Review: Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #18) by Victoria Thompson + Giveaway

November 2, 2015 Giveaway, Review 59 ★★★★

Review: Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #18) by Victoria Thompson + GiveawayMurder on St. Nicholas Avenue by Victoria Thompson
Series: Gaslight Mystery, #18
Published by Berkley on November 3rd 2015
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat Rating:half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The author of Murder on Amsterdam Avenue returns to nineteenth-century New York City to find Christmas in the air, a police detective and a midwife with love in their hearts, and a wealthy newlywed with blood on her hands…
Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt are not the only ones who have recently tied the knot. Family friend Mrs. O’Neill was delighted when her daughter Una wed the seemingly wealthy and charming Randolph Pollock. She didn’t wonder why such an affluent man would want to marry a poor Irish girl, no matter how pretty she was. But now Mrs. O’Neill has a problem.
Pollock’s servants have found their employer bludgeoned to death with Una cradling his body. Rendered mute by the horror of her husband’s death, Una cannot explain what happened, so the police have charged her with murder and locked her away in the Tombs to await trial.
Mrs. O’Neill would like Frank to investigate the case and save Una, yet with Frank and Sarah still on their honeymoon, it’s up to the other members of their newly formed household to do some detective work. But solving the mystery behind Pollock’s death means first discovering the truth about who he really is…

ARCREVIEW coverlove historical mystery PAGETURNER

When a woman shows up on Franks Malloy’s doorsteps, his midwife Maeve is weary of her appearance and think that this is just another person from her employers old neighborhood looking for a handout. When it turns out that Mrs. O’Neill is there on behalf of her daughter Una seeking Frank’s help to rescue her daughter for being accused of murder, Maeve jumps into the Malloy’s spot to handle the situation (as Frank is on his honeymoon and is unavailable). As Maeve tries to find the real killer, it will take the help of a few other friends in order to clear Una’s name, including the help of Gino Donatelli, a cop who happens to be very sweet on Maeve.

Excellent story, I thoroughly enjoyed Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue. Victoria Thompson does an amazing job of combining historical fiction with mystery, into a novel that’s so compelling, it is hard to put down. Character driven and fast paced, I found the 18th book of this series totally engrossing. Maeve was an excellent character. Do not be fooled by the blurb, though it does mention Frank and Sarah Malloy, the usual due of Gaslight mysteries, this one really stars Maeve and Gine. Maeve is fierce, out-spoken and tough as nails. She was such a joy to follow around this mystery and her relationship and banter between Gino Donatelli was both amusing and heartwarming. I loved the little romance brewing between these two.

“This is so much nicer than a cab,” Maeve said, stroking the fine wool lap robe.
“Much more private, too,” he said, remembering his claim that Maeve was his girl and wishing it were true.
He thought she gave him a look, but it was too dark to be sure. “Yes, we don’t have to worry about little ears hearing what we say. I think that’s why Mrs.Decker suggested we go to their house.”
Gino managed not to sigh his disappointment that she didn’t get his hint.

The story also featured a curious Mrs. Decker, who loves to butt in and her husband, Mr. Decker that finds his wife’s involvement, very amusing especially when she tries to hide it. I love their relationship mainly because of the way Mr. Decker reacts to his wife’s involvement, especially when he finds out that she is doing to sneak behind his back. He teases her, and lures her just to watch her reaction when she realizes that he knows her antics all along. Their interaction is easy, teasing, and can really put a smile on my face.

“How very clever,” Mrs.Decker said. “I must remember that.”
“Why?” her husband asked. “Are you planning to murder someone?”

The mystery was fun, and like I had already mentioned a bit hard to put down. Una is the woman accused of bashing her husbands head in. As we learn more about Mr.Pollock, her husband, you can’t help but feel a kind of resentment for the man and all of his wrong doings. Una was a really hard character to like, so if that was the case that Thompson was building, she had accomplished it because not only did I not like her, I downright hated her by the end of the book.

“But I didn’t kill him,” she repeated. Maeve would’ve been angry by this point, but Una just pouted prettily.

The woman grated my nerves, especially when throughout the entire book she was using her looks to sway people and to me she just seemed like a total nutcase.heh.

The only thing that disappointed me was that I was hoping for a bit more of a holiday feel to the book because the cover suggested that, but I didn’t get much of that at all.

Overall, if you are a fan of historical mystery, Victoria Thompson is a master at writing with memorable characters that grow with every book, an engrossing mystery and just simply wonderful writing.

The publisher is offering one copy to a US winner.

Rules

  • Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
  • Must be a follower of the blog
  • Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
  • Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

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59 Responses to “Review: Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #18) by Victoria Thompson + Giveaway”

  16. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue sounds like a very good cozy mystery, Christy! I love it when there is a little chemistry between some of the characters, because it adds another layer to the story.
    Great review - you are making me add quite a few books to my TBR shelf lately 😉
    Have a fantastic Tuesday!

    Reply

  17. Sarah

    Your review of all the historical mysteries makes me want to delve into the genre, too. I love that this one is Christmas themed, too!

    Reply

  19. Tracy Terry

    Great cover and what sounds like a fun mystery which when combined with the historical sounds like my kind of read and especially on a damp, foggy day the likes of which we are currently having a lot of

    Reply

  20. Kelly

    She sounds like a bit of a man eater really, but using your feminine wiles to get you further doesn’t usually sit too well with me. But it still sounds like a pretty great read, even not being a historical reader myself. I would have assumed it would have been a holiday reader as well, given the cover. Great review Lily, really enjoyed it <3
    Kelly recently posted…Lillytales Bookmark International GiveawayMy Profile

    Reply

  21. Melliane

    It’s always nice to have a book like that. From time to time I love to read one and this one sounds good! I didn’t know about it.

    Reply

  23. Lola

    I like the sound of how this one combines historical fiction and mystery! And Maeve sounds like a great main character with how tough she is. And there’s romance as well, souds like it has all the ingredients of a nice book! Great review!
    Lola recently posted…Review: Shaun the Sheep the MovieMy Profile

    Reply

  25. Keionda @Keionda Hearts Books

    Hiya Lily! As always, I LOVE the format you have your reviews and stuff in! They’re always so eye catching making me just want to stare at them all day long. I no lie… But any who, onto the review! I have to be honest with you girl, I don’t think this is one that would really interest me. (But then again, I’m a total fail whale at branching out to other genres. <3 Hopefully I will one day soon though! <3

    Reply

    • Lily B

      thanks Keionda, I been trying to make them look interesting. It’s okay XD I think its an acquired taste for some people, some like em, some not so much, totally normal! I’m nuts for a lot of genres myself.

      Reply

    • Lily B

      I haven’t read the first book myself Candace, but as a stand-alone, I felt this worked for me! I do hope I can read the first book in the feature

      Reply

  27. Magen Corrie

    I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but I do like a good mystery. And encountering a book you just can’t put down is always amazing!

    Lovely review!

    Reply

  32. Debbie

    This is a new type of book for me and I look forward to reading it. Thanks for this opportunity.

    Reply

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