cover image Murder on Marble Row

Murder on Marble Row

Victoria Thompson. Berkley Publishing Group, $21.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-425-19610-6

Set in late 19th-century New York, Victoria Thompson's cleverly plotted Murder on Marble Row: A Gaslight Mystery, the sixth in the series (Murder on Astor Place, etc.), provides abundant fair play and plenty of convincing period detail. At the request of Teddy Roosevelt, one of the city's three police commissioners, Det. Sergeant Frank Malloy and midwife and do-gooder Sarah Brandt pursue a bomber whose infernal device has killed an influential industrialist. This light, quick read engages the readers' emotions. Agent, Nancy Yost.