Customer Reviews

Murder on Lenox Hill (Gaslight Mystery)

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

 

 

Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series is, definitely, one of the (if not the) best American historical mystery series around. And if you're in the market for a good mystery novel with wonderful historical detail and a nifty storyline, you'll definitely enjoy "Murder on Lennox Hill."

When midwife and nurse, Sarah Brandt, is asked to go the Linton house on Lennox Hill, she thinks that she's about to be asked to take care of another well-off expectant matron and she's grateful for the opportunity to add a well paying client to her files. But the Lintons, who turn out to be a much older couple, have actually requested Sarah's help for a much more serious matter: they fear that their sweet but simple-minded daughter, Grace, may be with child, and they want Sarah to put their minds at rest by examining the child. A brief examination confirms everyone's worst fears: Grace is almost six months pregnant. But how did Grace, who was never left on her own, and who was always in the company of either her mother or her maid, become pregnant? It is a mystery that Sarah is determined to solve and to put a stop to the monster who took advantage of Grace before he strikes again. And to do that Sarah enlists the help of her friend, police detective Frank Malloy, and carefully begins to make herself part of the Linton's circle of friends.

Frank, in the meantime, has been approached by Sarah's father on another matter. Part of New York's upper class, Felix Decker had disapproved of Sarah's marriage to Dr. Thomas Brandt, and of her work as a midwife and nurse. And when Brandt was murdered, the Deckers had assumed that Sarah would come home and take her place in society again. Except that Sarah chose to continue her work and to seek justice for Brandt's murder. Now, Decker wants to hire Frank to find Brandt's murderer. Decker has a letter that claims that Brandt was an unsavoury character. And he thinks that if Brandt's murderer is found, all of Brandt's crimes will come to light, and that a disillusioned Sarah will finally come to her senses and come home, and that she will also turn her back on Frank for having revealed Brandt to be the man he actually is (Decker disapproves completely of Sarah's friendship with Frank). And while Frank knows all this, he also realises that he is the only one who can do a proper job, find out the real truth about Brandt (and not just what Decker wants to hear) and so minimise the damage done to Sarah. And so Frank finds himself, much against his will, working for Felix Decker. That is until Sarah involves him in the Linton case, and that investigation leads both Sarah and Frank into an area of depravity that even they were unprepared for...

My first advice is not to read the blurb on the dustwrapper. It gives away almost three quarters of the plot! Why do publishers do this? Don't they realise that for most mystery addicts, plot development, with all its many (or few) twists and turns are an important feature? Because Victoria Thompson's Gaslight mysteries are an auto-buy, I didn't read the blurb and so was saved from disappointment. I only read it when I was in the middle of writing the review -- hence the rant. Ranting aside, "Murder on Lennox Hill" was a good read. The storyline was an intriguing one that developed smoothly and unfolded at a good and constant pace. And the character portrayals were so well done as to seem almost lifelike. The period detail was brilliant as well, and added a nice background atmosphere to the novel at hand. And while there weren't too many plot twists, when it did come, it really did liven up the book enormously. Also adding to the complexity of tone was how Thompson filtered in the mystery of Thomas Brandt's murder, showing us how important it was to both Frank and Sarah that truth about the murder came out. All in all, "Murder on Lennox Hill" was a truly superb read, and one that should not be missed.

This is an excellent series, very readable, but what I love most are the period details. The author gives the reader insights into social protocol of the day, which is actually fascinating. (The books are set in turn-of-the-century NYC.) We find out the rules of courtship, of "calling" on friends and acquaintances, and how one would go about snubbing another. It makes for much more interesting than books in which characters rip each others' clothes off immediately or tell each other off with numerous f-bombs. What's particularly impressive is the fact that the author manages to do this without being pedantic. One character, Frank Malloy, comes from an Irish immigrant background and, like most readers, doesn't know these rules - so the explanations are woven in seamlessly.

Sarah Brandt is a midwife working in the tenements of New York around the turn of the 20th Century. She often helps her friend Detective Sergeant Malloy with cases.

She is summoned by the wealthy Lintons to their home. Their teenaged daughter, Grace, is mentally still a child. Sarah confirms their fear that she is expecting. Since she is never left alone, no one can figure out who the father could be. Sarah does her best trying to determine who it might be, but to no avail. She asks Malloy to help. He is reluctant to do, but he does in the end.

The only place Grace goes is to church. So, Malloy and Sarah both begin to investigate whether it could have happened at the church. Sarah begins to get to know quite a few people, including Mrs. Upchurch, the Reverend's wife. She doesn't have many friends. Matter of fact, her husband tells people that she is unbalanced. But Mrs. Upchurch begins to confide in Sarah.

Sarah and Malloy begin to investigate deeper based on some information from Mrs. Upchurch. But can they trust the information she has given them? They do know something isn't right at the church.

When the Reverend falls dead during a service, things begin to really get going. Sarah and Malloy have their work cut out for them. Can they figure out who is guilty of murder and who took advantage of Grace?

I really enjoy this series. Sarah and Malloy are great characters. Aggie that Sarah has taken in is really adding to the storyline as well. I normally don't like historical mysteries, but I am really enjoying this time-period.

I highly recommend this new book in this terrific series. Due to some of the subject matter, it made me wary of reading it. But the author handled it very well. And if you haven't read the previous books in this series, I recommend you do.

I enjoy this series and have read every book. I recommend not reading the dust jacket(I know this is almost impossible) because it reveals something that happens toward the end of the book. While I look forward to the next one, I do think the author is taking too long to "solve" the murder of Sarah's husband and is delaying the eventual romantic relationship between Frank and Sarah.

Ms. Thompson does a wonderful job of presenting turn of the century life and the social structure of the time. At the same time, the story resonates with incidents in today's news. Her characters are well developed, even if one has not read the previous books in this series. You feel the emotions of the characters and the situations are realistically handled. There are a couple of twists that enhance the story, but the characters are the main focus. I have only two criticisms: the dust cover gives away way too much of the story-not the author's fault; and I'd like to see Sarah and Frank's relationship progress, but the author is handling it in a way very appropriate to the period.

I found this author by accident and I sure am glad I did. Her books are wonderful!
I started toward the end of the series.(The first gaslight book I read was Murder on Marble Row)
You will immediately like the two main characters-Sarah and Frank. The books are historical/suspense genre. In Murder on Lenox Hill, Sarah's midwife services are called upon by the parents of a young girl, Grace, who mentally is still a child. She is never out of her parent's sight. So how could this have happened? The parents have lots of suspects including members of their Church. Even the minister of their Church is suspect. The minister dies during a Sunday service after drinking wine from the chalice. Who could have laced the wine? There are several suspects and confessions but "whodunnit?" And who is the father of Grace's baby? The ending may surprise you, but I have to admit, I guessed the ending.
I'm looking forward to going back and reading the earlier books in this series, although I found that the two books I read stand alone.

Just back from delivering a baby boy, widow midwife Sarah Brandt returns home to the tenement apartment she shares with Maeve and four year old Aggie. Maeve informs her that a respectable looking older gent came by and left her note. Mr. and Mrs. Linton of the Upper East Side Manhattan neighborhood Lenox Hill would like her to visit them at her convenience.

Sarah takes the elevated train and a street car to the Lintons' home where they ask her to determine whether their beloved teenage daughter Gracie, who is mentally a young child, is pregnant. Sarah confirms that the teen is six months pregnant, but neither parent can understand when it could have happened because the child is never alone. Sarah asks her friend police detective sergeant Frank Malloy to investigate. Though no crime has been committed and no payment for his services will be remitted, Frank reluctantly agrees. However, someone poisons the minister of the congregation that the Lintons belong to. Frank and Sarah believe there is a link between the homicide and the pregnancy, but everyone connected seems so respectable.

Though a Gaslight era mystery, the events of MURDER ON LENOX HILL could have come out of recent headlines. The story line is fast-paced with a strong intrepid protagonist and a powerful deep secondary cast including real figures like Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt. Readers will appreciate the "innocence" of Gracie and root for Sarah to learn who impregnated her and when since she already ruled out the obvious, fatherly incest. This is a tremendous entry in one of the best historical series on the market today and investigating her spouse's murder from four years ago may be next.

Harriet Klausner

Murder on Lenox Hill by Victoria Thompson is the seventh entry in the Gaslight Mystery series starring Sarah Brandt, a New York midwife and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. This book was probably the most disturbing book in the series so far. The wealthy Linton family asks Sarah to examine their 17-year-old daughter when they suspect that she's pregnant. The girl is mentally disabled and always supervised, so the mystery of who the father is haunts the family. Sarah and Frank work together to track down the rapist. Thompson does a wonderful job of building the story while juggling the long-arcing subplots that have been playing out since the first book.

Enjoyed this book immensly. Highly recomend it . When you think you have it solved, something happens to lead you elsewhere. Will be looking for other books by Victoria Thompson.

When a reader buys a historical mystery, she hopes for balance: good writing, an exciting plot, characters she can care about, and a setting that comes alive, giving details about life in another era. All this comes together in MURDER ON LENOX HILL, a Gaslight Mystery by Victoria Thompson.
The reader is drawn to Sarah Brandt and cheers for Frank Malloy. We want to know how they'll get on and what they'll do next. The mystery is not secondary to their deepening relationship but woven into it, so that their actions bring them closer to a solution and closer to each other as well. Although Sarah is determined and Frank is protective, they are believably so within the structure of the society they inhabit. It is especially laudable that Sarah does nothing the reader can't imagine her doing, avoiding the "don't go down in the basement" moment so common to some mystery protagonists. She is as practical as a person in her situation would have to be, which is refreshing.
All in all, this book is satisfying on every level, giving clues, history, and great characters that the reader will want to get to know better.