Good story. Murder of Dr Brandt is finally solved.

Perfectly satisfying entry into this series!!! ( )

Murder on Bank Street
3 Stars

This installment of the Gaslight Mysteries focuses on frank Malloy's ongoing investigation into the murder of Sarah's husband, Tom Brandt. While there have been some intriguing developments on this front in the past few books, the highly anticipated revelation of the killer falls, unfortunately, flat.

The pacing is off with Malloy galavanting around New York questioning neighborhood busy bodies who may, or may not, have seen something useful. This becomes very tiresome after a while.

Sarah, whose sleuthing skills have been the focus of the series, loses her agency and is relegated to the background. This is particularly disappointing as it contradicts her previous characterization as a woman of action.

In terms of the mystery, the motive for the murder has been obvious for a while so the focus is on the suspects. The ultimate explanation has an interesting and particularly ugly twist, but the tedious build up undermines the suspense.

On the plus side, the insights into Maeve's character are very intriguing, and hopefully Thompson will continue this storyline.

Overall, not the best installment in the series, but I'm enjoying Sarah and Frank's journey.
( )

This was book 10 in the gaslight series. This book solves the mystery that's been developing since the beginning of the series, the murder of Sarah's husband. I really liked this book even though Sarah played a more minor role in it. Most of the plot revolved around Sarah's live-in nursemaid, Maeve. I didn't mind this because I like Maeve as a character and she was able to go places more logically than if Thompson had tried to make Sarah go. By making Maeve the central "detective" the plot was more plausible. I really enjoyed the mystery and loved the ending. It was not at all what I expected. ( )

I really enjoy the Gaslight series...books about a woman who grew up priveleged in NY around the turn of the (last) century and becomes a midwife. They're murder mysteries but good stories that allow the reader to visualize life in NY for the poorer element. ( )