Murder in Morningside Heights (A Gaslight Mystery)

Victoria Thompson has done it again. With all the lifestyle changes in the characters lives Thompson shows the changes of the characters themselves while keeping the characters as themselves; ones we have grown to love as faithful readers.

I wasn't sure if I'd like the new angle - Malloy and Sarah married and Malloy no longer working for the police department. Surprisingly, I do. This is the best example of character growth I've ever read!

Victoria Thompson has done it again. With all the lifestyle changes in the characters lives Thompson shows the changes of the characters themselves while keeping the characters as themselves; ones we have grown to love as faithful readers.

I wasn't sure if I'd like the new angle - Malloy and Sarah married and Malloy no longer working for the police department. Surprisingly, I do. This is the best example of character growth I've ever read!

I always love to read the gaslight series. Murder in Morningside Heights was okay. Not one of her best novels. I still give it 4 stars because I love the series. With this book Sarah and Frank have lost "the spark". The book was a little bland. If you had to skip one of her books in the series I would say skip this one. I sure hope Mrs. Thompson gives her next book a little more,....something! Still, I love the series and hoping for a change for the better.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Murder in Morningside Heights is #19 in the Gaslight Series. I've read every single one. Love Victoria Thompson and am a forever fan.

Sadly, what has happened in #18 is happening here as well. The once dynamic duo of Sarah and Frank solving crimes has expanded with an inclusion and constant presence of Maeve, Gino, and even the Deckers. Gleaning through the detective feedback from multiple characters just adds too much cumbersome weight to the already razor-thin storyline.

Abigail Northrup is a newly hired instructor at the prestigious women's college in Morningside Heights. Northrup is at the receiving end of a brutal screwdriver to the face and left for dead. Now here I thought that Thompson was a taking a turn down a more sinister, dark tale in the Gaslight Series. I was tuned in and ready for some heightened levels of thrilling action on the part of Sarah and Frank.

Nah. We were given more of an atmospheric lecture series on social norms of the time period. There were pages and pages of background information in which we never quite left the suffocating walls of Ms. Wilson's house. I've never felt this way before with any of the books in this series. "Let me out. Oh, please, let me out!"

That broth needed a bit of the zest that was the Thompson of times past. Zero in on Sarah and Frank and maybe even take them out of New York City for a while. Perhaps hire Bathsheba to work in the Malloy household. She was the only one to show some lively spunk throughout the whole book.

Here's holding up my soup bowl to be filled with a more hearty portion with the likes of #20 on the backburner. Always a fan. Always a fan.

Frank Malloy and his new wife Sarah Brandt Malloy are home from their honeymoon, gamely coping with the new investigative agency Frank's young ex-policeman friend Gino and Sarah's nanny Maeve set up while they were away. Frank's already bored with investigating infidelity cases and Sarah's bored with being a housewife with no midwifery or mysteries to brighten her day when the parents of Abigail Northrup hire Frank to find out what happened to their daughter. It appears they were told that Abigail died in a freak accident at the Normal School where she taught, but they think it's something more. It certainly is: because Abigail was definitely not the sweet girl her parents thought she was, a fact her maligned brother corroborates, and there are other irregularities going on at the Normal School.

I felt quite bad for Abigail's brother in the way he is treated by his parents, and the mystery is pretty good if slightly transparent; however, although there are very many clues that will try to take you off the trail, you may want to trust your instincts on who the person it could not possibly be and realize that it could be. Other revelations make up for this shortcoming, however. The "Boston marriage" aspect to the story was different, but I wish Thompson had not felt the need to have one character explain it to the next character and then that character to the next character so many times. It's necessary to explaining one of the passions involved in the story, but it seems as if every five pages someone has to explain to the next neophyte what a "Boston marriage" is. It got tiresome. Glad to see that Sarah will be able to put her midwifery skills back to work soon, though!

This book holds a special place in my heart because it was the book that got me into this series. I picked it up when it was first released because it looked interesting. I read about a quarter through and realized that this was a great series but that there was way too much going on for me to catch up. I needed to start at book one.

So, this book launched my adventure into this series. It has been an amazing ride along the way.

The mystery in this book was only so so. It was pretty obvious who the killer was early on.

I was glad to have Frank and Sarah back after their absence in the last book. I would have loved another book between that one and this as Frank set up his agency but that is a very minor complaint. This book, in a way, launches a new chapter in the series. Frank has a private investigator business and Sarah starts work on a new passion project to take her back to midwifery.

My favorite thing about this book was that Malloy got attacked instead of Sarah. Much of this book deals with gender equality and honestly I was tired of Sarah always being the damsel in distress.

This is a great series and I am excited to see what happens now that Frank is a private investigator instead of a police officer.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

What a wonderfully formidable team! Frank Malloy, former police sergeant/ detective and his bride Sarah, a midwife, are newly married. Sarah is learning to be a lady of leisure, the norm in the neighborhood they now live in since Frank received an amazing inheritance but not the norm for her. Frank has opened a PI firm with the assistance of former police officer Gino. Maeve, nursemaid in the Malloy household, and Gino are becoming a couple; Sarah and Maeve are excellent listeners and provide insightful suggestions regarding the cases the men worked on.

The new case is shocking in intensity, frightening in location, and sad lacking in local police coverage. A young woman, Abigail Northrup, was a recently-hired French instructor at a prestigious women’s college in Morningside Heights after she graduated from said college. She was brutally murdered with a tool belonging to the janitor in a gazebo at the college. Abigail’s parents hired Frank to find the killer as the police were not vested, without a sizable bribe, in doing their jobs.

Both couples are very likable. Frank and Sarah are sharp and knowledgeable in the ways of people as gained over years of expertise in their respective backgrounds as a NYC detective and a midwife. Sarah’s mother provides invaluable assistance in the brief time we see her. Gino’s youth brings energy yet naivete after his relatively short time as a police officer; he and Maeve compliment each other with differing viewpoints. Sarah shows herself invaluable by interviewing some of the ladies who might not speak openly in front of Frank or Gino. Characterizations are part of what makes this author excel! Frank and Sarah could step off the pages of this early 20th century mystery. Gino and Maeve are not as well defined but still clearly demonstrate their roles. Those who are only in this novel are still very well depicted; they are described with excellence through actions, emotions, and conversations. I felt as if I knew the two instructors and the housekeeper that Abigail lived with, not so much so the elegant French professor for whom she worked. Abigail’s best friend, brother, and secret gentleman friend were more shrouded in a cloak of mystery through most of the story.

The historical setting was fascinating to me; it is interesting to learn the details shared throughout for the time period of my grandparents’ youth. The 19th in the Gaslight Mystery series, it can be read as a standalone. The only thing that was a little disappointing was not learning some of the background that makes the Malloys who they are, such as how the police detective and midwife had met and the circumstances of Frank’s inheritance.

This author wow’s the reader with the depth and layers of the plot. She showed how many had motive and opportunity to murder Abigail, and could even be capable of such a brutal murder. There were intriguing and surprising plot twists and turns, and this reader even went chasing a couple of the red herrings. I completely did not see who the real bad guy/ gal was or a motive, although I did think that possibly the person knew either who did it or why. I highly recommend Murder in Morningside Heights to those who appreciate historical cozy mysteries with strong, secure protagonists and a mystery that is challenging to solve. This is the first novel I’ve read in A Gaslight Mystery series, and I am looking forward to reading many more successive and earlier mysteries!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*

Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson is the first novel I have read by this talented writer. This mystery thriller suspense tale took me deep into the heart of New York City. There I got to meet an amazing couple. Known as Frank Malloy and his wife Sarah. Together these two make an irresistible pair that works well for this story. Frank Malloy was with the police but now is a detective with his own agency. His wife Sarah helped him pick the name of the agency. It's this agency that suddenly gets a case that will intrigue the couple and readers like myself. Victoria Thompson took me on a case that involved a woman of high academia and one that supposedly announced that women don't need a husband to be successful. But as with all cases the person being investigated is usually far from what they actually are.

Victoria Thompson's latest novel brought a high scandalous read that intrigued me from the beginning. I was instantly hooked. Murder in Morningside Heights lured me back in time when women thought they need not a husband and can make their own decisions. One such woman who believed in this was found murdered. Suspense from this plot created so many what ifs and lead me on a chase to find the killer. Both Frank and his wife are an interesting couple. Their personalities make them suited for one another and for working together on such cases as this one. Imagine being in New York city surround by a society that is high maintenance, secrets, and lies. I loved reading this...I felt sucked into a whole new society where adventure and danger come hand in hand. Powerful themes and intricate scenes that dragged me into the great mystery. Overall, I would highly recommend this title to readers everywhere.

Another good outing for Frank, Sarah and company. Everyone had at least a small part in putting together this puzzle, The characters have grown familiar and have remained interesting even as their lives have become more comfortable. Working as a PI without having to worry about money lets Frank do what he does best without having to worry about the costs of keeping his family and staff well taken care of. He does not have to worry about police and society interference as he knows how to work things. Sarah seems to be a little lost but there is hope that in future books, she will be able to get back to being more than just a housewife with a side hobby,
As another reader commented, I'd like to see more of Maeve.
All in all, this book delivers what a reader of this series expects - well developed characters, interesting twists and intelligent sleuthing.

"Murder in Morningside Heights" is a historical mystery set in New York city in 1899. It's the nineteenth book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. This story didn't spoil the previous whodunits.

There was a nice level of historical detail regarding women's colleges. The main characters were nice people and had realistic reactions to events. Frank, Gino, and Sarah asked questions and followed up clues until they all fit together.

I could guess whodunit from the clues. They seemed to point to a certain person, but the implied motive felt too weak to inspire serial murder, so I came up with a more complex suspect. The author's chosen murder scenario does work, yet I felt a little disappointed, especially since the only way they could prove their case was by getting whodunit to attack one of them.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.

Another in the Gaslight Series by Victoria Thompson that takes place at the turn of the 20th century in NYC. Malloy and Sarah are finally married and he is now a private detective. She is still his trusty sidekick. The mystery/murders not so easy to solve and the characters (some new ones) are an enjoyable addition. If you hadn't read the previous books, you would wonder how these two humble characters came to be married and living the life of the wealthy. But if you can get past that and just enjoy the story, I highly recommend it. If you are a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed.

Another excellent entry in this series. This time, Sarah and Malloy (who is now operating his private investigation operation) find themselves learning about women and higher education, Boston marriages, and other surprises. There's always good social commentary in Thompson's books - that is what makes them interesting and much more than just mysteries. As always, the Malloy family and friends come into play here -- excellent character development that has enriched over time. I found this particular story to be highly interesting and authentic in its characters' gradual enlightenment over the issues and sexuality of women.