"Historical Mysery!"
Reviewed by Joanne Bozik
Posted May 9, 2013
Mystery Historical
I've always loved a good mystery and especially when the
story is set in historical times in New York City. MURDER
IN CHELSEA by Victoria Thompson has suspense, murder,
great invigorating characters, a touch of love and romance,
a child of love and a "who done it" that had me turning
the pages very quickly, it was hard to put this book down!
Victoria Thompson is the crerme de la creme of mystery
writers and I
look forward to reading many more of her Gaslight
Mysteries.
Now that the nursemaid is dead, it gives Sarah a small
taste of relief that no one will take her daughter away
from her. But both Sarah and her dear friend Mr. Malloy who
is a Detective Sergeant on the New York Police, know that
justice must be served. They must find the nursemaid's
killer for they both will protect little Catherine with
their lives. As they travel through New York from the
richly built homes in Upper West Side to the poorest
sections of lower Manhattan they come across many hidden
secrets of Catherine's past. Malloy will stop at nothing to
protect both Sarah and Catherine from harm, but the chances
they take could be deadly to all.
Felix Decker who is Sarah's father, comes from the oldest
and wealthiest family in New York City is not so happy
that his daughter is involved with a police detective who
is of lower class, but when an acquaintance of his is
murdered, Decker teams up with Frank Malloy, Detective
Sergeant to help solve the crimes as soon as possible to
keep his daughter safe. The journey they embark on is very
dangerous and they come across many shady and not so shady
characters, but time is of the essence for both Sarah and
her daughter Catherine are in danger of this killer who
haunts the secrets of Catherine's past.
MURDER IN CHELSEA is a recommended read. Fans of mysteries
should not miss Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series.
SUMMARY
Sarah Brandt is shattered when she learns that a
woman
has inquired at Hope's Daughters Mission for Catherine,
the
abandoned child she has taken as her daughter. The woman
claims she was Catherine's nursemaid, now acting on
behalf
of the girl's mother to reunite them.
Unwilling to simply hand Catherine over to a complete
stranger, Sarah asks Malloy to investigate. But when he
goes to interview the woman at her tenement in Chelsea,
he
finds she has been murdered.
Though her death leaves Sarah's claim to Catherine
unchallenged, her sense of justice compels her to work
with
Malloy to find the killer. Their search takes them from
the
marble mansions of the Upper West Side to the dilapidated
dwellings of lower Manhattan and into the deepest and
darkest secrets of Catherine's past.
And while Malloy helps Sarah determine the fate of
the
child she loves, he faces a challenge of his own—and
his decision could change both their lives forever...
ExcerptCHAPTER I
Sarah hurried down Mulberry Street, dodging running
children, housewives bartering vigorously with the street
vendors, and the occasional stray dog. Mrs. Keller
wasn't
expecting her at any particular time, but her note had
hinted at something ominous, something to do with Sarah's
daughter Catherine. And her note had arrived two days
ago.
Sarah had left the child with her nursemaid, Maeve, and
her
own sense of urgency spurred her on. She volunteered at
the
Daughters of Hope mission as often as her midwife duties
allowed, but the trip from her home on Bank Street to the
mission had never seemed longer.
At last she saw the ramshackle Dutch colonial house
and
managed not to actually run up the front steps. She
knocked
on the door and stared at the familiar sign that offered
girls in need a chance to seek refuge at the mission.
Maeve
had been one of those girls. After what seemed an
eternity
but was really only a couple of minutes, a girl answered.
She wore the plain gingham dress and apron that passed as
a
uniform for the residents. She smiled in welcome.
"Mrs. Brandt, how nice to see you." She stepped back
to
allow Sarah to enter. "I didn't know this was your day
to
come."
"It's not. Mrs. Keller sent for me. Is she here?"
"Oh, yes, and she'll be that glad to see you, I'm
sure.
Do you want to wait in the parlor?"
"No, I'll... Is she in her office?"
"I think so."
"Then I'll just go on back. Thank you, Claire."
Sarah found Mrs. Keller's office door open. The woman
who served as housemother to the girls had claimed the
former butler's pantry as her own. The tiny room was
spotlessly clean and neat as a pin. Mrs. Keller, a widow
in
her forties, sat at the battered desk. She looked up
from a
list she was making. "Mrs. Brandt, I'm so glad to
finally
see you."
"I just got your note this morning. I was out on a
difficult delivery and was gone for two days."
"Oh, yes, I should have guessed that." She rose and
closed the door.
Sarah's concern deepened. "Your note frightened me."
"I'm sure it did. Please, have a seat." Sarah
perched
on one of two mismatched kitchen chairs taking up most of
the extra space in the room. Mrs. Keller took the other.
"You haven't been able to adopt Catherine, have you?"
"No. A single woman can't adopt." Sarah's husband,
Tom,
had died almost five years earlier.
"That's what I thought, which is why I knew I had to
contact you immediately. Someone came to the mission the
other day, looking for Catherine."
Terror twisted her heart. "Who? Her mother? Her
family?"
"No, a woman named Anne Murphy. She said she was
Catherine's nursemaid."
Sarah could only stare back in surprise. "A family
who
could afford a nursemaid would not have abandoned a
child.
That doesn't make any sense."
"I know, and I... Forgive me, I've been trying to
remember exactly how Catherine came to be at the mission.
It
was before my time here, and I've forgotten the details."
"She'd already arrived when I first discovered this
place, but I understand they'd found her sleeping on the
doorstep one morning. She had nothing but the clothes on
her back."
Mrs. Keller nodded. "And of course she couldn't tell
anyone where she came from because she couldn't speak."
"That's right. She didn't say more than a word or two
until months after she'd come to live with me."
"Did you ever find out why she wouldn't speak for so
long?"
"We took her to a doctor, and he believes she'd been
badly frightened by something."
"And now that she's started talking again, has she
ever
told you anything about her past?"
"She... she occasionally has a frightening memory, but
nothing that makes any sense. Whatever it was, I don't
think she remembers completely, and I'm not sure I want
her to."
"I can understand that."
"So tell me more about this woman who came to see
you."
"I have to say, I didn't want to believe her, but she
has
a very interesting story."
Sarah braced herself. "What did she tell you?"
"She said she lived with Catherine and her mother in a
cottage in the country somewhere north of the city.
Harlem,
I think she said. Catherine's father would come to visit
them from time to time. Miss Murphy knew him only as Mr.
Smith, but she understood this was not his real name. He
was quite wealthy, and he kept Catherine's mother as his
mistress."
Stories like this were much too common, and Sarah knew
they rarely ended well for the women involved. "Did she
tell you how Catherine ended up here?"
"She said Catherine's mother believed her life to be
in
danger, so she asked Miss Murphy to take Catherine away
and
keep her safe."
Sarah gasped. "So this Anne Murphy abandoned her to
strangers?"
"I was as appalled as you, but Miss Murphy pointed out
that she did not know Mr. Smith's true identity or how
extensive his power might be. She didn't even know if
Mr.
Smith himself wanted Catherine's mother dead or if it was
someone else. With no idea who her enemies were, she
decided to hide Catherine someplace she'd be safe and
then
disappear herself. She'd hoped to come back for the
child
later."
"It's been almost a year!"
"I know. I pointed that out and asked her where she'd
been all this time. She said she'd found work and waited
for
Catherine's mother to get in touch with her, but she
never
did. She decided that since no one had come asking about
the child in all this time that it must be safe, so she'd
returned to claim her."
This was the most ridiculous story Sarah had ever
heard.
"Did you believe her?"
Mrs. Keller sighed. "Not entirely, no. There may be
some truth to her story, but I had no way of judging
which
part or how much."
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her Catherine had left the mission. That
upset
her, as you can imagine. She obviously cares for the
child."
"How much could she really care if she just left her
here
all this time?"
"Oddly, that is the one part of the story I did
believe.
She is still genuinely frightened of something or
someone,
even now. When I told her Catherine had gone, she feared
the people who wanted to kill her mother had somehow
gotten
the child as well. I assured her that Catherine was safe
and sound and very happy, but she refused to believe me.
She demanded to see her."
"Oh, dear, Catherine is home alone with Maeve. What
if
she shows up while I'm gone?"
"I didn't tell her about you, Mrs. Brandt. You must
believe I would never betray your confidence."
Relief surged through her. "Thank you, Mrs. Keller. I
shouldn't have doubted you."
Mrs. Keller waved away her apology. "As I said, I
didn't
believe her story, or rather, I didn't know what part of
her
story to believe, so I decided I should tell you what
happened and let you decide what to do."
Sarah had no idea what to do. She had a thousand
questions, and she wasn't sure she wanted any of them
answered. Was Catherine's mother still alive? Still in
danger? Who had wanted her dead and why? Was Catherine
in
danger from the same people? Did her mother want
Catherine
back? And what about her father, the elusive Mr. Smith?
Did he want his child or did he want her dead? Why had
this
Anne Murphy suddenly come looking for Catherine after all
these months? Did she really care for the child or was
she
working for someone who wished Catherine ill? And if any
of
these people had a claim on the child, how on God's green
earth could she bear to lose her? Sarah raised a hand to
her
throbbing temple, surprised to see it tremble. She
closed
her fingers into a fist.
"How did you leave matters with this Miss Murphy?" she
asked.
"I told her I would pass her request along to the
family
who had Catherine. I said ‘family' so she wouldn't know
you're a woman alone. She gave me the address of a
rooming
house in Chelsea. I promised someone would contact her
there. If you don't wish to see her, I'll send her a note
and tell her you refused."
"I couldn't possibly refuse. I can't imagine she'd
give
up so easily, and she might cause you trouble here."
"I'm sure we could handle anything she might try."
Sarah smiled grimly. "I'm sure you could, but you
know
as well as I that we can't afford any more scandals here.
Our donors have just begun to give again after the last
trouble. They might decide to stop supporting us once and
for all if there's more, and heaven knows, you barely
make
ends meet here as it is."
"Do you really think your mother and her friends would
stop donating?"
"Not my mother, but I can't speak for her friends.
Society women are... Well, their values are so different
than ours."
Mrs. Keller smiled. "Ours? Didn't you used to be one
of
them?"
Sarah smiled back. "No. I fought them every step of
the
way, and then I eloped with a poor doctor and never
looked
back."
Mrs. Keller's smile faded. "This isn't getting us any
closer to a decision, is it?"
"Yes, it is. I can't allow this Miss Murphy to cause
trouble for the mission, so I will go to see her and find
out what she really wants."
"Do you think that's wise? Or even safe? Perhaps you
should ask Mr. Malloy to go with you."
Sarah shook her head. "I can just imagine what he
would
say if I asked him."
"And he would be right. But if he knows you're going
to
meet with this woman no matter what he says, he'd
accompany
you, I'm sure."
He would, too. Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy of the
New York City Police would insist on accompanying her.
So
she wasn't going to tell him anything at all.
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