Fantastic writing and great characters. The plot was excellent and well written. Love the history and murder mix. Makes for a great cozy read. Triss Stein is an amazing author and a great person.

Historian Erica is investigating the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a chapter in her PhD dissertation. As part of her research, she attends a public meeting about the future of the land where the Navy Yard once was. Afterwards, whilst strolling through the docks, she witnesses one of the key speakers, Michael Conti, being shot. As Conti spent his lifetime working in and around the Navy Yard, Erica decides to use his life as the basis for her chapter and begins to investigate his past. However, she is sought out by his secret girlfriend who shortly afterwards is found dead as well. Erica struggles to keep her research impersonal as she finds herself being drawn into Conti's tangled family life, all the while dealing with her own relationship dramas involving her teenage daughter Chris, formidable mother-in-law and sort-of boyfriend Joe. What she doesn't realise is that the more she becomes entangled in Conti's life, the more she may well be putting her own at risk.

This was a well-written murder-mystery that was easy to read and entertaining. Alongside the main plot-line, centring on Michael Conti's murder, the author also includes some interesting secondary storylines about Erica's relationships, which tie in nicely with the victim's own family dramas. The historical background was unusual and the idea of a historian investigating a murder was a refreshing change from the usual police officer narrator found in these sorts of stories. I also found the story of Philomena (the aunt of Erica's mother-in-law who worked at the Navy Yard) to be a great addition to the novel and it made the historical areas far more accessible to me.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the history of the shipyard as gripping a story as the protagonist did, and whilst the inclusion of the character of Philomena did add more of a human element to it, some aspects of the history were a little dry. The plot was also a bit slow moving at times and lacked many exciting twists and turns, making this a fairly action-light crime novel. Despite being an original idea, a historian investigating a very recent murder seemed a bit unlikely and there were moments where Erica seemed to become unnecessarily over-involved with the investigation despite both repeatedly asserting to herself that it was not relevant to her project and the obvious negative effect it has on her family's life and safety. I did like her as a character but some of her actions and behaviour felt a bit disjointed at times.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that was refreshingly different from other similar murder-mysteries. Apparently, it is part of a series of novels which centre on Brooklyn, and whilst I would not be averse to reading more, I didn't feel desperate to seek out the previous instalments. Despite this, this is an entertaining book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a stimulating and engaging read.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

“Brooklyn Wars” by Triss Stein is not a book that I would typically choose, but the opportunity to learn about the Brooklyn Navy yard intrigued me, and I was not disappointed.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of Brooklyn’s never-ending sagas of land use conflict that pits the demand for development and commerce against the plea for historical preservation. This novel mingles past and present to bring to life to this piece of “land” through the history of the people who worked there.
The book is written in the first person voice of historian Erica Donato; conversations and descriptions provide the details about the other characters. Many everyday particulars give the characters depth, and make them come alive, like next-door neighbors. The author uses these characters to intertwine the past and the present and make history personal not just academic. It is a nice assortment of commerce, redevelopment, politics, romance, family drama, rivalry, and history, with a couple of murders thrown in for good measure, but without graphic violence or inappropriate language.
Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Triss Stein for the opportunity to read and review “Brooklyn Wars.” I really enjoyed the mix of the past and present.