Murder on Marble Row (Gaslight Mystery Series #6)

by Victoria Thompson

Overview

When an explosion kills wealthy industrialist Gregory Van Dyke, Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt presumes that anarchists are responsible and personally asks Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to track them down. Malloy is up to the challenge - but he faces a different kind of challenge when he encounters Sarah Brandt paying a condolence call on the Van Dykes. Faced with the impossibility of ever expressing his true feelings for Sarah, Frank had vowed never to see or work with her again." For her part, Sarah is glad to be working with Malloy once again in his hunt for a dangerous killer - though they clash over his conviction that the murder was politically motivated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425198704
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/07/2005
Series:	Gaslight Mystery Series , #6
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	159,353
Product dimensions:	6.74(w) x 4.12(h) x 0.87(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Victoria Thompson is the Edgar(r) Award-nominated author of the Gaslight mystery series and 20 additional historical novels. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Cleverly plotted...plenty of convincing period detail."—Publishers Weekly

"An excellent historical mystery."—Best Reviews

"An entertaining mix of history and mystery."—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

"Cleverly plotted...plenty of convincing period detail."—Publishers Weekly

"An excellent historical mystery."—Best Reviews

"An entertaining mix of history and mystery."—Booklist

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
Victoria Thompson's Gaslight mystery series is an intriguing look at society and crime in turn-of-the-century New York City. With previous bestsellers in paperback, this captivating series makes its hardcover debut with Murder on Marble Row --- a story filled with fascinating characters from all walks of life. This time out, Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt calls Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy into his office for an especially difficult assignment. A wealthy factory owner has been killed by a bomb in his office, and anarchists are high on the list of suspects. Malloy isn't so sure that the easy answer is the right one…but Roosevelt wants justice done, whoever the culprits are. That could be tricky, when the other suspects include not only disgruntled employees but also the victim's friends and relatives -- people adept at wielding money and power to get what they want…and at hiding their secrets behind marble-walled Fifth Avenue mansions. Malloy is distressed to once again find Sarah Brandt involved in one of his cases. He wants the lovely society heiress-turned-midwife out of the line of fire. But he cannot afford to refuse when Sarah insists on using both her connections among to New York's elite and her experience in New York's seamy underside to bring the evidence Malloy needs to light. Sue Stone

bn.com

Set in late 19th-century New York, Victoria Thompson's cleverly plotted Murder on Marble Row: A Gaslight Mystery, the sixth in the series (Murder on Astor Place, etc.), provides abundant fair play and plenty of convincing period detail. At the request of Teddy Roosevelt, one of the city's three police commissioners, Det. Sergeant Frank Malloy and midwife and do-gooder Sarah Brandt pursue a bomber whose infernal device has killed an influential industrialist. This light, quick read engages the readers' emotions. Agent, Nancy Yost. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In their sixth adventure the first of Thompson's "Gaslight" series to appear in hardcover Sarah Brandt, the nurse-trained daughter of wealthy New York City parents, and Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy tackle the bombing murder of a rich factory owner. Owing to the method used, suspicion falls immediately on the "anarchists," who recently enlisted the victim's disinherited son. Other suspects include the victim's much younger second wife, his alienated business partner, and perhaps even the younger son, who likes his step-mom a little too much. Fans of Anne Perry will certainly enjoy this Americanized look at class differences in turn-of-the-century New York and superior sleuthing. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

An Irish-American cop is allowed into a Victorian drawing room, though nobody offers him a seat. When the bomb detonated, it spewed nails, wires, and brandy-soaked bits of glass all over Gregory Van Dyke's office and person. Who wanted the well-to-do Victorian gentleman dead? His feuding business partner, Allen Snowberger, had seduced Van Dyke's greedy wife Lilly. Lilly had seduced Van Dyke's younger son Tad and, according to the besotted wastrel, suggested they marry. Daughter Alberta, in the family way, has been forbidden to marry her beloved Lewis because papa considered his private secretary socially unacceptable. But the most obvious culprit is older son Creighton, an anarchist who'd left the family fold. So when Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, a widower enamored of family friend Sarah Brandt, is assigned the case, he's eager to chat up Creighton. First, however, Sarah, a midwife, must wheedle Creighton's address from Alberta. Apparently determined to meddle in Frank's case, Sarah is soon traipsing about the Lower East Side and the Van Dyke mansion searching for clues. The killer will strike again before clever Frank and pesky Sarah figure out whodunit and gaze longingly into each other's eyes. Just what you'd expect from a Victorian melodrama: hysterical females, pompous males, class snobbery, and boudoir secrets-plus, in this sixth Gaslight Mystery (Murder on Mulberry Bend, not reviewed, etc.), a bit part for Emma Goldman.

Kirkus Reviews