Customer Reviews

Murder In Chinatown (Gaslight Mystery)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Murder in Chinatown by Victoria Thompson is the latest entry in the Gaslight mystery series. I've fallen in love with Thompson's tales of Knickerbocker turned midwife Sarah Brandt and her ally Detective Frank Malloy, and while this tale doesn't satisfy on every point, it's definitely a good read. Sarah is summoned to Chinatown to attend the birth of Cora Lee, a Irish girl who's married a Chinese businessman. Sarah soon meets the rest of the Lee family with both its Irish and Chinese roots and sees the effects of American xenophobia. Chinese women are not allowed in the US, so Chinese men marry Irish girls who are hoping for something more than life in a tenement and aren't afraid to face the racism they will face with their mixed marriage. When Cora's biracial niece, Angel, disappears, Sarah does her best to investigate without infuriating Malloy who wants her to stay out of trouble. Sarah's newly acquired daughter Catherine encourages her to watch her own safety as well. Maybe that's why this story has a little less teeth than previous entries. Soon, Angel turns up dead, and Malloy is on the case, both to make sure it is solved in New York's climate of ignoring crimes against minorities and to ensure that Sarah stays out of it. Thompson has created considerable heat between her lead characters in previous books, but in this one, only a few glances are exchanged. Perhaps because Sarah and Malloy are thinking so much about each other, they miss the obvious clues to the real killer, or maybe Thompson is making a statement about how judging purely on appearance can lead to tragic consequences. The climax is powerful as both Malloy and Sarah realize what they have missed. The denouement promises interesting things to come for the Gaslight series. I can only hope for a little more romance and a little more excitement.

Midwife Sarah Brandt is thrust into yet another mystery while delivering a baby. The daughter of a Chinese businessman and his Irish wife goes missing. Sarah asks Detective Sergeant Mulloy for insight into how to find the girl. What she finds is murder and it takes both Sarah and Mulloy to solve the mystery. The fascinating backdrop of New York's Chinatown as the twentieth century looms, is the main character of the book. Thompson steeps her series in history but you never know there is a history and sociological lesson within the pages. The only reason five stars wasn't given, is that the murderer is apparent with still 100 pages to go.

This is the ninth (and most recent )entry in the Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson. These mysteries are set in turn-of-the-century New York City and feature the crime-solving team of widowed midwife Sarah Brandt and NYPD Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. In this story, the two investigate the murder of Angle Lee, a young Chinese/Irish girl who was promised in marriage to an older Chinese man. To avoid the marraige arranged by her father, Angel runs off and marries an Irish boy, and then is discovered murdered outside of her new home. This story focuses a lot on the prejudices which the Chinese immigrants living in New York City faced at this time. I enjoyed learning the details about New York's turn-of-the-century Chinatown which author Thompson gives in this story.

However, I was a little disappointed in the lack of development of the series' main characters, the midwife Sarah Brandt and the NYPD Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. I hope the next book in this series will move along the relationship between these two. Nonetheless, "Murder in Chinatown" is another enjoyable read in this great series of histrical mysteries.

This is another good enty in the Victoria Thompson Gaslight Mystery Series. In this book we get to see a little bit about what life was like in turn-of-the-century New York City for its many Chinese immigrants. I enjoy Ms. Thompson's characters. Sarah Brandt gets better with each outing and the romantic link between her and Frank Malloy gets stronger. Sarah is called upon to help find a young Chinese girl when she is in Chinatown delivering a baby, but before the police can help to bring her home, she is found dead in an alley. Sarah enlists the aid of Detective Frank Malloy to help the family track down a killer. Although I figured out the killer before the end of the book, I still enjoyed this story. This is a very enjoyable historical read.

I love historical mysteries and Victoria Thompson did a great job writing about the time period. However, I solved the mystery less than halfway through the book and it became frustrating for me to get through the rest of the book as Detective Malloy and Sarah seemed to miss some very obvious clues. I'm usually not good at solving mysteries and part of my enjoyment is being surprised by the ending. All in all, for me, the book was enjoyable as a period study but disappointing as a mystery.

Victoria Thompson is the author of numerous historical novels. Murder in Chinatown is part of her Gaslight Mystery series.

Sarah Brandt is a widow, an adoptive mother, a nurse/midwife and a part-time sleuth--much to Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy's dismay. That dismay makes for a nice, yet uneasy alliance between him and Brandt.

Brandt travels to Chinatown to deliver a baby. The neighborhood abounds with Irish women who entered the United States through Ellis Island, are alone and have married Chinese men.

While in Chinatown, 15-year-old Angel goes missing. She's half-Chinese and half-Irish. It appears she's wasn't willing to participate in an arranged marriage with a much older Chinese man and ran away. Brandt begins to help the family in their search for Angel and when Angel is found murdered, she brings Malloy into the case.

It's up to Malloy and Brandt to penetrate the private world of Chinatown to solve the murder and bring the murderer to justice. It's a delicate job that just might get Brandt or the people she cares about murdered.

This is my first mystery by Victoria Thompson and it won't be the last. While I'm not always fond of historical mysteries, I found fascinating the historical perspective of the police taking reward money from victim's families. I had no idea there was a population of New York Irish women who married Chinese men and had no idea of the issues they and their children faced.

The characters are believable, interesting and unique and the plot is compelling. I don't think I've ever mentioned a book cover in a review before, but Murder in Chinatown's cover is a work of art. People will pick up the book just because of the cover, and I suspect it will add to the author's sales.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

This is the ninth book in the engaging and enjoyable Gaslight Mystery series of books by this author. Set against a backdrop of turn of the twentieth century New York City life that encompasses the teeming tenements of the poor and the stately homes of the wealthy, these books are replete with period detail that is often fascinating. They chronicle the investigatory adventures of Sarah Brandt, a former socialite turned midwife, and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy of the New York City Police Department. As these books are part of a series, it is strongly recommended that they be read in the order in which they were written.

When Sarah Brandt is called to Chinatown to deliver a baby, she encounters Irish women who have married Chinese men. In reading the book, I had not realized that, for a time, Chinese women were not allowed to immigrate here. Consequently, what were the men to do, if they were interested in having families but did not wish to return to China? This book answers that question, and the answer is also is a natural segue to the mystery at hand.

When fifteen year old Angel Lee, who is biracial, goes missing, everyone knows that it is fruitless to report it to the police, as bigotry is rampant in New York City. Sarah, however, feels differently, and she enlists the aid of Detective Sergeant Malloy in investigating Angel's whereabouts. When Angel eventually turns up dead in an alley, things may not be as they seem.

The main characters are well-developed, and the dialogue is credible, moving the story along at a brisk pace. With each book, the backdrop stories of the lives of the main characters are fleshed out just a little more. At the core of it all is the evolving relationship between Sarah and Malloy, a relationship that is constrained by the social mores of the time. While the mysteries are intriguing, they are the framework around which the characters evolve. Those who like historical fiction and mysteries will enjoy this well-written series of books.

Victoria Thompson has another great hit. The Gaslight Mystery is always a winner and Murder in Chinatown is no exception.

I love this gas light series, especially since victoria brings her characters, main and secondary, to life and makes you care about them. It is also a page turner. I'm particularly fond of Brian and Aggie.I 've read 7 of them and can't wait for the next three.

I love mysteries in old Nw York. This book really shows me New York city in at the turn of the century. Great plot!