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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Fifth Entry, April 8, 2006
Molly Murphy is frustrated with her life in New York City. Being a detective isn't going well and she is having a hard time paying the bills. Plus, after her last encounter with police captain Daniel Sullivan, she wants nothing more to do with him. She's seriously considering moving out west and becoming a schoolteacher, much to her friends' dismay.
Then she finds out rather dramatically that Daniel has been arrested and is being held in the notorious Tombs prison. He's been accused of accepting a bribe, and the new police commissioner just happened to be on the scene to witness it. Of course, the charge is laughable. Daniel is one of the few people on the police force who would never accept a bribe. With most of the force turned against him, his only hope of proving his innocence is Molly. She reluctantly takes the case.
After several false starts, Molly begins to suspect that it might be related to one of two cases he was working at the time. The first involves a doped horse at the racetrack on Coney Island. The second is far more dangerous and involves a serial killer murdering prostitutes in the East Side. Either case is sure to put Molly in grave danger. Will she find the proof she needs? Will she live to free Daniel?
As if this weren't enough, Molly is having some health problems. And Daniel's ex-fiancee shows up requesting a favor from Molly. What's Arabella up to?
My biggest frustration with these books has been the fact that Molly sometimes seems to stumble on the answer with little more then luck. I couldn't help but laugh as Molly herself discusses this fact several times over the course of the book.
This is easily the best entry in the series. Several storylines weave together to form a logical conclusion. I only pieced everything together a couple pages before Molly did, and she did an excellent job of piecing things together herself. Even friends Sid and Gus get into the act. As always these neighbors provide some wonderful comic and tender moments. They continue to show their love for Molly, and it easily endears them to the reader.
The other characters in the novel are well drawn as well. New characters like Gentlemen Jack and Sabella Goodwin not only provide the needed story points, but also help recreate Molly's world. The scenes with the Arabella are especially good; I wouldn't mind seeing her character again.
The city itself plays a large roll in the story. Rhys Bowen brings the New York City of 1902 to vivid life. The sights, sounds, and smells made me feel like I was in the muggy summer weather right along side Molly.
This series has only gotten stronger with each entry. Don't hesitate to pick up this great book to be transported to another time and place.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasant and pulse-quickening historical mystery, March 15, 2006
Cozy writer Rhys Bowen takes us back to turn-of-the-century New York, where a vicious serial killer dubbed the East Side Ripper is loose, but amateur sleuth Molly Murphy has more important things to worry about.
Captain Daniel Sullivan has landed himself in jail. He admits to breaking the law --- a teeny, little inconsequential law: arranging a prizefight. Everyone loves a prizefight, including many members of the NYPD. So why is Daniel in the Tombs? Maybe it was the bribe the new police commissioner witnessed being passed to him. And it wasn't just any bribe either. This one led to the death of a New York City police officer. Now even the tight brotherhood of cops is against Daniel. He has nowhere to turn other than Molly, his recent paramour and an admittedly fine investigator. However, Molly is not feeling too friendly toward him right about now, considering his freshly discovered engagement to society deb Arabella Norton. A woman scorned and all...
But for deeply personal reasons, Molly relents and agrees to look into it. In her efforts to exonerate Captain Sullivan, Molly chases all over the Big Apple in the summer of 1902, braving scorching temperatures and dodging a rampant typhoid epidemic --- and the East Side Killer, who Molly decides may warrant a closer probe. While the police believe that the killer is targeting ladies of the evening, Molly is not so sure about that. Fortunately, her investigation follows a different angle than the official inquiry --- fortunately, since it has to be conducted with the utmost discretion. Cops aren't too crazy about outsiders meddling in their business.
Tiptoeing around the entire NYPD, unsure of whom to trust, Molly has her work cut out for her. And to further complicate things, she finds access to Daniel blocked at every turn. How can she possibly clear his name if she can't get information to and from him?
Real-life Sabella Goodwin, police matron, steps into Rhys Bowen's fictional world to assist Molly Murphy. Equally unflagging, the spunky and resolute Sabella soon steps squarely on somebody's toes and winds up clinging to life by a slim thread following a brutal attack, leaving Molly once again on her own to search the dark alleys and dangerous streets of the city.
Along come neighbors Sid and Gus, a pair of women with hearts full of adventure, cheerfully offering to lend a hand. While Molly is off tracking Sabella Goodwin's clues to the identity of the East Side Ripper, Sid and Gus head merrily out on the trail of a missing young woman. Meanwhile, how is any of this helping Daniel? None of them could have foreseen that their paths would take them all out to Coney Island. At least some of the answers appear to be hidden at the popular theme park teeming with swelling crowds, swooning women and roller coasters.
Reminiscent of Jessica Fletcher from the "Murder, She Wrote" television series, Molly Murphy may just be Jessica's historical counterpart. OH DANNY BOY is not exactly nail-biting suspense, but nonetheless is a pleasant pulse-quickener.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A joyful continuation of the Molly you've learned to love, May 8, 2006
Molly Murphy has been one of the most delightful on-going characters of today's mystery genre. Her turn of the last century knowledge and latitude is restrictive by our standards but aggressive and imaginative by hers. This book wasn't quite up to par with the earlier Molly Murhpy books, but wouldn't part with the experience of the read for any other of its kind.
Molly, like Maisie Dobbs of the same era - seem to bring a sense of daring and challenge and yes, even the mis-judgements to the character. She comes to life as the pages unfold, until at the last, you are left wanting more. Please Rhys Bowen, keep Molly in your creative soul, for a long time to come.
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