Murder on Washington Square
This is the fourth book in Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery series, set in New York City in the 1890s and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and policeman Frank Malloy. Sarah’s neighbor, banker Nelson Ellsworth, is accused of murdering his mistress. As it turns out, the murdered woman, Anna Blake, was not as innocent as she seemed; she had been blackmailing Ellsworth and another man, making them believe she was pregnant. Now Sarah and Frank must find the real killer in order to clear Ellsworth’s name.
Murder on Washington Square is an enjoyable, suspenseful mystery, even though it lacks the depth of Anne Perry’s books. I enjoyed the developing relationship between Sarah and Frank, who are obviously attracted to each other in spite of class differences. At times I felt that Thompson could have given more details on the background of the characters, for people who had not read the earlier books. But the book did make me want to go back and read the others.
