Murder on Amsterdam Avenue

Zusatztext “Delightful...Thompson’s books never disappoint.”—Fresh Fiction   “This long-lasting series . . . has lost none of its interest or attraction. . . . Thompson has always vividly shown the life of the rich and the very poor of the city. . . . This is a strong tale! emotionally and historically! and a puzzling mystery.”— RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 Stars! Top Pick) Informationen zum Autor Victoria Thompson Klappentext In this mystery From the national bestselling author of Murder on Trinity Place, midwife Sarah Brandt and former police detective Frank Malloy investigate a murder in the secretive, high-society world of nineteenth-century New York City... In the midst of Sarah and Frank's wedding preparations, Sarah accompanies her mother on a condolence call to the Upper West Side, where Charles Oakes, the son of family friends, has died unexpectedly after suffering from a mysterious disease. But Charles's father believes his son was poisoned, and would like Sarah and Frank to look into the matter with the utmost discretion. Putting off their own personal affairs, Sarah and Frank soon learn that not everyone wants to know more about Charles's death, particularly if he was murdered. As they unravel secrets that reach back to the Civil War, they also discover that they are in the company of a very present danger... 1 “Charles Oakes is dead.” Sarah looked up at her mother in surprise. They were sitting at her kitchen table, and Sarah had spent the last half hour bringing her mother up to date on the arrangements she and her fiancé, Frank Malloy, had decided upon for their wedding and their future life. She hadn’t expected to hear about a death. “Is Charles the son? The one who was a few years older than I?” “Sadly, yes.” “Oh dear. I thought maybe you meant his father.” “No, his father is Gerald.” “How did he die? Was it an accident?” “No, he was taken ill and . . .” Her mother shrugged. Sometimes people just died, and no one knew why. As a nurse, Sarah understood that even better than most. “Was he married?” Sarah had lost touch with most of her old friends when she’d eloped with her first husband, a lowly physician, and turned her back on her family’s wealth and social position. “Yes, just over a year, I believe. No children, though, which is sad because he was an only child.” “It’s always sad when a young person dies.” Neither of them spoke of Sarah’s sister, who had died young, but Sarah could almost feel Maggie’s presence in the room. Her mother toyed with her empty coffee cup for a moment, carefully not meeting Sarah’s eye. “Mother, what is it?” She sighed. “I have to pay a condolence call on the family. I was hoping you’d go with me.” Sarah actually winced. She’d been afraid of this. Not of an old friend dying, but of being drawn back into her mother’s world of high society with its strict and meaningless rules and obligations. “I know you haven’t seen them in years,” her mother hurried on before Sarah could protest. “But you and Mr. Malloy are going to have to find your place in society now, and starting with your old friends seems like a natural way to begin.” “My old friend Charles is dead,” Sarah reminded her. “You know what I mean. I know you think my life is silly—” “Oh, Mother, I don’t—” “Don’t bother denying it. And you’re right, a lot of the things I do aren’t very important, but you and Mr. Malloy will need friends when you marry. Maybe you think your life isn’t going to change very much just because you’ll be wealthy, but you’ll see, Sarah. People you know now won’t want to associate with you anymore. They’ll either be jealous or they’ll assume you think yourselves too good for them.” “But we won’t!” “Of course you won’t, but they’ll think it anyway. You’ve seen it already. Mr. Malloy had to lea...

Product details

• Authors: Victoria Thompson
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 03.05.2016
• EAN: 9780425260487
• ISBN: 978-0-425-26048-7
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 107 mm x 170 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Gaslight Mystery; A Gaslight Mystery
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense