Murder on Astor Place

Is contained in

Canonical title

Murder on Astor Place

Original publication date

1999-05-01

People/Characters

Sarah Brandt (née Decker, Tom's widow, midwife); Frank Malloy (Francis Xavier, Detective Sergeant, New York City police, Kathleen's widower); Alfred (the VanDamms' butler at their Manhattan mansion); Mrs. William Blackhouse Astor, Jr. (THE Mrs. Astor, matriarch of the family (THE Mrs. Astor, matriarch of the family); Maggie Decker (Sarah's late older sister); Elizabeth Decker (Felix's wife, Sarah and Maggie's mother) (show all 21); Ham Fisher (Hamilton, one of Mrs. Higgins' boarders); Mary Grace Higgins (10 years old, the Higgins' oldest); Mrs. Higgins (boarding house owner, Sarah's patient); Mrs. Hightower (the VanDamms' housekeeper at their Mamoraneck mansion); Lizzie (Alicia VanDamm's lady's maid for two years, now a chambermaid at the Mamoraneck mansion); Cornelius Van Damm (millionaire, one of the New York Knickerbocker familes); Alice Smith (young girl boarding with the Higgins); Dolly Yardley (Will's wife, Sarah Brandt's patient); Edith Rose Yardley (Will & Dolly's new baby); Officer Murphy (the beat cop where Sarah lives); Chief Conlin (New York City Police); Desk Sergeant O'Shaughnessy (New York City Police); Officer O'Brien (New York City Police); Harry Kelly (New York City Police detective); Bill Broghan (New York City Police detective)

Important places

New York, New York, USA; Mrs. Higgins' boarding house, Astor Place, New York, New York, USA; the VanDamm mansion, Marble Row, New York, New York, USA (the block of 5th Ave. between 57th & 58th Sreets); Sarah Brandt's house, Bank Street, Greenwich Village, New York, New York, USA; Police Headquarters, Mulberry Street, New York, New York, USA; Greentree, the VanDamms' country mansion, at Mamoraneck, New York, USA (show all 13); Mamoraneck, New York, USA (village); Slippery Joey's pawnshop, Catherine Street, the Bowery, New York, New York, USA; the Deckers' Italiante brownstone town house on 57th Street, New York, New York, USA; the plush offices of Mattingly and Springer law firm, New York, New York, USA; The Brass Lantern, the Bowery, New York, New York, USA (a flophouse); the Malloy 2nd floor flat, the 17th Ward, New York, New York, USA; Emma Petrovka's house, Gramercy Park, New York, New York, USA

Dedication

To my agent Nancy Yost, who never stopped believing and who always makes me laugh, even when the news is bad. And to my dear husband Jim, who eased the load so I'd have the time and energy to write this.

First words

At first Sarah thought the tinkling of the bell was part of her dream.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Feeling the odd mingling of satisfaction in a job well done and regret that the job was over and her mundane life beginning again, Sarah made her way back into the life of the city.

Blurbers

Coulter, Catherine; Churchill, Jill