Helpful Score: 1
This logical, well-plotted mystery is set in late-19th-century New York. The overriding issue is whether Brooklyn should consolidate with Manhattan, and there are passionate views on both sides. Joshua Thompson, a wealthy Brooklyn businessman who made his fortune selling products to the Union Army, is a strong spokesman against consolidation. When he is shot dead on the street, forces in favor of the idea are suspected. Teaming up to solve Thompson's murder are Marshall Webb, a cultured, well-dressed journalist for Harper's Weekly, and BuckMorehouse, a gluttonous, unkempt, but clever detective. Also instrumental in finding the solution is Webb's workaholic girlfriend, who owns a shelter for abused women. Stephanie Quilty, a streetwise 17-year-old, lives there and has surprisingly much in common with the rich, rebellious young people who appear in the story. Many teens will be interested in the characters and in the descriptions of urban life when there were horse-and-buggies instead of SUVs, opium dens instead of crack houses, and today's boroughs were all independent cities.
It's summer 1894 in New York City; a newspaper editor and a reformer help expose those responsible for the disappearance of a young girl and the death of a noted businessman. Slow in spots.
This is part of a series of books by Troy Soos about New York City in the late 1800's. He has done his research. It is a novel but packed with history. It captures the flavor of the era and manages to weave in a credible murder mystery. I enjoyed Soos' Mickey Rawlins mysteries also. They are set in the early days of major league baseball.
It's summer 1894 in New York City; a newspaper editor and a reformer help expose those responsible for the disappearance of a young girl and the death of a noted businessman.
