Vanished in the Crowd (Molly Murphy Mysteries, 22)
With the newest book in their Molly Murphy Mystery series, Bowen and Broyles continue Molly’s engaging story as a detective, a mother, and a friend. Readers need not have read previous books in the series to follow Molly’s exploits. She is now the mother of three children, living in Manhattan in 1909 with her husband, Daniel Sullivan, who heads the New York office of what will soon be known as the FBI. The plot centers around two strands. First, New York hosts the Hudson-Fulton celebration commemorating Henry Hudson’s voyage and Fulton’s steamboat. The crowds and parades provide endless possibilities for crime. Second, a woman—a scientist studying polio—who is an acquaintance of Molly’s bohemian neighbors goes missing. As Daniel provides security for the dignitaries attending the ceremonies and Molly accepts a job to find the missing woman, the couple’s paths intersect.
Vanished in the Crowd excels on multiple levels. Readers attracted to history will enjoy the seamlessly layered-in historical context about the history of medicine, New York, transportation, women in science, the suffrage movement, friction between social classes, as well as connections to the HBO series, The Gilded Age. Readers attracted to romance will appreciate the tension and rapprochement between Molly and Daniel as they navigate the demands of what becomes a two-career relationship. Readers focused on the mystery will appreciate the many red herrings and the way the authors hide the identity of the victim until two-thirds through the novel. For me, despite the red herrings, the culprit was never in doubt, but that did not diminish my enjoyment of the novel.
