Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Once again Sarah and Frank get mixed up in a murder case; in this one Gino is accused of killing a member of the Black Hand and they must clear his name.. We see a lot of Maeve in this story, especially in the interactions with Gino. I enjoyed reading their dialogue and loved to picture them flirting with each other. I also got a kick out of Maeve sitting forlornly at her typewriter, practicing her typing while wishing all the while for an interruption.

One thing you can always count on is getting some history while hearing of Sarah and Frank’s adventures. The setting for this story is Italian Harlem, and the author paints a wonderful picture of how the inhabitants lived (and died). This is one of my favorite aspects of the Gaslight Mysteries: Thompson always makes me feel like I have been taken back in time and am living right alongside all her characters. One point of interest is that the author doesn’t censor the seedier parts of the period. We get to see the homeless, we hear about abortions, and we get to experience tenement life. Thompson does her best to make nearly everyone sympathetic, so this makes the story friendlier, and the book very readable as well.

Speaking of characters, some new ones are introduced in this book. We meet Teo, Gino’s sister-in-law, as well as the rest of Gino’s family. One of the funnier sequences in the book is when Maeve needs to go to Gino’s house; her family misunderstands her reason and want to get her out of the house. Thank goodness Maeve is able to straighten everyone out!

I was unable to figure out who dunnit, and that was a plus. It can get frustrating when you know who the bad guys are before the main characters do. My guess was between two characters, and I was surprised to finally learn who it was. As always, the story gets tied up neatly, with the last page a portent of what is to come in the next installment. I enjoyed this book very much and am looking forward to her next one. ( )

This was a bit over the top: Italian women & children are being kidnapped by the local "Black Hand" and are returned after a ransom is paid.... Sarah & Frank Malloy, Gino Donatelli, & Maeve Smith all work together investigating different aspects of the crime.

Then a woman volunteer from the neighborhood community house disappears & reappears it is assumed that she too has been a victim of the local thugs...

When the "boss" is found dead in his love nest Gino is arrested for the crime; But when his wife is poisoned and Gino is kidnapped, things begin to heat up even more.

It was obvious from the beginning who the murderer was... and the rescue of Gino was overdone & audacious.

This was a fast & easy read, I think Thompson's earlier books were better written. ( )

No mystery as it is very obvious of the killer's identity. Pace was slow and I felt there's little history added to the story compared to previous books. Wish the whole book was as good as its last two chapters. ( )

This is book #23 in the Gaslight series. I have read all of them up to now, and I've enjoyed them all. The last couple of books were not as exciting and so much more predictable than books earlier in the series. In this one, all of the action takes place "off camera" so to speak. and the killings don't at first appear to be murder. It doesn't help that Ms. Thompson portrays the New York police in such a bad light either. They may have, in fact, been as corrupt as Ms. Thompson has pointed out, but it takes a lot out of the story when they don't even appear, even in a minor role. The books make it appear that Malloy, Sarah, Gino and Maeve, single-handedly solve all the major murders in the City. A little far-fetched. To add to my disappointment we only see Mrs Ellsworth briefly at the end and we don't see Sarah's mother at all. I don't like it when author's drop key characters without a murmur in latter parts of a series. Most disappointingly, there was no tension and suspense in this book. I had figured out what happened almost immediately. I think that this will be my last Gaslight mystery. I've gone as far as I can go with it now. By all means read the first 10 or 15 books in the series. I highly recommend them. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy the later books too. ( )

After reading other mystery writers, Victoria Thompson presents an interesting tale, but her writing structure is very one dimensional. The majority book rests on dialogue, and setting and characters fall to the wayside. Victoria Thompson depicts the Italian population of New York where each neighborhood highlights a different area in Italy. Again, the police only help certain citizens. I guess we are now returning to the distant past in police duties. The story follows kidnapping of women and children in hopes of ransom money from the relatives and the police are never involved. A settlement house portrays the work of civic minded souls that want to aid immigrants by teaching English and many other skills. As always, we see the position of women in society and what is expected of a lady. The book does not delve into psychology therefore the reading goes by quickly. ( )