Murder in the Bowery by Victoria Thompson

Murder in the Bowery by Victoria Thompson ISBN-13: 9781101987117 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: May 2, 2017

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Frank Malloy's latest client is the well-dressed Will Bert. He's searching for his brother, a newsboy named Freddie, so he can share his new financial good fortune. Frank makes quick work of the case and locates Freddie, but a happy reunion between brothers is not in the cards.

When Will's name is mentioned, Freddie runs off only to be found dead a short time later. Suspicious, Frank tracks down Will who spins a tale of lust and deceit involving a young society woman, Estelle Longacre, also recently deceased. Frank can't be sure if Estelle's risky behavior and the company she kept was to blame, or if her own ruthless family had a hand in her death.

Frank will need Sarah Brandt's help to unearth the dark secrets of the wealthy Longacres and to discover if there is a connection between Estelle and Freddie s death. Together they must navigate a perilous underground web of treachery to find the truth."


My Review:
Murder in the Bowery is a historical mystery set in New York City in July of 1899 during the newsboy's strike. This is the twentieth book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous mysteries.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Frank, Gino, and Sarah asked good questions and followed up clues until they all fit together. The mystery involved a lot of twists. I'd say, "I think such-and-such is going on" and, yes, they'd discover that was true. But then new information came up, and I'd think "Maybe so-and-so is actually a better choice for whodunit." So I had an idea of where it was going, but I didn't guess whodunit until every clue was finally exposed.

Interesting historical details about the newsboy's strike and Bowery Street were woven into the story. The main characters were nice people and had realistic reactions to events. Even though I understood their reasoning for not pressing for justice through the normal channels, I was a little bothered that Sarah and Frank not just allowed (knowing what would happen) but essentially asked for what happened to whodunit.

There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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