Rating: 
Summary: Another great book in the series
Review: All I can say is wow! This is one series that continues to get better and better. The book deals with the 1876 Centennial in Philadelphia, and its proximity to the Shantytown in the same city where opium seems to be the drug of choice. It's fascinating to see the ideas of a city looking to the future while the current plight of its poorer people goes unheeded. It's not a light read by any means -- the murders are rather gruesome, and many of the characters are gray in terms of morals. But I couldn't put the book down. Definitely another winner in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling historical suspense
Review: As a history major in the early 70s, the time in America between the end of the Civil War and the turn of the century always struck me as incredibly boring. Yet in the fullness of time, this period of peace and prosperity set the course for the American Century that lay ahead. The "New World" surpassed the old in military and industrial might. The instability of the pre-War years was replaced by a sense of an indivisible Americanism, a nationhood heretofore unknown. Nowhere was the rise of industrial America more evident than at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. The grandiose world's fair staked America's claim on her true manifest destiny, the leader of the industrial democracies. It was here that the telephone and typewriter were introduced to skeptical and astonished consumers. And here that the plot of the Back Maria unfolds. Wilton McCleary, city detective, is assigned to the Exhibition in seeming disgrace within the Philadelphia police force. He is assigned to escort the journalist son of one of the financial backers around the fair and the surrounding Shantytown, a virtual den of sin. Here he finds a dead girl and a lot of unanswered questions. Despite orders to stay out, he investigates, uncovering a seedy world within "polite society" every bit as vicious and corrupt as anything in Shantytown. This is a breathless hair-raising ride through a brave new world, as seen through the eyes of a man older than his years, and trapped by a conscience that still believes in justice.
Rating: 
Summary: Philadelphia in the late 1800's
Review: Black Maria pulled me in when reading the back of the book and the descriptions of Philadelphia in the midst of the Centennial kept me going however, the plot waxed and waned. I went from being engrossed in the mystery to skimming pages at a time. I would have given the plot around 3 stars but the research involved was excellent and the book really made you feel as though you were wandering around the streets of the Centennial with Detective Wilton McCleary and his pal Tad. Det. McCleary has had it rough, apparently in the first two novels the reader learns this. As I had not read either it took me a few pages to learn his past but Mark Graham does a good job summarizing for us without making it feel as though that is what he is doing as he scatters the past throughout the novel. McCleary is relegated to the task of policing Shantytown, the run down slum area of Philly and bringing the swells in for a good time. It is on one of these runs that McCleary discovers the body of a dead girl and is drawn in as the police quickly try to dismiss the death. McCleary is not satisfied with the reasons they are giving him for trying to cover the brutal murder up so he starts his own investigation. Through his search, McCleary meets the King family, Hiram is a wealthy man that no one likes to cross, his son David, a cub reporter who accompanies McCleary on a run through Shantytown and his daughter Elsie, the unhinged beauty. The reader follow McCleary through the opium dens and freak shows to the Centennial to try to discover a killer. While this book did not keep me entirely enthralled it will be enjoyable to many fans of Graham or readers who like historical mysteries. Personally, I would recommend The Alienist and Scarlet Women to readers who want a good historical mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Philadelphia in the late 1800's
Review: Black Maria pulled me in when reading the back of the book and the descriptions of Philadelphia in the midst of the Centennial kept me going however, the plot waxed and waned. I went from being engrossed in the mystery to skimming pages at a time. I would have given the plot around 3 stars but the research involved was excellent and the book really made you feel as though you were wandering around the streets of the Centennial with Detective Wilton McCleary and his pal Tad. Det. McCleary has had it rough, apparently in the first two novels the reader learns this. As I had not read either it took me a few pages to learn his past but Mark Graham does a good job summarizing for us without making it feel as though that is what he is doing as he scatters the past throughout the novel. McCleary is relegated to the task of policing Shantytown, the run down slum area of Philly and bringing the swells in for a good time. It is on one of these runs that McCleary discovers the body of a dead girl and is drawn in as the police quickly try to dismiss the death. McCleary is not satisfied with the reasons they are giving him for trying to cover the brutal murder up so he starts his own investigation. Through his search, McCleary meets the King family, Hiram is a wealthy man that no one likes to cross, his son David, a cub reporter who accompanies McCleary on a run through Shantytown and his daughter Elsie, the unhinged beauty. The reader follow McCleary through the opium dens and freak shows to the Centennial to try to discover a killer. While this book did not keep me entirely enthralled it will be enjoyable to many fans of Graham or readers who like historical mysteries. Personally, I would recommend The Alienist and Scarlet Women to readers who want a good historical mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Philadelphia in the late 1800's
Review: Black Maria pulled me in when reading the back of the book and the descriptions of Philadelphia in the midst of the Centennial kept me going however, the plot waxed and waned. I went from being engrossed in the mystery to skimming pages at a time. I would have given the plot around 3 stars but the research involved was excellent and the book really made you feel as though you were wandering around the streets of the Centennial with Detective Wilton McCleary and his pal Tad. Det. McCleary has had it rough, apparently in the first two novels the reader learns this. As I had not read either it took me a few pages to learn his past but Mark Graham does a good job summarizing for us without making it feel as though that is what he is doing as he scatters the past throughout the novel. McCleary is relegated to the task of policing Shantytown, the run down slum area of Philly and bringing the swells in for a good time. It is on one of these runs that McCleary discovers the body of a dead girl and is drawn in as the police quickly try to dismiss the death. McCleary is not satisfied with the reasons they are giving him for trying to cover the brutal murder up so he starts his own investigation. Through his search, McCleary meets the King family, Hiram is a wealthy man that no one likes to cross, his son David, a cub reporter who accompanies McCleary on a run through Shantytown and his daughter Elsie, the unhinged beauty. The reader follow McCleary through the opium dens and freak shows to the Centennial to try to discover a killer. While this book did not keep me entirely enthralled it will be enjoyable to many fans of Graham or readers who like historical mysteries. Personally, I would recommend The Alienist and Scarlet Women to readers who want a good historical mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully unique!
Review: For once, here's a book that lived up to its good reviews. Graham's meticulous research, his use of the language (and spelling) of the times, places the reader firmly on site as we travel with detective Willton McCleary through the Centennial Exposition. The rendering of the site's splendors and its neighboring sleaze is so historically accurate and visual that we can almost smell the foods on offer and hear the swish of women's gowns; we watch the pickpockets, see the displays and gaze in wonder at the miracles of the era: the new type-writing machine, the telephone, and every conceivable type of contraption. Woven into the tour of this remarkable venue is a mystery so complex and twisted that the reader is lured into suspecting any number of people of being the savage killer McCleary is attempting to find. McCleary himself is a finely drawn character with secret sorrows and scars on his psyche; he has honor and integrity and is a most sympathetic character. The pacing picks up, gets to a gallop, then races toward an unexpected and oddly satisfying conclusion. The author's note at the end of the book about Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition leaves one feeling (as I believe he hoped) with a sadness for how much of historical value has been lost through neglect or greed, and how important it is to preserve the remaining cultural remnants for future generations. Very highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Vivid picture of 1876 Phila, so-so mystery
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this novel, the images of the Centennial fair in 1876 Philadelphia are very vivid, you can almost see all of the described sights. I was very disappointed in the mystery however. It all seemed too convoluted and confusing. The protagonist McCleary didn't impress me all that much. Everyone and their brother seems to be able to fool him. Not a great trait in a detective. However, the author is excellent in bringing back the atmosphere of the 1870's.
Rating:
Summary: Where did the title come from?
Review: I've read all three of Mark Graham historical Philidelphia mysteries. I enjoy his stories. His research is actually quite remarkable, and it gives the reader an insight into the past that they may not have had. This book does that very well with the Centennial World Fair in Philidelphia. It does make you sad that all that grandeur is gone, especially after what was spent. It also gave me an insight into what World Fairs were like in their heydey. Graham's writing though is rather simplistic. This makes for quick reading of the book, and somehow the dialect and way of speaking didn't ring true with me for the era. Also, where did the title come from? The title really had no reference to the story at all. The mystery was pretty good, although I had figured out the guilty one by about 1/3 of the way through the book. But I still enjoyed the story and the sense of history that Mr. Graham instills. That's why I gave this book a higher rating than the grammar and writing skills warranted. I disagree with one of the previous reviewers viewpoints that if you really want "the smell and stink of the open sewers, read Anne Perry". I have read all Ms. Perry's books and I enjoy them immensely, but Mr. Graham's novels do really give that sense of time and place just like Ms. Perry's. His extensive research helps him achieve this. But if you really want the smell and stink, as well as the sense of place, correct grammar and syntax, I highly recommend Peter Lovesey's Cribb and Thackery novels. They're the best I've read on this era.
Rating:
Summary: Where did the title come from?
Review: I've read all three of Mark Graham historical Philidelphia mysteries. I enjoy his stories. His research is actually quite remarkable, and it gives the reader an insight into the past that they may not have had. This book does that very well with the Centennial World Fair in Philidelphia. It does make you sad that all that grandeur is gone, especially after what was spent. It also gave me an insight into what World Fairs were like in their heydey. Graham's writing though is rather simplistic. This makes for quick reading of the book, and somehow the dialect and way of speaking didn't ring true with me for the era. Also, where did the title come from? The title really had no reference to the story at all. The mystery was pretty good, although I had figured out the guilty one by about 1/3 of the way through the book. But I still enjoyed the story and the sense of history that Mr. Graham instills. That's why I gave this book a higher rating than the grammar and writing skills warranted. I disagree with one of the previous reviewers viewpoints that if you really want "the smell and stink of the open sewers, read Anne Perry". I have read all Ms. Perry's books and I enjoy them immensely, but Mr. Graham's novels do really give that sense of time and place just like Ms. Perry's. His extensive research helps him achieve this. But if you really want the smell and stink, as well as the sense of place, correct grammar and syntax, I highly recommend Peter Lovesey's Cribb and Thackery novels. They're the best I've read on this era.
Rating:
Summary: Victorian Noir
Review: Mark Graham is creating a new genre, and the Black Maria is an outstanding example. His complex hero, Wilton McCleary, solves a murder and confronts the darkness of his own soul at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. As in Graham's previous books, The Killing Breed and the Edgar nominated Resurrectionist, the historical detail is impeccable. It's not a shoot-em-up.It requires an attention span, but it's a great read for the intelligent reader, and the story builds toward an absolutely gripping conclusion
| 
