Murder on Bedford Street

February 13, 2023
In Thompson’s strong 26th Gaslight mystery set in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City (after 2022’s Murder on Madison Square), investment banker Hugh Breedlove consults Frank Malloy, an ex-cop who still works as a PI despite coming into a fortune, and his capable wife, Sarah, a midwife, because he’s concerned about his teenage daughter, Ruth. Julia, Ruth’s cousin and Hugh’s niece, has been committed to an asylum by Julia’s husband, Chet Longly, whom she was forced to marry by her parents. Hugh regards Chet as a libertine, and doubts that Julia has any mental illness, but fears that her status as an involuntary patient will cast a pall on Ruth’s reputation. Despite Hugh’s self-serving motives, Frank takes the case, and Sarah joins him in interviewing Julia at the Manhattan State Hospital on Ward’s Island. They emerge convinced of her sanity, and their inquiry into Chet leads them to probe a maid’s suspicious death at the Longly residence. The unexplained disappearance of one of his servants raises the stakes. The loving relationship between Frank and Sarah bolsters the clever plot. This long-running series shows no sign of losing steam. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary.

March 15, 2023
A detective agency gets a tricky request for help in Gilded Age New York. Former police officer Frank Malloy inherited a fortune but still likes to solve crimes. His wife, Sarah, is a midwife who works with the poor and also enjoys a bit of sleuthing. Frank's partner, Gino; their secretary and nursemaid, Maeve; and Sarah's mother all add their detective skills to help their latest client. Hugh Breedlove has recently returned from five years in London, and he'd hoped to get his niece, Julia, to sponsor his daughter in society. When he goes to visit her, though, he learns that her husband, Chet Longly, had had her committed to an insane asylum. Breedlove went to see Julia there, found her sane, and now tells Malloy that Longly is a libertine who keeps a mistress and just wants to get rid of his wife. Malloy's job is to find the evidence that will persuade a judge to release her. Frank and Sarah visit Julia, who seems rational enough as she recounts the story of her marriage and mistreatment in the asylum. The logical way to find out more is for Maeve to take a job as nursemaid for the Longlys' 4-year-old son. Once she's settled in the house, she hears disquieting rumors about Julia from the servants, who've been terrified of their absent mistress after one servant fell from a window and died and another was badly injured falling down the stairs. Bribing a judge sets Julia free, but now Breedlove wants Frank to find her mother, his sister-in-law, who hasn't been seen in some time, so Julia can live with her. The detective team is hard-pressed to decide between the competing tales. Is Julia sane or a pathologically clever liar? A fascinating look at women's rights, and lack thereof, in early 1900s New York.

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