Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

by Carol1 Comment
I was looking for an audiobook and Murder on Astor Place was available to "read now" through the library. I know people who really enjoy the series and since it was the first, I thought I'd give it a go. I read the blurb and it sounded right up my alley. The book takes place in the 1890s in New York City, which is a good setting. We see the tenements and the grand houses, meet good, and bad, people from all walks of life. Sarah is a intelligent, resourceful, and able to deal with people from a variety of classes. Sergeant Frank Malloy has asked for her help on this case, which seems a bit out of character, but we have to have the pair to make the book work. The story was suspenseful. The clues were well-planted. I liked both Frank and Sarah and they do make a good team. I think, maybe if I had read it at a...
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Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert

Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert

by Carol2 Comments
Reviews for Death in the Family both drew me to the book and made me wary. "A Christie-inspired mystery." "This is an Agathe Christieesque murder mystery." "If you loved Agatha Christie you are going to have a new author to fill that void." I love Christie and that era of mystery in general, but rarely do modern novels actually pull off that feel. While Death in the Family has some of those classic elements, a rich family, an isolated manor, but I feel like "Christie-esque" has come to mean that it's a good puzzle type mystery, but the comparison isn't really fair to Christie or Wegert. I really enjoyed it. It's a good mystery, tense, atmospheric, but our sleuth especially would not fit in a Christie novel; which is neither good or bad. Detective Shana Merchant has relocated to upstate New York after being kidnapped by a serial killer. She is still dealing with her PTSD and flashbacks but has been...
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