"Who killed the girl from the mission and why?"

The time is the turn-of-the-century. Sarah Brandt, a New York midwife, accompanies her friend Richard Dennis to The Prodigal Son Mission. He wants to find out more about the work his late wife Helen did there. Sarah donates clothing to the mission.

Sergeant Frank Malloy is called to the scene of a dead woman in City Hall Park. He recognizes the hat as Sarah's and is convinced she is dead. He is quite relieved to find it was not her and agrees to investigate the death. Sarah is able to identify the woman as Emilia, a girl she met at the mission.

Sarah is so impressed with the work of the mission that she decides to volunteer her time and agrees to help host a dinner at her parents' house to raise money for the mission. She also looks into Emilia's death. Frank has forbidden her to do this, but it doesn't seem to stop her.

Emilia's family is no help. Sarah begins to get an uneasy feeling at the mission. Could one of the girls killed Emilia out of jealousy? Could someone in Emilia's former life have caused her death? The Catholic church refuses to bury her due to her past. There are so many questions but as Sarah gets closer to the truth, she is put into danger just as Frank feared.

There are very few mysteries set back in history that I enjoy reading. This mystery series is one of those. The characters and settings are so real and the lack of conveniences only enhances the story.

I really enjoy the relationship between Frank and Sarah, although I hope in the future that they get together. The tension does add to the story. Her neighbor Mrs. Ellsworth is a great character as well. She really adds character to the story.

I am always amazed by the immense poverty. This book brings a lot of that forward as the mission is a dangerous area of town as is Emilia's parents' apartment. Frank constantly travels through dangerous parts of town looking for Danny to get information.

I highly recommend this book and series.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted August 22, 2003

Summary

In this all-new Gaslight Mystery, turn-of-the-century New York City midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy discover how the squalor of the streets can breed madness and murder.