Gaslight mysteries (Victoria Thompson)

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...

Sarah Brandt is surprised when the son of her superstitious next-door neighbor asks for her professional advice. She is even more surprised to learn that mild-mannered Nelson Ellsworth has a mistress and has gotten her with child. When the young woman later turns up dead under the infamous hanging tree in Washington Square, Nelson is the prime suspect. Sarah knows that he must be innocent and she enlists the help of detective Frank Malloy to help...

When an explosion kills wealthy industrialist Gregory Van Dyke, police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt presumes that anarchists are responsible and personally asks detective sergeant Frank Malloy to track them down. Malloy is up to the task, but he faces a different kind of challenge when he encounters Sarah Brandt paying a condolence call on the Van Dykes. Faced with the impossibility of ever expressing his true feelings for Sarah, Frank had vowed never...

When midwife Sarah Brandt visits Little Italy to check up on a new mother who delivered her baby just the day before, she finds the young woman dead. The family insists that the death was from complications of childbirth. Sarah disagrees. So does the woman's own mother, an Irishwoman who spreads the story that the girl was murdered by her Italian in-laws, the Ruoccos-an accusation that inflames tensions between the two immigrant groups. The situation...

Widow and midwife Sarah Brandt helps the less fortunate of the city bring new life into the world. But when a local doctor is found murdered, the shocking motive may destroy Sarah.

In this 12th Gaslight Mystery by national bestselling author Victoria Thompson, philosophical conflicts within the deaf community lead to murder most foul. After an influential supporter of deaf education is found dead, NYPD Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy quickly determines the slain man-an advocate of eugenics-was bludgeoned with a trophy. But when Malloy reaches an impasse, he asks his friend Sarah Brandt to help him ferret out the culprit.

Victoria Thompson is the Edgar Award-nominated author of the Gaslight Mysteries and numerous historical romance novels. Set in 19th-century New York, Murder on Fifth Avenue follows midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy as they investigate the murder of a Knickerbocker club member.

"When facing injustice, the residents of nineteenth-century New York City's tenements turn to midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to protect their rights. Now the two must track down a cruel criminal preying on the hopes and dreams of innocent women"--

"In nineteenth-century New York City, a wealthy newlywed is found bludgeoned to death with his wife cradling his body, too horrified to speak. The police charge her with murder and it's up to the other members of the newly formed household to do some detective work to solve the mystery"--

Frank Malloy's latest client is the well-dressed Will Bert. He's searching for his brother, a newsboy named Freddie, so he can share his new financial good fortune. Frank makes quick work of the case and locates Freddie, but a happy reunion between brothers is not in the cards. When Will's name is mentioned, Freddie runs off - only to be found dead a short time later. Suspicious, Frank tracks down Will who spins a tale of lust and deceit involving...

"As 1899 draws to a close, Frank and Sarah Malloy are ready to celebrate the New Year--and century--at Trinity Church when they notice Mr. Pritchard, a neighbor's relative, behaving oddly and annoying the other revelers. When Frank tries to intervene and convince Pritchard to return home with them, he refuses and Frank loses him in the crowd. The next morning Sarah and Frank are horrified to learn Pritchard was murdered sometime in the night, his...

"Reformed gangster Jack Robinson is working hard to bolster his image in Gilded Age New York City society as he prepares to become a new father. But when Hayden Norcross, the man who nearly ruined his wife, is shot in cold blood, Jack knows the police will soon come knocking on his door. Frank Malloy has to agree ... things don't look good for Jack. But surely a man as unlikeable as Hayden had more than a few enemies. And it's soon clear that plenty...

"Nobody could accuse Frank Malloy of being a snob. As a former Irish Catholic 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...