Murder on Lenox Hill: A Gaslight Mystery

I had read this series years ago but stopped on the sixth book, butI was glad to return and read the seventh book. A girl, a church,and a mystery lead them into directions that they never expected.Must read. Warning: violence, implied sexual situations.

Sarah Brandt is excited when she returns from a delivery to find that an upper-middle-class couple is asking for a consult. Most of Sarah’s patients can’t pay her full fee and many can’t afford to pay her anything. When Sarah goes to Lenox Hill to meet the Lintons, she finds the patient is their mentally challenged daughter. Her parents can’t understand how she can be pregnant as she is sheltered and doesn’t go anywhere without her parents. Sarah consults with Frank about the case. There is some humorous banter before he reluctantly gives in to her request.In addition to the main mystery, Frank is still trying to solve the murder of Dr. Brandt, Sarah’s husband. To his surprise,Mr. Decker calls Frank to his office to share some information. Decker expects that Malloy will find some damaging information on his son-in-law when he solves the murder. He believes that Sarah will return to “her place in society” if Tom turns out to be a scoundrel instead of the man, she thinks he is. Frank knows that Decker is telling him that a cop isn’t worthy of her either. What Decker doesn’t know is that Frank feels the same.Murder on Lenox Hill is my favorite in the series so far. The combination of the characters, the disabled child, the preacher, and the recurring support characters all work perfectly together to make an excellent story. Brian, Aggie and Maeve are developing into wonderful support characters. They bring out the best of the main characters. I love their interactions with Frank and Mrs. Ellsworth. Frank is finding his personal joy with Brian. Mrs. Ellsworth is finding a new meaning to her life as she helps Sarah with the girls.I’m anxiously waiting to find out who killed Tom Brandt. I also want the Frank/Sarah relationship to get out of their heads and into action. Murder on Lenox Hill is an excellent story. I will need to continue with the next book in the series sooner than I expected. A great story!

The poor print and binding quality of the "Mass Market Paperback" editions of the books make them frustrating to read with very faint print on every other page, the printed edge too close to the center binding requiring the reader to wrestle with the book and bend in half to be able to finish the sentences - I even considered cutting the book in half - and the last page improperly glued so parts of the words were missing. Inexcusably sloppy fabrication!That aside, I've read the first seven Gaslight books and would recommend them as readable [when you can see all of the words], well-paced, lightweight, cozy mysteries with likeable characters. (Even nosy old Mrs. Ellsworth has some good qualities.) The pace of the books is good and it holds the reader's interest. The author infuses the stories with images and examples of what life was like during the mid-1890s for the well-to-do and the desperately poor, the expectations and attitudes of men and women - and especially the positions, constraints and societal expectations of women in those days - as well as the conveniences and innovations of the time. She tells of the abandoned children who lived in the harsh, bleak streets; the appearance and smells of the gloomy tenements; the ethnic, class and religious prejudices; the everyday sights and street scenes; and she gives insight into how it might have been to live during those times. These illustrations add richness, dimension and a good deal of interest to the books.Unfortunately, there are shortcomings as well. Sarah & Malloy are unconvincingly obtuse in failing to see clues that are obvious to the reader. This includes their dubious lack of awareness of their developing romantic feelings for one another. Sometimes the dialog is implausible and descriptive metaphors are actually repeated - nearly verbatim - from book to book such as Frank's intimidating and melodramatically-worded effect on "hardened criminals" that reduces them to "trembling," "jelly" and "quivering terror" [Gramercy and twice in Mulberry]. Oh, please. And the author's description of smells she likens to a "miasma:" in St. Mark's Place on page 10 "...smells ...form a miasma..." Then in Washington Square on page 211 "...the smell of unwashed bodies, vomit and human waste was like a miasma..." and in Mulberry Bend on page 192 that phrase is repeated nearly word-for-word: "...the stench of unwashed bodies, vomit and human waste was like a miasma..." Furthermore, it's usually obvious to the reader who the murderer is and the author has Sarah foolishly confront the murderer and narrowly escape being murdered herself in a few of the books.But, for all that, the books are generally enjoyable and I will read the next book in the series. Even though they're somewhat predictable and repetitive, they are likeable, entertaining stories.

It's so interesting to learn about how people had to handle issues about a hundred years ago. The stories are interesting and more varied than a lot of series books.

I've read all of the Gaslight Mysteries so far and they just get better and better. Sarah Brandt and Frank Molloy are now etched on my brain like Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt. VT has researched this period in New York intensively and is so insightful. I feel related to it all as I've just returned from 3 months in The States and a long visit to New York and so much have her novels impacted on me I did my own tour of Gaslight Mystery locations! Compelling. Finished it in 2 sittings and would never have believed how it was going to end, tho' it kept me thinking to the finish. Bring on the next.

Good characterisation, very believable, good plot

very pleased

The contents of “Murder on Lenox Hill” has already been greatly recapped by a follow reviewer. Therefore I won’t have to do that. After I had been very much looking forward to this sixth installment in this series, I am not as overwhelmed as I usually am with the books in this series:Although I enjoyed the fact that Sarah and Malloy were investigating different matters this time, I found the read to be a bit tedious at times, because neither of them seemed to be getting anywhere.I also enjoyed the addition of family members (I am not going to spill the beans, though;-)), but would have preferred some more information on that.Even though the portrayal of the period and the social/moral conventions was great again, “Murder on Lenox Hill” fell behind regarding character development and plotting. That’s two more reasons why this one is “only” a four-star-read.Result: A good read, but not as good as most of the previous books in this series.

I enjoy Victoria Thompson's books. The various historical New York settings and the developing relationships between her characters keep me coming back for more.