Murder on St. Mark's Place

Gaslight Mystery Series #2

By: Victoria Thompson

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

Thinking that she has been summoned by German immigrant Agnes Otto to usher a new life into the world, midwife Sarah Brandt is greeted by the news of an untimely death instead. It seems that Agnes' beautiful younger sister, Gerda, had fallen into the life of a "charity girl". Caught up in the false glamour of the city's nightlife, she would trade her company and her favors for lavish gifts. And now she was dead - victim, no doubt, of one of her "gentlemen friends".

No one cares much about the fate of girls like Gerda, but Sarah does. To find her killer, she turns to Sergeant Frank Malloy. As the two pursue an investigation that leads from the bright lights of Coney Island to the stately homes of Fifth Avenue, they find that their shared passion for justice may cost them dearly.

©2000 Victoria Thompson (P)2015 Tantor

must listen

the reading was extremely entertaining the performance was quite good and the characters came to life.

Lovely historical fiction

I’m not entirely sure what I expected from this series but I’ve really fallen in love! This is light fare and fun to read.

Murder in St. Marks Place

This is a good series. In this book Sarah gets involved in helping prostitutes that's being killed. She goes undercover to help find the killer. Frank Mallory helps her. I hope he stays in the series. Him and her is my favorite part of the series. If you like goog clean mystery books I think you'll like this series. If my review is any help will you please click on the helpful link below. Thank you.

Terrible Narrator Good Story

Literally the worst narration I've ever heard. Liked the story, will probably purchase additional titles. Hopefully a change in Narrator is forthcoming!

gaslight mystery series

great story. I didn't figure out who the bad guy was until very close to the end. suspense kept me turning pages, and when listening, kept my steps slower so I could hear what happened next! if you enjoy clean (no R rated scenes) this is a cozy mystery you will enjoy.

The gritty history that they didn't teach us

I feel like I'm learning the real history of those times ... I've read a lot of history, and historical novels, and the hints about the underbelly of society were made palatable and not so very terrible in those stories. This is written from a perspective on the police as a new part of society ... and it seems the police were hired guns that wanted to be paid by the victims as much as by the police department. Pretty darn grim ....

I've read the first two books in this series, and what elevates the story is the slow emotional awakening of one of the officers ... he's no saint, he's as uninterested in cases where the victim's family can't afford to give him a "reward" of cash as the other officers, but he finds himself confronted by the perspective of an upper class widow who gave up her position in society to work as a midwife, supporting herself, and taking care of lower class women and children. She helps him, and his son, without need of or asking for any reward, and that works on his somewhat deadened conscience. He, in turn, helps her discover the man who is killing the shop girls.

I highly recommend these novels if you like historical mysteries, and if you are interested in discovering some truths about the feral nature of American society as it existed in those times.

surprise

twist in the murder , and a real who done it. can't wait for the next book.

predictable plot

i'd hoped for a bit of a plot twist, but the killer was utterly predictable from the first time they appeared in the story. boring.

Perfect murder mystery

I love historical mysteries with strong female characters. This series has me mesmerized. There are no slow parts. The action and characters keep my attention. Great series.

Great details

I really like the characters and details of places, clothes and class. but Sarah who is intelligent and works with families in lower class neighborhoods doesn’t seem to be very people smart. The ending of this book was not very satisfying because she was at times so naive not excused by her upbringing that she didn’t see things in front of her nose. Did the author telegraph too much???