Brooklyn on Fire: A Mary Handley Mystery

Campbell is a seasoned narrator with a lovely, melodic voice. She has the vocal flexibility to handle a cast of male and female characters and their range of emotions with aplomb. Set in late 19th-century Brooklyn and New York City (which were then in a political fight over amalgamation), the novel meshes the period’s sexism, classism, homophobia, violence, and widespread government corruption into a complex plot. Based on a historical figure, detective Mary Handley, daughter of a butcher and sister of a cop, is smart, tender-hearted, strong-willed, and a judo expert. And she’s very much in love with Cornelius Vanderbilt’s younger brother George, who adores her. Campbell has fun with accent, pitch, and emphasis to make it clear who is speaking, who is serious, who is tongue-in-cheek, who is in physical pain, and who is sadly and madly in love. A Broadway paperback. (Jan.)