Sarah Bundt, mid-wife in the early 1900s in New York, has tended patients in many social levels of society. This case is at the elegant home of Edmund Blackwell, renowned magnetic healer.

Blackwell was discovered by his wife. Dead from a bullet to his head, suicide was the initial verdict. Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy is assigned to the case and goes with this decision.

Blackwell’s wife is pregnant and due any day. When she goes into labor, Malloy summons Sarah Bundt to handle the birth. Malloy and Bundt have become acquainted over time, and Malloy knows all will go well.

A healthy baby is delivered, but quickly falls ill. Brandt’s training and nursing background helps her solve the cause and create a treatment for this. She also finds there are elements to a scandal that would shatter the appearance of the baby’s family. She also finds that the death isn’t suicide — it’s murder!

This is one book in the Gaslight Series by Victoria Thompson. It is interesting to read the ins and outs of navigating an era where women had not only no rights but there was also a social pecking order. Talk about restrictive! ( )

When Frank Malloy is called to a crime scene he is distressed to find the person who discovered the body is not only expecting a baby, she's expecting the baby any minute now. He sends for the only midwife he knows, Sarah Brandt. Sarah is more than happy to assist Malloy with a case and comes at once. She finds the wife of the victim in labor and spends the rest of the day bringing the baby safely into the world. By means of her position as Midwife in the household Sarah begins to investigate the murder of Dr. Blackwell. Something is just not right in that house and she is determined to figure it out. ( )

Convoluted, but not exactly in a good way. though interesting enough to finish. I wish this series were better, regularly. ( )

Murder on Gramercy Park is the third book in Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series. Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy isn't happy to be sent to investigate the apparent suicide of famed magnetic healer Edmund Blackwell. Midwife/nurse Sarah Brandt enters the case because Edmund's widow, Letitia, went into labor after finding his body.

It wasn a suicide, but murder. Who could have done it? Was it the handsome healer's plain and plump assistant, Amos Potter? Was it the widow? Was it Calvin Brown, who claimed to be Blackwell's son from when the healer was still Edward Brown, and whose mother is still Blackwell's legal wife? What about Peter Dudley, who loved and was loved by Letitia before the accident that left her needing Blackwell's help? Letitia's father didn't approve of Dudley, so when Blackwell wanted to marry his daughter after he cured her, Mr. Symington got her to agree.

Once again, Frank's son, Brian, by his late first wife is a subplot. Frank and his mother, Alma Malloy, believed the boy to be a crippled simpleton. Sarah suspected that there was nothing wrong with the handsome three-year's mind. Frank already feels indebted to Sarah for making him realize that Brian is just deaf. Now Sarah convinces Frank to allow Brian to be seen by a surgeon friend of her late husband. She believes that Dr. Newton could surgically correct Brian's club foot. Frank's not so sure.

Frank is going to offer to look into Sarah's husband's murder, which will be a subplot for several books to come.

NOTES:

Chapter 1: See book one, Murder on Astor Place, for when Frank and Sarah were at the Gramercy Park house before.

Chapter 3: Sarah tells us about bonesetters, a profession that goes back thousands of years.

Chapter 4: Sarah's neighbor, Mrs. Elsworth, is now Mrs. Ellsworth, as her name will continue to be spelled in this series. (We don't find out that her first name is Edna until book 22, Murder on Trinity Place.) Mrs. Ellsworth is noted for her superstitions. Here she gives us one about aprons.

Chapter 7:

a. Mrs. Blackwell's wet nurse tells Sarah about the accident that left Letitia in such pain.

b. Frank takes Brian to see Dr. David Newton.

Chapter 9:

a. We get a Mrs. Ellsworth superstition about dropping scissors.

b. Mrs. Ellsworth saved Sarah's life in book two, Murder on St. Mark's Place.

Chapter 11: This is where Frank learns that some Chinese men in New York City have Irish wives. This will be a plot point for book nine, Murder in Chinatown.

Chapter 12: Mrs. Ellsworth tells Sarah what it means if a mouse nibbles a flour bag.

One of the things I enjoy about reading historical mysteries is the opportunity to learn about past times. Besides Blackwell's practice and his lectures, we're given information about opium dens, morphine, and the contrast between upper and lower class lifestyles. Frank and Sarah are taking baby steps in their growing attraction to each other. This is a good series and it was nice to read one of the earlier entries in it. ( )

Midwife Sara Brandt is called to the murder scene of Dr. Edmund Blackwell, by Detective Sargent Frank Malloy, when the young wife goes into labor.

Malloy doesn’t want Sarah mixed up in another one of his murder cases. But, before the day is over, they are sharing possible scenarios of the murder, as they have on previous cases.

Malloy knows that Sarah Brandt has “ruined” him when he realizes he won’t accept a bribe to solve the case without being sure of the guilt of the suspect, as many of the police generally do. He cares too much for her opinion of him. He will only arrest the killer, not a convenient substitute.

A Gaslight Mystery in Victorian New York, a historical mystery where the police are corrupt and most officers are paid by bribes or rewards. A great read as the relationship between Sara and Malloy continues to grow. ( )