I enjoy historical detective fiction with female leads, and even though book 20 of a series has well-established characters, IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW is easy to read for a newcomer. New York, 1908 is the setting, and Molly Murphy Sullivan, an Irish immigrant who has married respectably, is concerned about typhoid. The city is struck by an epidemic which has moved to the middle-class dwellings.

Getting out of the city seems sensible, as Molly is in a delicate condition, and she has a young child and an adopted teenage daughter, Bridie. They head for a rural summer with her mother-in-law in Westchester County. Molly’s husband, police detective Daniel Sullivan, promises to visit. Time passes slowly in the Catskills, and Molly decides to call on friends, Elena and Augusta, known as Sid and Gus, who have moved to an artist’s community nearby. All is well until they drop into Sid’s family, who are starting a holiday cottage resort. Local mines and quarries and a national park are at odds, while the Polish-descent Goldfarb family are not the only ones planning a resort, with big money potential.

The cluster of new characters is attractive to new readers, and we get to see the art colony where women can be themselves, do drama, or plumbing as they choose. On the other hand, the Goldfarb family is busy planning out marriages, and while this may be customary in their Jewish community, the ladies so manipulated are far from delighted. America gives women choices if not yet the vote. Someone is killed, and our good Molly is determined to look into the matter. As a former private detective, with a policeman husband, she does seem to be best equipped, but she has no official role and has to avoid telling men their jobs. The condescension visited on capable, educated women by men with a swagger, sounds all too true. 

Another interesting feature is that I have also read about a resort for African-American families in Blanche Cleans Up by Barbara Neeley, so seemingly, different families were just expected to holiday separately in the early days of vacations in the Catskills.

Rhys Bowen has several series on the go and has written IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW along with her daughter Clare Broyles. The only real difference I can see is that there aren’t as many references to major figures of the day. As always, this is a fun mystery, and you may guess who will be killed but you’ll have trouble guessing whodunit.