This is #13 in the Gaslight Mystery series which I’m reading my way through nice and slowly, enjoying myself.  This series has some excellent historical fiction with a very light touch of romance.  I don’t know about Thompson’s other books and series but I’ll be sampling when I finish this one 

Murder on Sister’s Row
by Victoria Thompson 2011 
Read by Suzanne Toren,  9h 8m 
Rating – 8.75  / historical crime fiction 

Book Series Review: The Gaslight Mysteries (and my dos and don’ts for a series)

This is a fine review of the whole series and includes the individual books on a later page:

Gaslight Mysteries In Order

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And another interesting note about the setting is that each book takes place in a different part of New York – and you can tell by the title. 

What’s good about this series is that it incorporates verifiable history, like that Teddy Roosevelt is President of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners for a couple years between 1895 and1897 – (go look it up). It’s bothersome when TR talks and interacts with the fictional characters, but as usual with this kind of writing in the fiction is negated anywhere, nothing I know of  in the history sources. Mostly this author is very talented at working the historical background, foreground, aspects right into the plot without ever showing off her research. What’s presented is interesting and appropriate as well as accurate.

I’ve been intrigued by the historical New York of this era and prior for many years and read a fair amount on my own. She’s got it right as far as I know and I look up anything I’m really not familiar with.  (And fwiw, 

Second, the politics, social issues, economics, religious ideas, etc affect the lives of the historical characters. So the history here is a dynamic characteristic, one which moves and changes people in its path,  History here is not sitting on the sidelines doing nothing like a background setting.  

And third, these books are quality mystery tales with complex and twisty plots, believably set in the “gilded age” of New York City. with characters who seem to be “of the times.”  

The protagonist is Sarah Brandt, the adult daughter of a very upper class couple, but Sarah married a police officer a few years prior to the beginning of the series.. Her parents opposed the marriage, but the young couple went ahead anyway. This was scandal enough, but a few years later Sarah’s husband was gunned down, apparently in the line of duty.  

Since that time she’s learned the trade of midwifery and goes to many neighborhoods in different parts of New York, with varying ethnic groups and different economic levels. Then going about her business one dy she meets Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, a widower who lives with his mother and young handicapped son.  

At some, point Sarah and Frank come to understand Sarah’s first husband was not killed by accident but ,might very well have been “knocked off” by a small gang he was investigating. – That’s an over-arching plot – one that ties that separate books together (in addition o the growing relationship between Frank and Sarah.

This particular story involves a brothel of sorts with one of the girls about to be delivered of a baby. This is why Sarah was called in. But there are murders involved and some very nasty characters.