Synopses & Reviews
1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever.
Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, saving every dollar and shilling in hopes of winning the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured, unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical of this untested andquot;police force.andquot; And he is less than thrilled that his new beat is the notoriously down-and-out Sixth Ward-at the border of Five Points, the world's most notorious slum.
One night while returning from his rounds, heartsick and defeated, Timothy runs into a little slip of a girlandmdash;a girl not more than ten years oldandmdash;dashing through the dark in her nightshift . . . covered head to toe in blood.
Timothy knows he should take the girl to the House of Refuge, yet he can't bring himself to abandon her. Instead, he takes her home, where she spins wild stories, claiming that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of 23rd Street. Timothy isn't sure whether to believe her or not, but, as the truth unfolds, the reluctant copper star finds himself engaged in a battle for justice that nearly costs him his brother, his romantic obsession, and his own life.
Review
andldquo;The Gods of Gotham is a wonderful book. Lyndsay Fayeandrsquo;s command of historical detail is remarkable, and her knowledge of human character even more so. I bought into this world in the opening pages and never once had the desire to leave. Itandrsquo;s a great read!andrdquo; andmdash;Michael Connelly
Review
andldquo;Lyndsay Faye is a superstar-caliber writer. She confidently and exquisitely re-creates the past while her characters live on with you in the present, the elusive gold standard for a historical novel. The Gods of Gotham is a gift to the genre that readers will surely relish while we wait for Fayeandrsquo;s next one.andrdquo; andmdash;Matthew Pearl, bestselling author of The Dante Club
Review
andldquo;Intriguingly complex yet deliciously smooth, Theand#160;Gods of Gothamand#160;is, in a word, stunning.and#160;The vivid characters and deft use of the historical setting read like the work of an establishedand#160;writer at the top of her (or indeed, his) careerandmdash;that Faye is a newcomer is cause for an exuberance of fireworks, at the mere thought of so many superb novels yet to come.andrdquo; andmdash;Laurie R. King, New York Timesandndash;bestselling author of The God of the Hive and The Beekeeperandrsquo;s Apprentice
Review
“
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 crème de la crème of mystery writers and I look forward to reading many more of her Gaslight Mysteries.”—Fresh Fiction
“An intense, well-plotted puzzler that will keep you turning the pages.”—RT Book Reviews
Synopsis
Sarah Brandt is shattered when she learns that a woman has inquired at the Daughters of Hope Mission for Catherine, the abandoned child she has taken as her daughter. The woman claims she was Catherines nursemaid, and is now acting on behalf of the girls mother to reunite them.
Unwilling to simply hand Catherine over to a complete stranger, Sarah asks Detective Sergeant Frank 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 Sarahs 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 Catherines past.
And while Malloy helps Sarah determine the fate of the child she loves, he faces a challenge of his ownand his decision could change both their lives forever
About the Author
Lyndsay Faye is the author of critically acclaimed Dust and Shadow and is featured in Best American Mystery Stories 2010. Faye, a true New Yorker in the sense that she was born elsewhere, lives in Manhattan with her husband, Gabriel. To learn more about Lyndsay Faye, please visit www.lyndsayfaye.com.