Murder in Little Italy is the 8th book in Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery series featuring Sarah Brandt, a midwife in turn of the last century New York City. I have read books from this series in the past and I really love the characters and the setting. Thompson’s books are filled with complex and interesting characters and stories that take place outside the luxury of the elite worlds so often portrayed in historical novels.
Sarah Brandt is one of my favorite protagonists; she is smart, independent and caring and has dedicated her life to working with marginalized women. In many ways she defies the norm of the glamorous women often written about, while perfectly fitting into the mold as a member of one of New York’s most prominent families. This rejection of class and gender roles seems to be an important theme in many of the books I read and the Gaslight Mysteries are no exception.
Thompson also did a terrific job bringing the reader into the dark and dirty streets of New York through well researched and interesting details. The creation of a robust setting is the real accomplishment of this book and the author’s love of history is clear and enjoyable to read. Thompson manages to weave details about daily life, especially in terms of child birth, into the story without the reader feeling lectured or bored. This book takes us into Little Italy and highlights the waves of Italian and Irish immigrants into NYC at the time and their relationship with Tammany Hall, which was notoriously corrupt.
It is a good thing that the characters and setting are so well written because the story is lacking in complexity; I guessed the major secret of the book within the first 20 pages and I knew who the murderer was a good 100 pages before s/he was revealed. This is pretty ridiculous and I admit to being a bit frustrated but I still liked the book, and I have enjoyed others in the series, so I can still strongly recommend this book to those interested in a dynamic cast of characters and a compelling location.
