Murder on Waverly Place (Gaslight Mystery) [Hardcover]

Victoria Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Gaslight Mystery | Publication Date: June 2, 2009

Victoria Thompson once again "vividly recreates the gaslit world of New York."(Publishers Weekly)

Sarah Brandt is not completely surprised when her very proper mother asks her to attend a séance. She knows that Mrs. Decker still carries great guilt over the death of her older daughter, Maggie. So Sarah accompanies her and the spiritualist does seem to contact Maggie-convincing Mrs. Decker to attend another séance.

Only this time, one of the attendees doesn't succeed in speaking to the dead-she joins them. Now, it's up to Sarah and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to protect Mrs. Decker from scandal-by determining how a woman was murdered in the pitch dark when every suspect was holding the hand of the person next to them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thompson's 11th gaslight mystery to feature midwife Sarah Brandt (after 2008's Murder on Bank Street) fails to bring to life late 19th-century New York City as well as, say, Caleb Carr does in his period fiction, but series fans should be satisfied. Sarah's mother, Elizabeth Decker, who's feeling guilt-ridden over the death of her pregnant oldest daughter, decides to seek supernatural help from a local medium, Madame Serafina. At a séance, someone uses the cloak of darkness to stab to death Mrs. Gittings, a woman also hoping to contact a deceased family member. Since the séance participants were all holding each others' hands throughout the ritual, suspicion focuses on the medium's accomplice. Sarah helps her policeman friend, Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy, investigate. Solid prose in part compensates for a mundane solution to the crime. (June)
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From Booklist

Sarah Brandt makes an intriguing sleuth, and her Gaslight series is a consistent winner. Daughter of a prominent family, she has become a midwife, helping those in need in late-nineteenth-century New York. The reasons for some of her choices become crystal clear in this installment. Her sister (and her baby) died in childbirth after being disowned by her father for choosing the man she loved. Sarah’s mother, Mrs. Decker, has never forgiven herself for her part in this fiasco and longs for her dead daughter’s forgiveness. When she has the opportunity to visit a spiritualist, Madame Serafina, Mrs. Decker feels she has found her way back to her daughter. Then, during a séance, one of the participants is murdered, and both Sarah and Mrs. Decker, along with Sarah’s good friend Detective Malloy, want to find out the whos and whys. This is a well-put-together traditional mystery, one that isn’t solved until the final pages. Strong characters, clever plotting, and the hint of the supernatural that comes with a story centered around spiritualism make this page-turner a must for both fans and readers new to the series. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425227758
• ISBN-13: 978-0425227756
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, But...., June 3, 2009

By 

L. Veid "Chronic Reader" (Beckley, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder on Waverly Place (Gaslight Mystery) (Hardcover)

Victoria Thompson gives us another trip through New York in the gaslight era. This time her heroine, midwife Sarah Brandt, is caught up in a murder that involves her mother, her nursemaid Maeve, and a crooked spiritualist operation. We have the usual convoluted twists and insight into a bygone era coming together for an entertaining mystery read. Unfortunately, I saw the solution to this one coming from a mile away.

The characterizations that make this series so compelling are slighted this time. Sarah's midwife duties disappear after the opening pages and she seems secondary or tertiary in much of the action. The usually volcanic detective Frank Malloy is entirely too calm and polite when dealing with Sarah, her mother, Maeve and the various other females who interfere in his investigation. Worst of all is that there is almost no sign of the developing romance (or whatever) between Sarah and Malloy.

Are we seeing signs of the publisher rushing the author? If so, back off and let the lady write!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Read!, June 2, 2009

By 

B. K. Walker (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder on Waverly Place (Gaslight Mystery) (Hardcover)

Sarah finds herself pulled into the murky, late-Victorian world of questionable but fashionable spiritism when her mother, Mrs. Felix Decker, requests Sarah attend a seance with her in order to contact the spirit of Sarah's late sister, Maggie.

While seemingly unexplainable events transpire at the seance at Waverly Place, Sarah isn't buying any of it and discourages her mother from attending any future events.

Shortly thereafter, however, Sarah is summoned to the house on Waverly Place by Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy at the behest of her mother, who just happened to be attending a seance where a murder has just taken place of the woman who hosted the event; a woman, apparently, not well liked by anyone.

Suspects abound despite the fact that all evidence points to the lover of the young spiritist, Madame Saraphina, except for one slight problem: the boy wasn't in the room at the time.

Sarah, being the girl she is, immediately champions the young spiritist and her lover in an attempt to clear his name and Frank, being the guy he is (and the fact he's crazy about Sarah) proceeds with as much investigation as he dares, given that the clients who were involved in the seance are all members of society's upper crust.

Sarah and Frank discover nothing is quite as it seems as they carefully navigate the investigation and slowly unravel the secrets of the Privileged and the Parlor Snakes. The problem is, it's difficult to tell who belongs to which group.

The only 'negative' and disappointing aspect of this book, and why I didn't rate it with 5 stars, is the complete lack of romantic interaction between Frank and Sarah. Yes, we all like a well-crafted murder mystery - but the romantic element, which provides necessary texture to what is otherwise just another 'whodunit' is, for all intents and purposes, completely absent and I think was a disservice to the story as well as to the characters.

All in all, a cozy read, and I look forward to the next installment, provided we see some growth in Frank and Sarah's relationship. Two other endearing characters who did not make an appearance in this book were Frank's mother and Frank's son. I look forward to seeing more of them in the next books to come.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Zzzz, June 3, 2009

By 

BC (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder on Waverly Place (Gaslight Mystery) (Hardcover)

Over the years, Victoria Thompson has written some very lovely and compelling books featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Molloy. Her books have been atmospheric and her characters were thoughtfully and lovingly portrayed. Not so, this time. In fact, "Murder on Waverly Place" feels very convoluted and very rushed. Sarah and Molloy seem like they are mere shadows of their original characters just going through the motions to solve a not so compelling murder at a seance. I wish that I could say something positive about this book, but I can't think of a single thing except that I learned an abbreviated history of the flash light. I hope this is a momentary speedbump in what has been up until now a great series.