an ideal interrogator for unsuspecting suspects, but she is no detective. Time and again she puts herself in danger, and in this particular novel she completely glosses over the confession she hears early in the narrative - not to mention the glaring red arrows that point out the guilty party.

Still, for a cozy mystery series, the Gaslight Mysteries continue to be enjoyable, and I appreciate the slow development that Thompson is drawing out in terms of Mrs. Brandt and Detective Malloy's relationship. show less

Victoria Thompson has become one of my favorite authors. Her mysteries are well-written and have depth. In this installment, a young pregnant Irish girl marries an Italian boy. When the girl gives birth "prematurely," it becomes obvious to his family that her husband is not the father of the child. When she ends up dead by the next morning, the entire family is under suspicion of murder and the custody battle lends itself to Irish-Italian rioting. Midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Malloy once again team up to solve the case.

Thompson does a superb job in developing her characters. Her research into the time period lends authenticity to the setting.

It was my first experience with this series and a very pleasant one it was. The author gave a good feel for New York in the early 1900s, when Theodore Roosevelt was police commissioner. I learned of the impact of two of the major immigrant groups, the Italians and the Irish, and of the difficulties of meshing them into city. The murder/s were interesting, and for once I refrained from peaking at the end. To my surprise I was correct as to the murderer. Having read this one out of order (I know, I know, I just heard the gasps of my friends), I would like to go back to the beginning and pick up the series, and eventually reading several other volumes I have in the house.