Murder on St. Mark's Place

Rating:
Summary: Delightful series
Review: As a historian I am most familiar with British history of the last few hundred years and tend to favor fiction reflective of the times or written during this period of time. I was desperate for a new series, however, and gave the Gaslight series a chance. I was not disappointed. Midwife and only child of the wealthy Decker family, Sarah Brandt and Irish Catholic Detective Sergaent Francis "Frank" Malloy are wonderful creations, their interaction is humourous and interesting. Brandt, like Peter's creation, Amelia Peabody Emerson, tends to put herself in jeopardy...repeatedly. While the Gaslight series is set during the same period as Perry's William and Charlotte Pitt series (though countries apart) the mood is lighter. Brandt is a bit on the polictically correct side...she scolds her mother's prejudices and associates with an Irish Catholic cop! I love their interaction, though, and eagerly await the next in the series; I'm constantly rereading the series in its entirety.

Rating:
Summary: MURDER AT ST. MARK'S PLACE
Review: GREAT BOOK, I CONSIDER IT A GOOD COZY. IF YOU READ THIS SERIES YOU MIGHT TRY THE FREEMONT JONES SERIES BY DIANE DAY.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting period mystery marred by weakness in plot
Review: I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit; the period details were interesting, and the characters fairly sympathetic. But as the book moved past the "setting up" stage and into the actual mystery part, I got pretty frustrated because of the obviousness of the plot.

I agree with many of the criticisms of a previous reviewer. First, the clues were littered about in a pretty heavy-handed way. I think mysteries are generally better when the readers and the heroine are getting clues at the same time/rate. Here the readers had so many clues 2/3 of the way into the book that the heroine's inability to figure out the culprit made her seem incompetent. Even worse, the fact that she still thinks she's a good amateur sleuth makes her seem slightly out of touch with reality _and_ makes it seem that the hero is just humoring her sometimes. (One other annoying habit of the heroine is that she favors solving the mystery by direct confrontation with potential villains, which adds to the sense that she doesn't know what she's doing. This happens in the third book of the series too.)

While I like the romantic sub-plot, the problem of authorial heavy-handedness is also present there. (I rolled my eyes when I read about the hero's keeping the heroine's lock of hair. Not that I think this is unrealistic behavior, but the way it was written makes it seem like the author is trying to hit us over the head with a big club stenciled, POTENTIAL ROMANCE.)

Anyway, I think my review ended up being more negative than I wanted it to be. The book was still a fairly quick and enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting period mystery marred by weakness in plot
Review: I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit; the period details were interesting, and the characters fairly sympathetic. But as the book moved past the "setting up" stage and into the actual mystery part, I got pretty frustrated because of the obviousness of the plot.

I agree with many of the criticisms of a previous reviewer. First, the clues were littered about in a pretty heavy-handed way. I think mysteries are generally better when the readers and the heroine are getting clues at the same time/rate. Here the readers had so many clues 2/3 of the way into the book that the heroine's inability to figure out the culprit made her seem incompetent. Even worse, the fact that she still thinks she's a good amateur sleuth makes her seem slightly out of touch with reality _and_ makes it seem that the hero is just humoring her sometimes. (One other annoying habit of the heroine is that she favors solving the mystery by direct confrontation with potential villains, which adds to the sense that she doesn't know what she's doing. This happens in the third book of the series too.)

While I like the romantic sub-plot, the problem of authorial heavy-handedness is also present there. (I rolled my eyes when I read about the hero's keeping the heroine's lock of hair. Not that I think this is unrealistic behavior, but the way it was written makes it seem like the author is trying to hit us over the head with a big club stenciled, POTENTIAL ROMANCE.)

Anyway, I think my review ended up being more negative than I wanted it to be. The book was still a fairly quick and enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the mystery?
Review: I enjoyed this book for its description of the times and of New York City, and the contentious relationshiop between Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy. But I was extremely disappointed by the "mystery". I'm one who never figures out whodunits, but this one was painfully obvious.

The suspect list was anemic, and I couldn't believe that the protagonist hadn't a clue. I figured out one guilty party and waited 134 painful pages for her to get her first clue, and then was relieved to see that there were only 66 pages left for her to get the second clue. As I stated, I'm lousy at figuring out whodunits, but if memory serves, even Carolyn Keene was better at disguising the bad guys. Perhaps Thompson could learn a thing or two reading Nancy Drew.

I hope Thompson doesn't continue to ruin an interesting series with such a skimpy plot. She was obnoxiously heavy-handed with her clues, which made Sarah Brandt seem all the more incompetent. Also, Thompson has fallen into the trap of placing the protagonist in violent struggles with the bad guy(s), which is neither exciting nor surprising. Just cliche.

I hope the next installment won't be as frustrating as this one.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the mystery?
Review: I enjoyed this book for its description of the times and of New York City, and the contentious relationshiop between Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy. But I was extremely disappointed by the "mystery". I'm one who never figures out whodunits, but this one was painfully obvious.

The suspect list was anemic, and I couldn't believe that the protagonist hadn't a clue. I figured out one guilty party and waited 134 painful pages for her to get her first clue, and then was relieved to see that there were only 66 pages left for her to get the second clue. As I stated, I'm lousy at figuring out whodunits, but if memory serves, even Carolyn Keene was better at disguising the bad guys. Perhaps Thompson could learn a thing or two reading Nancy Drew.

I hope Thompson doesn't continue to ruin an interesting series with such a skimpy plot. She was obnoxiously heavy-handed with her clues, which made Sarah Brandt seem all the more incompetent. Also, Thompson has fallen into the trap of placing the protagonist in violent struggles with the bad guy(s), which is neither exciting nor surprising. Just cliche.

I hope the next installment won't be as frustrating as this one.

Rating:
Summary: just okay
Review: I gave this book three stars strictly because of a mathematical average: it got one star as a murder mystery, and earned five stars for being an enjoyable novel. This is the third novel in this series that I've read (yes, I read them out of sequence) but predictable patterns are developing. In the three novels I've read, the murderers were well-known society figures and almost all the victims were females. It becomes pretty obvious, early on, who the killer is and which female character is going to get killed off. (My only regret is that Sarah's neighbor, the extremely annoying Mrs. Elsworth, isn't one of those female victims. Am I the only one who is irked by this character?) But, like the old Columbo tv shows, there is an enjoyment in finding out how Sarah and Frank will catch the killer. In that sense, this installment in the series is recommended. The vivid descriptions of Coney Island during its heyday are particularly enjoyable. Pick up this book. Like a scary Coney Island ride, you know it will end okay, but its the bumps and turns along the way that make it worthwhile.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points

Rating:
Summary: This book has been nominated for an Edgar!
Review: Just wanted everyone to know that MURDER ON ST. MARK'S PLACE has been nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America. The Edgar, named for Edgar Allen Poe, is the oldest and most prestigious of mystery awards. The awards ceremony will be held May 3 in New York City.

Rating:
Summary: This book has been nominated for an Edgar!
Review: Just wanted everyone to know that MURDER ON ST. MARK'S PLACE has been nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America. The Edgar, named for Edgar Allen Poe, is the oldest and most prestigious of mystery awards. The awards ceremony will be held May 3 in New York City.

Rating:
Summary: A colorful era illuminated --
Review: Last year, MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE introduced us to Sarah Brandt, a mid-wife in turn-of-the-century New York City. Not what she would appear to be on the surface, Sarah was a delightful, prickly daughter of society who ventured to new worlds when her dearly beloved husband died. The world of the ordinary person is so far removed from that of the Upper Four Hundred as decreed by the inhabitants of Society as to be incomprehensible. The author never mis-steps in showing us both worlds.

Fortunately for the reader, MURDER ON ST. MARK'S PLACE continues this excellent travelogue. There are so many hardships for young women to overcome in the big city, when working in a sweatshop may be the only legal way to earn a living. A living that is barely that, more of a mere existence. When the young women are mainly immigrants, the way is even more difficult. All too many of them fall into the trap of becoming a Charity Girl, the name for one who trades her favors to a 'gentleman' for a pretty bonnet or pair of shoes, or a visit to Coney Island.

There would appear to be one of these men who wants more than just favors -- instead he wants her very life, and it's the dedicated Sarah who persists in tying the three women victims to one man. Before the days of computerization, a murder in one precinct might well be unknown to the detectives in the precinct right next door. Once again, Sarah turns to Sergeant Frank Malloy to help her in her detection. Of course, appealing to Malloy exposes Sarah to his particular burden--his young son who has been considered a mentally deficient, rather than the deaf child he really is.

I do hope Ms. Thompson continues this series so that we may learn more about the efforts to assist young Brian, not to mention the marvellously-detailed history of New York in this bustling era. As long as we can tag along while they solve a few more crackling good mysteries.