Murder on Waverly Place

✍ Scribed by Thompson, Victoria

• Book ID: 106873902
• Publisher: Berkley Pub Group
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: en-GB
• Weight: 276 KB
• Series: Gaslight Mystery 11
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780425235201

✦ Synopsis

From Publishers Weekly

Thompson's 11th gaslight mystery to feature midwife Sarah Brandt (after 2008's Murder on Bank Street) fails to bring to life late 19th-century New York City as well as, say, Caleb Carr does in his period fiction, but series fans should be satisfied. Sarah's mother, Elizabeth Decker, who's feeling guilt-ridden over the death of her pregnant oldest daughter, decides to seek supernatural help from a local medium, Madame Serafina. At a séance, someone uses the cloak of darkness to stab to death Mrs. Gittings, a woman also hoping to contact a deceased family member. Since the séance participants were all holding each others' hands throughout the ritual, suspicion focuses on the medium's accomplice. Sarah helps her policeman friend, Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy, investigate. Solid prose in part compensates for a mundane solution to the crime. (June)
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From

Sarah Brandt makes an intriguing sleuth, and her Gaslight series is a consistent winner. Daughter of a prominent family, she has become a midwife, helping those in need in late-nineteenth-century New York. The reasons for some of her choices become crystal clear in this installment. Her sister (and her baby) died in childbirth after being disowned by her father for choosing the man she loved. Sarah’s mother, Mrs. Decker, has never forgiven herself for her part in this fiasco and longs for her dead daughter’s forgiveness. When she has the opportunity to visit a spiritualist, Madame Serafina, Mrs. Decker feels she has found her way back to her daughter. Then, during a séance, one of the participants is murdered, and both Sarah and Mrs. Decker, along with Sarah’s good friend Detective Malloy, want to find out the whos and whys. This is a well-put-together traditional mystery, one that isn’t solved until the final pages. Strong characters, clever plotting, and the hint of the supernatural that comes with a story centered around spiritualism make this page-turner a must for both fans and readers new to the series. --Ilene Cooper