My
Rating: Three out of four
(1=didn't
like it, 2=it was ok, 3=I liked it, 4=Really like it)
Cover:
When
an explosion kills wealthy industrialist Gregory Van Dyke, Police
Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt presumes that anarchists are responsible
and personally asks Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to track them
down. Malloy is up to the challenge – but he faces a different kind
of challenge when he encounters Sarah Brandt paying a condolence call
on the Van Dykes. Faced with the impossibility of ever expressing his
true feelings for Sarah, Frank had vowed never to see or work with
her again...
For
her part, Sarah is glad to working with Malloy again – though they
clash over his conviction that the murder was politically motivated.
Frank would like to dismiss her concerns, but whether he likes it or
not he needs Sarah's help, because she knows the marble facades of
Fifth Avenue hide as many dark and twisted secrets as any tenement on
the Lower East Side...
My
take:
The
murder of millionaire Gregory Van Dyke and the crime solving duos of
Malloy and Sarah, will they find the person responsible for the
death?
Police
Commissioner Roosevelt wants it solved to everyone's satisfaction. He
assigns Malloy to the case, hoping to have it solved quickly, quietly
and without any scandal for the newspapers to find.
Finding
Sarah's mother at the Van Dyke's making a condolence call is a
surprise, finding Sarah there is something worse. Forbidding her to
become involved has never worked before and doesn't work this time.
Sarah
does help him find some important information about the case,
information that points to one of the family being responsible for
the death of the senior Van Dyke. With four family members and the
business partner, Malloy has his hands full. Of Van Dyke's sons, the
oldest would seem to have good reason for his father's death. The
second son would seem to not have a motive, the daughter also seems
to have no motive, till her secret comes out... Their step-mother
would have everyone believe she is the grieving widow of the much
loved senior Van Dyke, till more is uncovered about her personality,
along with her lack of constraint.
During
the story Malloy meeting both of Sarah's parents, which is something
of a surprise for him. Will there be any future for Sarah and Malloy?
I
believe the author did another fine job on this novel. The using of
real events to make a story come alive and let those reading know
what, to a certain extent, things were like at a certain time in
history is rewarding and challenging.
I
look forward to the next book in the series. To seeing how Malloy and
Sarah continue on their own personal journey.
Warning: Contains
sexual themes and violence that may be uncomfortable for sensitive
readers.
Disclaimer: This
book review was not paid for. The opinions and review are my own.
Author:
Victoria Thompson
Book:
Murder on Marble Row (Gaslight Mystery #6)
ISBN:
978-0-425-19870-4
Publisher:
Berkley Publishing Group, The
Copyright:
2004
Pages:
310,
Paperback
Genre:
Historical Mystery
