How exciting!
Friday, March 25, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Brooklyn on Fire, A Mary Handley Mystery by Lawrence H. Levy
I was a fan of the first Mary Handley Mystery, Second Street Station, so I was excited when I saw Brooklyn on Fire offered from Blogging For Books.
If you haven't read the first Mary Handley mystery here is a brief summary: Mary is a late 19th century lady who quits her job at a sweatshop to get involved in solving mysteries around New York City. Her sleuthing finds her crossing paths with many famous figures of the 1890's like the Rockeffellers and Thomas Edison.
In Brooklyn on Fire, Mary's detective agency is finally seeing some business as she is asked to investigate a woman's uncle's murder only to find the coffin they exhume is full of rocks.
There is a side story about city officers and water pipes that never really captured my interest. I've never found big city / inner city politics to be very captivating. I also thought - spoiler alert - that a little more time should have been focused on the murder of Sean's fiance Patti. For it being Sean's fiance and Mary's long time friend, they didn't seem to spend much time grieving over her until the very end.
On the plus side, I like Mary as a character. She is a bit course sometimes, but overall a detective with class and sass. Her relationship with her family is spot on as they have a back-and-forth love/hate relationship. There is a lot more to deal with there. I can see this series continue to grow as Mary explores more of the relationships of the wealthy New York scene and their undercover crimes, as well as her own personal life.
I'll look forward to book number three.
If you haven't read the first Mary Handley mystery here is a brief summary: Mary is a late 19th century lady who quits her job at a sweatshop to get involved in solving mysteries around New York City. Her sleuthing finds her crossing paths with many famous figures of the 1890's like the Rockeffellers and Thomas Edison.
In Brooklyn on Fire, Mary's detective agency is finally seeing some business as she is asked to investigate a woman's uncle's murder only to find the coffin they exhume is full of rocks.
There is a side story about city officers and water pipes that never really captured my interest. I've never found big city / inner city politics to be very captivating. I also thought - spoiler alert - that a little more time should have been focused on the murder of Sean's fiance Patti. For it being Sean's fiance and Mary's long time friend, they didn't seem to spend much time grieving over her until the very end.
On the plus side, I like Mary as a character. She is a bit course sometimes, but overall a detective with class and sass. Her relationship with her family is spot on as they have a back-and-forth love/hate relationship. There is a lot more to deal with there. I can see this series continue to grow as Mary explores more of the relationships of the wealthy New York scene and their undercover crimes, as well as her own personal life.
I'll look forward to book number three.
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