OverDrive would like to use cookies to store information on your computer to improve your user experience at our Website. One of the cookies we use is critical for certain aspects of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but this could affect certain features or services of the site. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, click here to see our Privacy Policy.
The author of City of Lies 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 widow accused of murder…
Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt aren’t the only ones who’ve recently tied the knot. Family friend Mrs. O’Neill was delighted when her daughter, Una, wed the seemingly wealthy and charming Randolph Pollock. But there’s a problem. Una was found cradling her dead husband’s body. Rendered mute by the ordeal, she cannot explain what happened and now stands charged with murder.
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...
The author of City of Lies 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 widow accused of murder…
Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt aren’t the only ones who’ve recently tied the knot. Family friend Mrs. O’Neill was delighted when her daughter, Una, wed the seemingly wealthy and charming Randolph Pollock. But there’s a problem. Una was found cradling her dead husband’s body. Rendered mute by the ordeal, she cannot explain what happened and now stands charged with murder.
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...
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the book
1
Maeve hurried to answer the door. Whoever was out there was getting impatient. Ringing the bell hadn't been good enough. Now they were knocking, too. Little Catherine had to practically run to keep up, but she wasn't about to be left behind by her nursemaid.
"Is it a baby?" Catherine asked, easily remembering how her mother would be summoned at all hours to deliveries when she was a midwife, since those calls had stopped only a few short months ago.
"I hope not," Maeve replied. "Your mama doesn't deliver babies anymore, and besides, she's too far away to help even if she did."
Maeve pulled open the door and found a middle-aged woman standing on the doorstep. Her hat was obviously the one she saved for "best," although her coat had seen better days. Maeve instantly classified her as one of the people who had started coming to the Malloy house looking for a handout as soon as they discovered her employer, Frank Malloy, had become a millionaire.
"Is this where the Malloys live?" the woman asked, looking up doubtfully at the imposing fa?ade.
Malloy and his new bride had decided to wait until they returned from their honeymoon to hire servants, but Maeve was starting to think that had been a terrible mistake. Nothing like a snooty butler to send people on their way.
"Yes, it is, but-"
"I'm a friend of Mrs. Malloy. Mrs. Alma Malloy, that is, not the new missus."
"She's not-"
"Oh, I know she's not home now," the woman said, twisting her hands anxiously. "She's with the boy at his school, isn't she? I wouldn't know that if I wasn't really her friend, now, would I? But it's not her I was wanting to see, is it? No, it's himself, Mr. Malloy. Francis. I've known him from a boy, I have, and I . . ."
To Maeve's dismay, the woman burst into tears.
Maeve glanced up and down the street, checking to see if the woman had brought someone with her. She saw no one else lurking about. Briefly, she debated inviting the woman inside. She and Catherine were there alone, but the woman didn't look dangerous. Besides, how could she shut the door and leave someone sobbing on the stoop?
"Come in, please," Maeve said, taking the woman's arm and drawing her inside.
"Why is the lady crying?" Catherine asked.
The woman stopped dead at the sound of the child's voice and made a visible effort to recover her composure. "And who's this, now?" she asked.
"This is Mrs. Brandt's . . . I mean, Mrs. Malloy's daughter. The new Mrs. Malloy, that is."
"Francis's new bride," she said, nodding. "A sweet little thing she is, too."
"Mr. Malloy is my papa now," Catherine said.
"Of course he is," she said with a watery smile. "I don't suppose I could speak with Francis, could I? It's very important, you see. A matter of life and death."
It was always a matter of life and death when people wanted a handout, Maeve thought, but she said, "I'm sorry to say that he's not here, but I'll be happy to tell him you called."
"I can wait for him. I have to see him right away, you know."
"You'll have a very long wait, I'm afraid. He's still on his honeymoon, and we don't expect them back for several weeks yet."
"Several weeks?" she repeated, her eyes flooding with tears again. "But I can't . . . I have to see him. It's my daughter, you see. They've put her in jail, and they say she's done murder, but she never did. She's a good girl, my Una. She would never do what they said, but they're going to hang her unless Francis helps her!"
Oh dear, this wasn't at all what Maeve had been expecting. And not something Catherine needed to hear about either. She glanced down to see the...
Reviews-
September 21, 2015 Characters who previously played supporting roles take center stage in Thompson’s workmanlike 18th mystery set in gaslight-era New York City (after 2015’s Murder on Amsterdam Avenue). With series leads Frank and Sarah Malloy away on their honeymoon, their nursemaid, Maeve Smith, agrees to help Mrs. O’Neill, a friend of Frank’s mother. Mrs. O’Neill’s married daughter, Una, has been charged with killing her husband, Mr. Pollack, after she was found cradling his bludgeoned corpse in their Harlem home. Of course, Mrs. O’Neill is sure her daughter is innocent. When Maeve goes to the Pollacks’ home to see if there are any resources to pay for Una’s defense, she’s dumbfounded to find thousands of dollars in cash in a hidden safe. Police officer Gino Donatelli, who’s sweet on Maeve, provides some welcome assistance. Series fans will enjoy seeing Maeve and Gino in action, though others should be prepared for routine plotting. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
October 15, 2015
Thompson (Murder on Amsterdam Avenue) rewards fans of her long-running 19th-century-set series with an "extra" Christmas story filled with some of the secondary characters. Since Frank and Sarah Malloy are away on their honeymoon in Europe, nanny Maeve offers to aid Mrs. O'Neill, who shows up at the Malloy residence seeking help for her daughter Una, who has been arrested for killing her husband. With some assistance from policeman Gino and Sarah's parents, Maeve investigates the murder and soon unearths more of the victim's secrets. VERDICT This is a fantastic historical with a wonderfully plucky amateur female sleuth. Fans of Rhys Bowen's "Molly Murphy" mysteries and Anne Perry's "Thomas Pitt" books will especially enjoy.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2015
Thompson, who has climbed national best sellers lists and received Edgar and Agatha nominations for her Gaslight Mysteries, here gives the series a Christmas twist. Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy and midwife Sarah Brandt are honeymooning during the holidays when Una, the daughter of a family friend, is found holding the lifeless body of her badly battered new husband. If it's something of a mystery that the rich young man married a poor Irish lass, it's even more of a mystery what actually happened, as Una has been terrified into muteness. With Frank and Sarah away, members of their new household pitch in to investigate.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Title Information+
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
OverDrive Read
Release date:
EPUB eBook
Release date:
Digital Rights Information+
Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.
Please update to the latest version of the OverDrive app to stream videos.
Device Compatibility Notice
The OverDrive app is required for this format on your current device.
Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
You've reached your library's checkout limit for digital titles.
To make room for more checkouts, you may be able to return titles from your Checkouts page.
Excessive Checkout Limit Reached.
There have been too many titles checked out and returned by your account within a short period of time.
Try again in several days. If you are still not able to check out titles after 7 days, please contact Support.
You have already checked out this title. To access it, return to your Checkouts page.
This title is not available for your card type. If you think this is an error contact support.
There are no copies of this issue left to borrow. Please try to borrow this title again when a new issue is released.
| Sign In
You will be prompted to sign into your library account on the next page.
If this is your first time selecting “Send to NOOK,” you will then be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
The first time you select “Send to NOOK,” you will be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
You can read periodicals on any NOOK tablet or in the free NOOK reading app for iOS, Android or Windows 8.
