Murder on Waverly Place: A Gaslight Mystery
Sarah Brandt has eschewed her wealthy background to become a midwife for the needy of New York City in the 1890s. A widow, whose husband was murdered sometime before this story begins, lives with her adopted daughter, Catherine, and Maeve, the nanny. Sarah’s mother, one of the wealthiest women in New York, has suffered terrible guilt since the death of Sarah’s sister. She wants to contact Maggie at a séance and apologize. Sarah, a non-believer, agrees to go with her. We meet Mrs. Gittings, Serafina, and the Professor running the very successful business of contacting the dead. After the first visit, Sarah hopes her mother is appeased, but Mrs. Decker attends the next session alone where Mrs. Gittings is murdered. Detective Frank Malloy, a longtime friend of Sarah’s, begins his investigation. Together, they solve this perplexing whodunit.
This is Victoria Thompson’s 11th book in the series. She does a good job with the time period, and her characters are well developed. I’m planning to read the entire series to see how Frank and Sarah arrived at this point in their lives.
