Dark Alley (Hidden Manhattan Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Evan Marshall (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hidden Manhattan Mysteries | Publication Date: March 1, 2010

A thrilling tale of murder, Manhattan and murky pasts - When sanitation worker Garry Thomason vanishes on his way to collect the trash, he is the first in a series of people discovered brutally murdered in the middle of hidden mews in New York. As Anna, Garry’s boss, works to expose this ‘Mews Murderer’, she first uncovers Garry’s murky past of crime and drugs, and then becomes a target herself; for this cold-blooded killer will do anything to escape detection and keep hidden a shocking secret of his own . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

New York Sanitation Department supervisor Anna Winthrop (Evil Justice, 2009; Death Is Disposable, 2008) has her hands full when one of her crew members, Iraq vet Garry Thomason, disappears while collecting trash behind Manhattan’s New Amsterdam Mews. The next morning his body turns up in the middle of the mews. Anna and her police officer fiancé, Santos Reyes, begin investigating and uncover Garry’s checkered past. His career included shoplifting, dope dealing, and grievous misconduct in Iraq. When more bodies turn up in other hidden mews, all agree that there is a serial killer out there. Anna becomes a target as she gets closer to solving the crime. She must also deal with her parents marital woes as her father battles alcoholism. This cozy offers an interesting bit of New York City architectural history along with an unconventional female detective. Perhaps there is not quite as much of the feisty humor on view in this episode as in the previous ones, but fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum will still find Anna’s unconventional approach appealing. --Barbara Bibel

Review

New York Sanitation Department supervisor Anna Winthrop (Evil Justice, 2009; Death Is Disposable,2008) has her hands full when one of her crew members, Iraq vet Garry Thomason, disappears while collecting trash behind Manhattan's New Amsterdam Mews. The next morning his body turns up in the middle of the mews. Anna and her police officer fiancé, Santos Reyes, begin investigating and uncover Garry's checkered past. His career included shoplifting, dope dealing, and grievous misconduct in Iraq. When more bodies turn up in other hidden mews, all agree that there is a serial killer out there. Anna becomes a target as she gets closer to solving the crime. She must also deal with her parents marital woes as her father battles alcoholism. This cozy offers an interesting bit of New York City architectural history along with an unconventional female detective. Perhaps there is not quite as much of the feisty humor on view in this episode as in the previous ones, but fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum will still find Anna's unconventional approach appealing. --Booklist, 1st February 2010

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers; 1 edition (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727868357
• ISBN-13: 978-0727868350
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,200,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Evan Marshall is an internationally recognized expert on fiction writing and author of the "Hidden Manhattan" and "Jane Stuart and Winky" mystery series. A former book editor, for 27 years he has been a leading literary agent specializing in fiction. His Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software, written with Martha Jewett, is an adaptation of his bestselling Marshall Plan® series.

Marshall Plan® blogs:
http://www.WriteANovelFast.com
http://www.WriteYourMemoir.com

Psychology Today - The Literary Life:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-literary-life

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TheMarshallPlanet

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http://twitter.com/MarshallPlanet

Evan Marshall's mysteries:
http://www.evan-marshall.com

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http://www.linkedin.com/in/themarshallplanet

E-mail: [e-mail]

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars superb Hidden Manhattan amateur sleuth, March 8, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: Dark Alley (Hidden Manhattan Mysteries) (Hardcover)

NYC Department of Sanitation Manhattan Central District 13 Section Chief Anna Winthrop breaks up a fight between two crew members, Ernesto Balcazer and Garry Thompson over a third crew person Kelly Moore. Soon afterward, Garry's partner Terrence King calls Anna to say his teammate vanished after going behind the New Amsterdam Mews to collect garage. The next day Anna's boyfriend police officer Santos Reyes learns of Garry's body found in the Mews. NYPD Detectives Rinaldi and Roche lead the investigation.

Anna thinks the link is to a rape incident in Iraq where Garry served two tours and a brother in arms was accused, jailed and killed in prison waiting a local trial. However, the pattern does not hold up when a second corpse of a murdered woman is found inside the Amster Mews. Dubbed by the media as the Mews Killer Anna continues her inquiries trying to find the elusive link that ties the corpses together when a cold blooded killer kills two more times and targets her too.

This is a superb Hidden Manhattan amateur sleuth (See Death Is Disposable and Evil Justice) as Anna with the cooperation of her boyfriend conducts her own investigation as she believes that NYPD will not probe deep enough to seek the patterns to the murders. Readers will find it difficult to accept that Santos escorts his civilian girlfriend to crime scenes and keeps her informed on the official investigation that he has no need to know; and likewise the two detectives allow him and Anna to stay at the crime scenes. Still this is an entreating whodunit as Evan Marshall provides tremendous red herrings and several wonderful twists as he introduces readers to fake Manhattan Mews as ideal murder locales.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark Alley, January 14, 2010

By 

Jasmyn A. Dieck "Jasmyn" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Alley (Hidden Manhattan Mysteries) (Hardcover)

A sanitation worker named Garry is found murdered in an alleyway. His supervisor Anna decides that the police aren't doing enough and begins to investigate on her own. A few days later another body is found...then another...and another. The killer is nicknamed the "Mews Murderer" and the police seem to be chasing their own tails as Anna tries everything she can to discover who the killer is before they can strike again.

To start with, I have to say that I loved the character of Anna. She was intelligent and thought through the facts coming up with some interesting points of view...some of which lead her the right direction and which lead her away. Her cop boyfriend, however, seemed to be in the story only as a way for her to get into the crime scenes. It would have been nice to see more from him, he seemed to have a lot of potential that was never used.

The mystery itself was well laid out and presented. I managed to guess the murderer early on, but I think it was just a lucky guess. We follow Anna as she interviews persons of interest and looks for clues. There were a few spots where the dialog was a little choppy or drawn out as she was asking people the same questions one after another.

Even though I had somehow managed to guess the culprit, the reasons behind his actions do not become clear until the very end. The story wrapped up very suddenly, and I would have liked to see it take more than just a couple pages. I was a bit rushed for my taste.

Overall, the book was very enjoyable and I had a hard time putting it down. If you are a mystery fan you will enjoy the story.

3/5