Customer Reviews

Death of Riley: A Molly Murphy Mystery (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's been several months since Molly arrived in America, and she's still trying to find her nitch in New York City. Her strong will and sharp tongue have gotten in the way of several jobs. She has her heart set on becoming a PI to hunt lost relatives. After much persuasion, she starts to assist Paddy Riley with his PI business. But she hasn't been there too long before she walks into the office one day to find her new boss dead. Why was he murdered? Molly's determined to find out. Meanwhile, her relationship with Daniel hits a major snag. And her living situation gets very sticky when Seamus's relatives keep showing up.

I enjoyed the second in this historical fiction series. The author has done her research, and it shows. The detail is fantastic, and I was drawn into the world of 100 years ago. The plot moves better here then in the first in the series, and the subplots add the right mixture to the overall storyline. Molly's really grown on me, too. She's the right mix of stubbornness and the naiveté that would come from her previous life in a small Irish village. The historical aspect of this is done right as well, mixing real life people into the fictitious story.

I've recently been rediscovering my love of historical fiction, and this book is a perfect fit in that genre. Ms. Bowen seamlessly mixes history and mystery into an engrossing story.

Molly Murphy has decided after many failed attempts at employment to be an investigator. Since this is the early 1900's in NYC many find this announcement nonsense and dismiss it as foolish behavior. Well she meets Paddy and convinces him to give her a job cleaning his office. She bothers him everday about his
cases and ask question after question. Upon coming to work one day, she discovers a robbery in progress and her world is turned upside down. Molly manages to irritate everyone with her determination to find the criminal. Her actions place in her danger and it is up to Daniel Sullivan to rescue her from her
shortcomings. This sequel is not as tightly written as the debut novel. I found myself skimming the last third of the book as Molly actions were just over the top where the plot was headed. Bowen does manage to reel Molly in and the conclusion of the story was solid yet murky. Rating 7

Each and every Molly mystery is filled with historical information, which is fed ever so lightly and creates a realistic flavor. The characters are well developed, the stories well plotted and each a treasure in its own right. I read these 9 books in just 3 weeks. Once started, I couldn't stop! I am happy I read them in order, and you may want to consider this as well. Since many of them have been awarded mysteries top writing awards, I have created a list for you to read which book received which award, and placed them in order according to publication date in case you too would like to read them in order:
Murphy's Law (2001)
2001 Agatha Award for Best Novel
Finalist 2002 Mary Higgins Clark Award

Death of Riley (2002)
Finalist 2002 Agatha Award for Best Novel

For the Love of Mike (2003)
2004 Anthony Award for Best Historical Novel
Finalist 2004 Macavity Award for Best Novel

In Like Flynn (2005)
Finalist 2006 Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel

Oh Danny Boy (2006)
2007 Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel
Finalist 2007 Barry Award for Best Novel

In Dublin's Fair City (2007)

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (2008)
Finalist 2009 Bruce Alexander Award

In a Gilded Cage (2009)
Finalist 2010 Bruce Alexander Award

The Last Illusion (2010)

I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did!!

In 1901 New York, Irish immigrant Molly Murphy is not having any success in her search for a job that interests her. Her beau, police captain Daniel Sullivan, wants her to take a job as a companion to a wealthy woman, which she agrees to try. While working, she notices a man lurking around the woman's home in a furtive manner and is told by Daniel that he is Paddy Riley, a private detective.

Molly nags Paddy until he agrees to hire her as a clerk. One day she finds her employer murdered. Someone has gone through his files and a few days later, someone sets fire to the office, destroying everything inside. Molly has the notebook he always carried around while on a case and she notices that he was very upset about a conversation he overheard in a bar. Molly successfully tracks down one of the people and through him she is able to locate the person he met with that night. Headless of the danger to herself, Molly continues to investigate and brings herself to the attention of a murderer who has every intention of killing again.

Rhys Bowen gives her audience a very accurate picture of what New York City was like for an immigrant in 1901. The heroine is a very spunky and likable woman who acts on her convictions even when it puts her in danger. DEATH OF Riley is a delightful historical cozy starring characters that are eccentric, bohemian, and believable. The ending will come as a shock to the audience because the author cleverly disguises the direction she is moving the story line along.

Harriet Klausner

Murphy's Law--the first book in Rhys Bowen's new Molly Murphy series--won an Agatha award last year. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Death of Riley won another. Rhys Bowen also writes the wonderful Constable Evans series. How she can switch back and forth from contemporary Wales to turn of the century New York with an Irish main character is a measure of her talent.

Death of Riley starts off with Molly getting a job as companion to an elderly lady, which doesn't suit her independent nature at all. A disappointment in Captain Daniel Sullivan, the police office Molly met and fell for in Murphy's Law, causes her to reassess her situation and decide she needs a new occupation. When she first arrived in New York she had become involved in helping to solve a crime, so she figures becoming a private investigator would work well for her. She fully intends to stay out of criminal cases and work on finding lost relatives for families left behind in Europe.

However, a criminal case pops up in front of her when she finds Paddy Riley, the PI she's persuaded to hire her as an assistant, slumped over his desk, and discovers he's been murdered. It seems perfectly obvious to Molly that it's up to her to find out who killed him. She sets off to do just that, meeting all kinds of intriguing people along the way, and showing the reader, in fascinating detail, just what the New York of 1901 was like.

Molly is soon involved in several friendships--with a charming male playwright, a painter who wants her to pose for him, and a couple of unusual women, highly independent and artistic women--a writer and a painter--who introduce her to new ideas and a different lifestyle. She even falls in with a group of anarchists. And of course, as might be expected, the intelligent and persistent Molly does solve the mystery of Riley's death. What is not so expected is the surprising turn of events that leads to a quite explosive finish!

And at the end, it even seems possible that Molly and the attractive Captain Daniel Sullivan might get together again. Stay tuned to this delightful, wonderfully well-written series and you just might find out.

A fresh extension of Murphy's Law, Death of Riley relates experiences of Molly Murphy in 1901 as she finally begins to settle in NYC. Molly dreams of being a Private Investigator, working as a people finder. In this story she begins to pursue her dream.

A recent immigrant from Ireland, Molly Lands in New York City with no relatives or contacts or any possible employment. Her first task is to become gainfully employed. She tries being a seamstress at a shirtwaist factory, but is stabbed by a needle. She works as a waitress, but breaks too many dishes. Molly does not like to be bossed and is too outspoken for most employers. She has trouble keeping a job for a day. Then she is hired as a companion to Miss Van Woekem, a rich lonely old woman.

After several weeks with Miss Woekem, she meet Riley, a Private Investigator originally from Ireland by way of London. She cons him into hiring her as an "assistant" and her path to becoming a detective begins.

Molly is regularly in danger. No one believes she can be a PI so they dismiss her. She slinks into bars and prowls bad neighborhoods. She constantly blunders into dangerous situations. Twice she faces assault. Molly learns her trade the hard way, by doing it.

Can she overcome the prejudice? Can she find financing for an agency of her own? Will the police or prospective clients learn to accept her? Molly working through the barriers makes a fascinating story full of action, suspense and intrigue. I highly recommend the "Death of Riley.



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This is an enjoyable cozy mystery series featuring twenty-three year old Molly Murphy, a recent immigrant to America's shores sometime at the turn of the twentieth century. This is the second book in that series.

Fans of the first book will not be disappointed with this offering, in which the very independent Molly seeks her way to secure the American dream. After a brief stint as a lady's companion, she decides to become a private investigator, an unheard of occupation for a woman in the early nineteen hundreds. She becomes an assistant to Paddy Riley, a private investigator with a seamy reputation, and before long, he ends up dead.

This leads Molly on her own private quest to find his killer. Of course, Captain Daniel Sullivan of the New York City Police Department, with whom Mollie is in love, is in the picture, though complications have arisen in the romance department. With very little help and guidance, Molly has many adventures in her search for the killer, a killer who will stop at nothing to keep Molly from becoming successful in her quest for justice.

This is a lively, fun series of cozy mysteries that are well-written and offer interesting plots, as well as well-developed characters. The series is replete with historical detail evocative of a by-gone era. Those who enjoy the historical cozy mystery genre will definitely enjoy this entertaining series.

Rhys Bowen, author of the Evans series of cozies set in Wales, continues her Celtic course with an Irish protagonist. This time it is a woman and the setting is New York of a century ago. But the Celtic element remains strong - Molly Murphy is an individualist with a strong sense of self and the ability to cut through waffle, semi-truths and untruths so she can pick out the germane and the useful. Molly has the Celtic gift of insight and the ability to make leaps of the imagination, leaving logic far behind.

She is a fine character, this Molly, saddled also with imperfections, including that imagination which is at times TOO vivid. Strong characterization is this writer's greatest asset. The setting, especially the class system of New York a century ago, the dialogue, the pacing are all good but it is the true-to-themselves characters that lift this book out of the ordinary.

The plot is unusual and well-conceived and the truth remains hidden almost to the end. The historical period and geographic setting combine to strengthen the dramatic tension.

But read the book for the pleasure of Molly Murphy's uppity-ness in a time and place that did not sanction the uppity. Read it for a look at life in Greenwich Village a century ago, and enjoy Molly's proud new "parents", Sid and Gus.

Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen is the second book in the Molly Murphy mystery series. Molly is an unusual detective: she has few detecting skills, she tends to get herself into deadly situations, and she rarely thinks before she acts. All of these characteristics of course make for interesting reading. Molly approaches private detective Paddy Riley and asks him for a job. Shortly after starting as his secretary, she finds Riley dead at his desk and determines to find his killer when the police won't. Her romance with Danny hits the skids, but she makes some new friends in Greenwich Village in her search for Riley's killer. I really enjoyed most of the book, but the involvement of real historical people and a presidential assassination strained the credibility of the book for me.

I was intrigued by the time frame and book jacket description of Molly. This is a simply written detective story that should appeal to those who want some light reading. I grew annoyed with the frequent usage of cliches, and inner monologue of Molly. She came off as predictable (firey, red haired Irish woman, gutsy,yet gullible but trying to be worldly), and most of the characters were not that interestingly drawn. I didn't find Ms Bowen's writing style engaging. I skimmed the last third of the book and didn't feel like I missed anything. It's ok for a light diversion, but there are many more accomplished writers out there.