Murder on Bedford Street (Gaslight Mystery #26) by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Clean
Midwife
Sarah Malloy and her private investigator husband, Frank, must stop a
killer lurking among a young family in the newest installment of the USA Today bestselling Gaslight
Mysteries.
Hugh
Breedlove is far from the most agreeable client private investigator
Frank Malloy has ever had, but his case is impossible to refuse: his
young niece, Julia, has been wrongfully committed
to an insane asylum by her cruel and unfaithful husband, Chet Longly.
Though Breedlove and his wife seem more interested in protecting the
family reputation than their niece’s safety, Frank and Sarah agree to
help for the sake of Julia and the young son she
left behind.
Frank and Sarah’s investigation reveals a dark secret—a maid at the Longly home died suspiciously under Chet’s watch, and now it seems Julia’s son might also be in danger. The Malloys fear they are dealing with a man more dangerous than they had anticipated, one who will do anything to defame his wife. But all is not as it seems in the Longly family, and perhaps another monster is hiding in plain sight....
This book started out great. I always enjoy visiting with Sarah, Frank, Maeve, Gino, and everyone else in the books. I also find the historic details interesting, and the author's writing has a way of pulling me right into the story. Unlike most of the books in this series, there wasn't a lot of historical detail in this one. Just some things about mental hospitals and mental health back in that time period. It was interesting though, and heartbreaking that some women were committed to mental hospitals when they were perfectly sane.
I liked that Sarah was able to use her midwife skills
again, this time helping deliver a friend's grandchild. I would love to
get more details about the clinic she set up in future books, and get to know more about the women she is helping there. I love when the midwifery and the investigating coincide.
This book eventually ended up frustrating me in a couple of ways but that didn't keep me from enjoying it. I think out of all the books I've read in this series, this was probably the easiest mystery to solve. That didn't bother me so much, but I wish Sarah and Frank hadn't been so clueless. Maeve and Gino were as well, with Maeve to a lesser extent. I'm beginning to think Maeve is the smartest one of them, and it's a real crime that she isn't allowed to investigate more. She does a really good job in this book. There was one point when Gino also did a good job investigating, but I was perturbed about it. He went around investigating and found out just about everything Maeve had already found out. What was the point in her being where she was—in possible danger—if all her work was going to be rendered useless by Gino, and he didn't even have to put himself into the household?
I also got frustrated that Sarah and Frank had these preconceived notions in their heads about what happened. At a couple of points, they even came to conclusions that were their own ideas, and then decided they were fact. They went on stating these conclusions as facts, saying they knew this thing had happened, and this was the reason another thing had happened. This is not good investigating. However, I believe the author was trying to show that we sometimes judge incorrectly, and our preconceived notions can get in the way. I do like this about the book, even though it was also frustrating that the characters had to remain so clueless to illustrate it.
Despite the frustrating parts, I enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down at times. I'm still invested in this series and will continue reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.
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MURDER ON BEDFORD STREET Nonexclusive Excerpt
Nobody could accuse Frank Malloy of being a snob. As an Irish
Catholic and a former policeman, he was, in fact, the kind of person snobs
usually looked down on. He might be a millionaire now, but lots of people still
looked down on him because he'd always be Irish no matter how much money he
had. This was why he felt a little guilty about feeling snobbish about the
prospective client who had just been escorted into his office.
Hugh Breedlove, according to his calling card, was not Irish or poor and would
have been shocked to learn Frank had already developed a bad opinion of him.
His tailor-made suit spoke of wealth, as did his bright gold watch chain and
the large ruby ring on his hand. He was an imposing man with silver hair
pomaded into place and a neatly trimmed beard. His expression ruined the
effect, though. His frown spoke of contempt as he glanced around and saw
nothing that apparently pleased him, including Frank himself.
Breedlove stopped his critical perusal of Frank's modest office only when
Frank's secretary, Maeve, announced him. From the twinkle in her eye, she knew
Frank's opinion of Mr. Breedlove, who might well be the biggest snob Frank had
met in his life so far, and he had met a few.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Breedlove," Frank said with a professional
smile. He'd risen from his desk chair and reached across his desk to shake
Breedlove's hand.
Breedlove seemed to hesitate before accepting the handshake, but luckily for
him-if he really needed the services of Frank's private detective agency-he
finally did. Then he gave Maeve one of his disapproving looks, as if to ask why
she was still in the room.
He obviously didn't know he couldn't possibly intimidate Maeve Smith. "Do
you want me to take notes, Mr. Malloy?" she asked, her eyes still
twinkling.
"I have a matter of the utmost delicacy to discuss," Breedlove
informed them both haughtily.
Frank could have told him that all of his clients did, but he said, "I'll
call you if I need you, Maeve."
She gave him a mischievous grin before closing the door behind her, and Frank
somehow managed not to roll his eyes. "Please sit down, Mr. Breedlove, and
tell me how I can help you." Frank motioned to the wooden client chairs
that sat in front of his desk.
Breedlove didn't actually take out his handkerchief and wipe off the seat
before he sat on it, but he looked as if he would have liked to. Frank's
opinion of him did not improve.
"You come highly recommended, Mr. Malloy," Breedlove said doubtfully,
glancing around the utilitarian office again.
"May I ask who recommended me?" Frank thought he might want to take
some revenge.
Breedlove mentioned the names of two wealthy gentlemen whom Frank had assisted
in the past. "They said you could be very discreet."
"They were right, and anything you tell me will be confidential, even if
you don't hire me, Mr. Breedlove."
Breedlove seemed to relax a little at that, but only a little. "If I have
your word, then . . ."
"Of course. Now why don't you tell me why you need my help?"
Breedlove sighed and folded his well-tended hands in his lap. "My family
and I have spent the past five years in London, and we just returned to New
York a few weeks ago."
"What took you to London?"
"My work. I'm a partner in an investment bank, and I went over to manage
our office there."
"I see. And what brought you back to New York?"
He seemed to brighten at this. "My daughter. You see, she's eighteen now,
and we wanted to bring her out in society here in America. I know it's all the
fashion to marry a British aristocrat, but we didn't want that for our
girl."
Or maybe they didn't have a big enough fortune to attract a British aristocrat,
but Frank didn't mention this. He just nodded his understanding.
"As you can imagine, things have changed a lot in the five years we've
been gone. Old friends have . . . Well, we were depending on my sister-in-law
to help ease us back into society. My brother died while we were away, you see,
but I assumed she would still be available. And her daughter had married well,
or so we were led to believe. Between the two of them, we expected . . ."
To Frank's surprise, Breedlove's gaze dropped to his folded hands, and he
looked almost embarrassed.
"You expected they would sponsor your daughter?" Frank guessed.
Breedlove looked up in obvious surprise. "You know how a young lady is
introduced to society?"
Frank tried not to feel offended. That would be petty. "My wife was a
debutante."
Plainly, Breedlove was shocked, but he managed to say, "Oh well, I suppose
you'd know then."
"Yes. Now you were saying about your niece and your sister-in-law . . .
?"
"Uh, yes, I was. Ellie, my brother's widow, has left the city, it seems.
She moved to the country somewhere and no one seems to know where."
That did seem strange, but perhaps Ellie had her reasons. "And your
niece?"
"Julia. As I said, we heard she'd married well. Chet Longly, you
know."
Frank didn't know, but he nodded to encourage Breedlove to keep talking.
"When we went to call on her, Longly told us . . ." Once again, he
dropped his gaze to his folded hands, and for the first time Frank understood
that he really did have something painful to tell Frank.
Frank instantly regretted his hasty judgment of Breedlove and leaned forward to
indicate his concern. "Has something happened to Julia?"
"Yes, she . . . Longly has put her in an insane asylum."
Excerpted from Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson Copyright © 2023 by Victoria Thompson. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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