Murphy's Law

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Murphy's Law is the captivating first entry of Rhys Bowen’s New York Times best-selling Molly Murphy series.

Molly Murphy always knew she'd end up in trouble, just as her mother predicted. So, when she commits murder in self-defense, she flees her cherished Ireland, under cover of a false identity, for the anonymous shores of late 19th-century America. When she arrives in New York and sees the welcoming promise of freedom in the Statue of Liberty, Molly begins to breathe easier. But when a man is murdered on Ellis Island, a man Molly was seen arguing with, she becomes a prime suspect in the crime.

If she can't clear her name, Molly will be sent back to Ireland where the gallows await, so using her Irish charm and sharp wit, she escapes Ellis Island and sets out to find the wily killer on her own. Pounding the notorious streets of Hell's Kitchen and the Lower East Side, Molly undertakes a desperate mission to clear her name before her deadly past comes back to haunt her new future.

©2001 Rhys Bowen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Charming story overall

I’m a big fan of the Royal Spyness series, so thought I’d try this..it starts a little slowly, and not quite as catchy as Spyness, but did pick up as it went along, and more of Molly’s spunk emerged. The performance was well done.

An interesting novel

This is my first book in the Molly Murphy series and it took me awhile to become familiar with the main characters' personality, the time period, and the setting in this series. The main character, who is an amateur detective at this time, is a headstrong person who gets into one seemingly impossible situation to the next. Amazingly she is living by her wits, has an attention for detailed and has the luck of the Irish behind her. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am interested to see what happens next in the series.

Nice historical backdrop!

This is a fun get-to-know-you mystery with Molly, set against the backdrop of Irish-American immigration at the turn of the 20th century. New York's development, the experience of Ellis Island, and the role of Irish culture in NYC politics seem to have been well-researched.

Not her best

Enjoyed this book and as always the performance was excellent, but not Rhys Bowen's best.

I enjoyed listening to this narrator

I enjoyed the narrator and I am a huge fan of Rhys Bowmen. Her writing teaches me language. history, and I laugh out loud with her perspective. There has never been a bowen book that I didn't enjoy.

problems with her details

She can swim yet cannot remove the gag?!?
He is carrying her off to bed when he thinks she is married but behaves “with honor”when he finds out she’s not?

Sweet

I am a Royal Spyness fan but I think I like this series even more. I’m anxious to start the next book.

charmingly read but not totally satisfactory

First, Nicola Barber is a brilliant narrator. Her acting as the many different characters is superb. She does a wonderful job with the heroine Molly, both in the first-person narration and the dialogue. This book has a large cast of characters with differing backgrounds and ages and she makes them all come to life with all their different accents and emotions. She is a joy to listen to, which was what made me keep going through the whole novel. Unfortunately, the novel itself is rather disappointing in several ways. The background seems fairly well researched, though I am not enough of an expert on Ellis Island and the New York of the period to be certain it is correct in all its details. However, while I find Molly rather likable, I also think on several occasions she is dimmer than I would have liked, and I don't entirely like her love interest, the police captain Daniel Sullivan. While I grant he is supposed to be depicted as a man of his time, he also is a bit too sexist, insensitive and overbearing. Also, he does have odd standards concerning how to treat a woman, going after Molly intensely when he thinks she is married while drawing back to be "honorable" when he discovers she is not. Additionally, without spoilers here, I found the mystery itself disappointing, in that there were not enough satisfactory clues for either the characters or readers to solve it, and Molly just fumbles her way into discovering what was really going on. Still, I liked some of the additional characters, including the children Molly brings to America to help them rejoin their father. Again, Nicola Barber's performance made listening a fascinating experience, as I kept hoping for more characters to get the chance to hear how she would act each one.

Luck of the Irish?

If you could sum up Murphy's Law in three words, what would they be?

Wait for it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Molly herself, an intelligent young woman on the run from injustice. Had the will to survive under harsh circumstances and the intelligence to seek out the truth. Looking forward to more.

Which character – as performed by Nicola Barber – was your favorite?

Molly, again, her soft irish accent was easy and a joy to listen to while driving.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A young Irsh lass finds out what it means to come to the Home of the Free and the Brave!

Great listen.

I enjoyed the tale and the narrator did an excellent rendition of the various accents, making following the story an easy task.