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    Murder on St. Mark's Place
    Murder on St. Mark's Place
    Murder on St. Mark's Place
    Audiobook8 hours

    Murder on St. Mark's Place

    Written by Victoria Thompson

    Narrated by Callie Beaulieu

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Thinking that she has been summoned by German immigrant Agnes Otto to usher a new life into the world, midwife Sarah Brandt is greeted by the news of an untimely death instead. It seems that Agnes's beautiful younger sister, Gerda, had fallen into the life of a "charity girl." Caught up in the false glamour of the city's nightlife, she would trade her company and her favors for lavish gifts. And now she was dead; victim, no doubt, of one of her "gentlemen friends."

    No one cares much about the fate of girls like Gerda, but Sarah does. To find her killer, she turns to sergeant Frank Malloy. As the two pursue an investigation that leads from the bright lights of Coney Island to the stately homes of Fifth Avenue, they find that their shared passion for justice may cost them dearly.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 10, 2015
    ISBN9781494584948
    Murder on St. Mark's Place
    Author

    Victoria Thompson

    Victoria Thompson is the author of twenty bestselling historical romances. She is also the Edgar nominated author of the bestselling Gaslight Mystery Series, set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt. She also contributed to the award winning writing textbook Many Genres/One Craft. A popular speaker, Victoria teaches in the Seton Hill University master's program in writing popular fiction. She lives in Central PA with her husband and a very spoiled little dog.Please visit Victoria Thompson’s www.victoriathompson.homestead.com to learn about new releases and discover old favorites!

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    Reviews for Murder on St. Mark's Place

    4/5

    242 ratings14 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This historical mystery, set in New York City in the late 1800s, features midwife Sarah Brandt as the main protagonist, sharing some space in the plot with Frank Malloy, an Irish-American policeman. The premise is promising, and the author apparently prides herself on her historical research. But, the book suffers from a couple major problems. For one, the author is fascinated with changing notions of propriety, and weighs down the story in her efforts to create a contrast between the behaviors of the lead characters - both from respectable backgrounds -- and the working-class people they encounter. For example, Frank Malloy seems genuinely shocked to learn that some young women sleep with men who buy them gifts. There's no chance a policeman in late 19th century New York would be surprised by that. Second, the author wants to make Brandt look terribly witty, gutsy, and smart, but also to make her accessible to an average reader. Her solution is too make the supporting characters dumber, or stodgier, or less gracious, so Brandt shines in contrast. The worst passages are those intended to sound like witty or flirting banter between Brandt and Malloy; the author spends a lot of time telling us that one character or the other didn't gloat over a tease or riposte; in most cases, one can't imagine why they would have.
    • 4/5
      4.5 I enjoyed this, looking forward to the next one!
    • 5/5
      Sarah Brandt is mid-wife to Anna Otto who just learned her sister Gerda was murdered. Grieving is not allowed because Gerda, a new immigrant from Germany, was embarrassing the family being a “Charity Girl”.Charity Girls refers to the young women who worked in sweat shops but went out dancing night after night, looking for fun freedom, and pretty things. They would take presents for their favors, but not money because they weren’t prostitutes!. The majority of the money they earned ($6 a week) went to the family where they lived. They were usually only left with a dollar a week to pay for their lunch, the trolley to work, and the clothes they wore.Sarah tells Detective Inspector Frank Malloy that three other girls had been murdered in the same way and area. She than asks himto help her find out who killed Gerda. The writing style, the window into a time gone by, and the characters that inhabit this story kept drawing me into the tale until the final page, I can’t wait to read more.
    • 3/5
      The story is overshadowed by the mechanical presentation of the narrator.
    • 4/5
      Nurse/midwife Sarah Brandt is helping immigrant Agnes Otto in childbirth … but Agnes has a lot more on her mind. Her sister Gerda is dead, beaten to death near a dance hall wearing the red shoes an unknown man bought her. Agnes knows that, in 1890s New York, unless the underpaid cops of the New York Police Department receive money under the table, they will not investigate the murder of a poor immigrant girl who was (in their minds) of questionable morals. Sarah vows to ask her new “friend” Frank Malloy, one of New York’s finest” to look into it. Meanwhile Sarah helps by asking questions of Gerda’s young friends.The girls are living in tenements, working for low wages in local sweat shops and, when they’re done working, they want to have a little fun. That involves finding men who will show them a good time, buy drinks, and pay for baubles the girls want. Of course, that involves a trade-off, which amounts to sex in dark corners with a string of men. A dangerous game, as it turns out, at least it was for Gerda. And there may be more victims, as it turns out. Murder on St Mark’s Place is second in the author’s “gaslight mysteries,” and it’s a good addition, published first in 2000. In 2016, the series is quite lengthy and still going strong. Sarah Brandt is a multi-layered character and the friendship (if it can be called that at this point) is intriguing. An Irish cop and an aristocratic heroine who has turned her back on her wealthy family make quite a pair. Readers will learn a little about life among both the lowliest immigrants and the 1% in turn-of-the-century New York. I’m reading my way through all of the books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Murder on St. Mark's Place is book two in Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series.
    • 4/5
      Murder on St. Mark's Place
      4 Stars

      Attending to a routine delivery, midwife Sarah Brandt learns that the pregnant woman’s younger sister has been murdered. The victim, Gerda Reinhard, had been supplementing her seamstress salary by “working” as a “charity girl” - a young woman who exchanges her “company” for trinkets and an evening’s entertainment. With little police interest in the case, Sarah enlists the aid of Detective Frank Malloy and the two uncover a trail of death that leads from Coney Island to the drawing rooms of Fifth Avenue.

      As with the first book in the series, the mystery is straightforward and predictable, but the historical setting and character development shine through.

      Frank and Sarah's slow burn romance is the highlight of the story as the two begin opening up to one another albeit reluctantly. Readers also learn more about Frank’s son, Brian and his physical impairments, and about Sarah’s strained relationship with her father.

      The details on the social conditions of women at the turn of the 20th century are absorbing. Whether it be the young girls using their feminine wiles to stretch the social and financial boundaries that constrain them, or the married women forced to cope with multiple pregnancies and often times abusive husbands, the lives of the women of the time were harsh and cruel.

      The mystery is well-developed despite its simplicity and there are some gripping moments in which Sarah must struggle for her very life. That said, the ultimate culprit and explanation are quite obvious mainly due to the fact that there are few worthy suspects.

      All in all, a well-written and entertaining historical mystery and I will be reading the next book sooner rather than later.
    • 5/5
      In the second book of the Gaslight Mystery series, Sarah Brandt, the estranged daughter of a wealthy Knickerbocker family and now a midwife, and New York Police Detective Frank Malloy team up once again to investigate the brutal murder of Gerda, a young German immigrant.

      When the story opens Sarah is on her way over to St. Mark's Place to deliver another baby into the Otto family. She arrives to find police and neighbors assembled outside Agnes Otto's door listening to the awful news that Agnes' sixteen-year-old sister, Gerda, has been found beaten to death.

      Gerda was a “Charity Girl”. Charity girls were given gifts for nights out dancing and drinking with men, among other things. Gerda had recently been given a pair of red shoes by an unknown admirer so it was obvious what she was doing every night when she left her sister's home. Gerda earned meager wages working in a sweatshop and this was her opportunity to have fun. There were few options available to women during this era. Her family was humiliated by the shame. The police department is still teeming with corruption. Rewards were almost always necessary to solve crimes and Gerda's sister was too poor to offer one, so Sarah enlists Malloy's help to conduct the investigation herself.

      The author really brings the characters to life. Sarah is delightful, kind and always wants to bring some measure of hope into the sad existence of the people she meets in her work. I'm even starting to like her nosy neighbor, Mrs. Elsworth. Malloy is becoming a more fully developed character and this installment deals with his feelings for his three year old son. The portions of the mystery that take place at Coney Island are wonderful and was one of my favorite parts of the book.

      Murder on St. Mark's Place is not a complex mystery but is nevertheless very enjoyable. The more I read the Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson the more I like them.
    • 4/5
      Liked the book, hard to put down. Loved the German comments, especially the thick ankles.
    • 3/5
      Thompson writes of New York in the 1890's with a midwife, Sarah Brandt, as the main character of this mystery series, Gaslight Mystery. Thompson shows the plight of young, unmarried immigrants women who desire more than the hard life of a married woman. These unmarried pleasure-seeking women are called Charity Girls due to the fact that they give sexual favors for trinkets instead of money. Sarah Brandt jumps into the investigation of the murder of four of these girls when she learns the police will not pursue the murders. Thompson exposes the state of the police department in New York and hints at the reform started by Teddy Roosevelt. Thompson also points out the differences between the poor and the rich, and the origin of the term Knickerbockers. Thompson describes the pleasures and sights at the newly opened Coney Island, as well as presenting a perspective of the expense of pleasure. Sarah Brandt, a widow, is a strong-minded, independent woman at a time in history when women married or lived with parents. I hope to read more of this series.
    • 4/5
      3.75 StarsMurder on St. Mark's Place is the second cozy mystery in the series by Victoria Thompson, featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and he unlikely partner Frank Malloy. The novel delivers more on character development than actual plot, but Thompson's humanizing efforts set the stage for future interest. The "mystery" itself is highly predictable from the go, but the novel itself is no less enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      I'm really enjoying this series. Sarah and Frank investigate the murder of several young shop girls leading them to dancehalls, Coney Island and of course the Deckers' social circle. Meanwhile Frank goes to deaf schools to determine if that would be the best thing for his son Brian.
    • 3/5
      Midwife Sarah Brandt, delivers Agnes Otto's baby on the same night as the news arrives that Agnes' sister Gerda has been murdered. Trying to calm her patient, she agrees to try to find the murderer. The mystery evolves showing the background of Sarah's former life as well as that of Officer Malloy. The historical references of the time as well as the founding of Coney Island was very entertaining.
    • 4/5
      Sarah Brandt, midwife to the poor women in the slums of Victorian New York City, becomes embroiled in a search for a serial murderer who is preying on "Charity Girls," shop girls trying to eke out a living who sell their favors for "nice" things. She seeks out Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, the quiet and stern Irish cop she worked with a few months ago, and together, they plot to not only find the murderer, but bring him to justice.This is the second book in this series, and I enjoy the setting, the characters, the writing, and nearly everything about the stories. It strikes me that the author is writing from an outline, though, and for some reason, I'm not able to fully immerse myself in the time period. I'll keep reading the series, though. Maybe it's just me.