Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

 

Overview:

As a midwife in turn-of-the-century New York, Sarah Brandt has seen pain and joy. Now she will work for something more--a search for justice--in a case of murder involving one of New York's richest families.

My Review:

This is the first book in the Gaslight Mystery series and though it was published in 1999 and I have had it on my shelf for years, I am just now getting around to reading it.  Not because I didn't think it would be good but because I prefer my historical mysteries set in Georgian or Victorian England.  Now I could kick myself for wasting so much time in getting started with this series.

Set in turn-of-the-century New York, we are introduced to Sarah Brandt who is a midwife.  While visiting a patient following the delivery, Sarah learns that a young boarder has been murdered.  Sarah had seen her the night before while delivering her patient's baby and thought the girl looked familiar.  It turns out to be the younger sister of one of her old friends.

Sarah had been raised in high society but chose to defy the conventions of the day by not only marrying a doctor, but also by becoming a midwife.  He died (murdered as we find out later) and Sarah is left to make her own way in the world.  When she is approached by the Detective in charge Frank Malloy to examine the body, Sarah discovers she indeed knows the girl and is determined to help find her killer.  

I loved the juxtaposition of Sarah and Frank.  He is immediately prejudiced against her when he learns she is high-born but also has a grudging respect for her when he learns how she defied society to follow her heart.  He also knows that she will be invaluable in helping him gain access to places he would otherwise be banned from.  He resents this but his sense of justice prevails and he cautiously accepts her help.

The characters are realistic and I found myself drawn to all of them and that doesn't happen very often.  I enjoyed the bitterness of Frank, especially as I learned more about him throughout the book, as well as the determination of Sarah.   

The setting was rich in detail and I was easily caught up in that world.  As a historian by trade and education, I know that though mostly accurate, there were some discrepancies but it didn't distract me from the book.  A lot of times, authors will add in modern elements such as a turn of phrase just so the reader can get a better understanding of what a character is thinking and while some readers don't like that, I really don't mind.  It wasn't so egregious that I felt it took me out of the setting and I'm willing to overlook some of that if it helps progress the story.

The plot is well thought out and though it isn't difficult to figure out the murderer, there is an unexpected twist that you really don't see coming - something that is lacking in a lot of mysteries these days.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am on the hunt for the next one in the series.