Burning Bridges [Paperback]

Troy Soos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Critically acclaimed author Troy Soos plunges readers once again into the gritty underside of turn of the century New York, as editor Marshall Webb and reformer Rebecca Davies reunite to solve a mystery that could expose a hidden world of vice and corruption, where everything has a price - and someone is guilty of murder.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–This logical, well-plotted mystery is set in late-19th-century New York. The overriding issue is whether Brooklyn should consolidate with Manhattan, and there are passionate views on both sides. Joshua Thompson, a wealthy Brooklyn businessman who made his fortune selling products to the Union Army, is a strong spokesman against consolidation. When he is shot dead on the street, forces in favor of the idea are suspected. Teaming up to solve Thompson's murder are Marshall Webb, a cultured, well-dressed journalist for Harper's Weekly, and BuckMorehouse, a gluttonous, unkempt, but clever detective. Also instrumental in finding the solution is Webb's workaholic girlfriend, who owns a shelter for abused women. Stephanie Quilty, a streetwise 17-year-old, lives there and has surprisingly much in common with the rich, rebellious young people who appear in the story. Many teens will be interested in the characters and in the descriptions of urban life when there were horse-and-buggies instead of SUVs, opium dens instead of crack houses, and today's boroughs were all independent cities.–Joyce Fay Fletcher, Rippon Middle School, Prince William County, VA
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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758206240
• ISBN-13: 978-0758206244
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,965,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic historical mystery, September 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burning Bridges (Paperback)

In 1896, thanks to his exposé article on Tammany Hall corruption, Harper's magazine hires reporter Marshall Webb while the Lexow Committee tries to see that corrupt politicians and cop do time. Marshall wants to work on a different story and his boss is eager to oblige him. His topic of choice is to look at the upcoming referendum to decide whether Brooklyn and Staten Island should merge with Manhattan; supporters and opponents are volatile on the subject.

He attends the town meeting hosted at Brooklyn's Canarsie Hall where wealthy industrialist Joshua Thompson provides a rousing speech in support of the third largest city in America remaining independent. As Marshall interviews Joshua, shots are fired; Joshua is dead. Detective Buck Morehouse investigates the homicide; he teams up with Marshall using the reporter as bait to lure a killer.

Troy Soos has written a fantastic historical mystery starring a likeable hero. His girlfriend wealthy socialite Rebecca Davies, who runs a home for women in trouble, plays more of a secondary role this time as opposed to her prime actions in the previous novels. The most intriguing character is Detective Morehouse, who receives free gratuities that today would be considered corruption but is quite acceptable in the Gay Nineties of New York. This well written and thoroughly researched BURNING BRIDGES, besides containing a wonderful period piece who-done-it, also leaves the audience with the concept that crime including corruption and graft is defined by society, which changes the definition periodically.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I've found a new author I like, February 7, 2007

By 

J. E. Bonarski "avid reader" (Gaylord, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Burning Bridges (Paperback)

I've read two books now of Tory Soos, "Burning Bridges" and "The Gilded Cage". Both books have the same sleuthing team of Marshall Webb and Rebecca Davies and are set in New York City 19th century. The stories are tightly plotted and keep you involved in the characters. I always like a book that also teaches me a little something. I write historical fiction of the same era, set in Chicago and Upper Michigan, so that raises my interest level. My only complaint is the "soft" ending that seem to find a culprit you didn't get to know very well.