I tried, oh I tried to finish this book. I loved this series, but how many bad things can happen to one couple? As soon as I started reading I was so disappointed that the author chose to take the story in the direction she did.

#MurderOnUnionSquare#NetGally# by: Victoria Thompson
Murder on Union Square with its NYC turn-of-the-century setting does not disappoint. This series mystery features Frank, a former policeman, and his wife, Sarah, midwife, Involved in legally adopting Catherine, a child Sarah rescued. Unfortunately before the adoption can move forward, Catherine's father illegally demands money. Catherine's father is found murdered with Frank, a suspect. Sarah and Frank set out to solve the murder. A troubling law proves to be an obstacle, but moves the plot along. The theatre scene is well pictured as well as the time period. An excellent read. Highly recommended.

This series is absolutely fantastic. The characters are interesting, they continue to grow and move through their lives that we occasionally get to drop in on them for a visit. The main characters are Frank (former policeman) and Sarah (midwife), with the help of Gino (former policeman) and Maeve (works for Sarah). The murder is also well thought out.

I received an ARC for an honest review from the publisher via NetGalley

When a murder hits close to home, Frank finds himself in an unusual position--the prime suspect in the latest installment of the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series...

Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and looking to make their family official by adopting Catherine, the child whom Sarah rescued and has been raising as her daughter. The process seems fairly straightforward, but at the last minute, the newlyweds discover that Parnell Vaughn, Catherine's legal father, has a claim on the child, and his grasping fiancée is demanding a financial settlement to relinquish parental rights. Even though exchanging money for a child is illegal, Frank and Sarah's love for Catherine drives them to comply.

When Frank returns with the money and finds Vaughn beaten to death, all evidence points to Frank as the culprit. A not-quite-famous actor with modest means, Vaughn seems an unlikely candidate for murder, particularly such a violent crime of passion. But Frank soon uncovers real-life intrigue as dramatic as any that appears on stage.

Sarah and Frank enlist those closest to them to help hunt for Vaughn's killer as Frank's own life--and the future of their family--hang in the balance.

I really enjoy this series, set in turn-of-the-century NYC. I’ve read them all (this is #21)! They center on former midwife Sarah and former police officer Frank as they solve mysteries. I often don’t figure them out before the conclusion, and I do love the cast of characters that change and grow as the series progresses. While I’ve read them all in order, each title can stand alone.

Thank you for my review e-copy!

I love this series. Sarah and Frank are two of the most well written couples in historical fiction. I love that she has her own agency, and that Frank doesn't try to stifle her career even after they married.

While I love this series, I didn't love this book as much. It was still good, but the storyline didn't really peak my interest. I had no desire to learn about young Catherine's family and that whole mystery felt a little contrived. The book was best when it focused on Frank, Sarah, and their circle of family.

In this latest installment of the Gaslight mystery series Sarah and Frank are eager to formally adopt Catherine but it looks like first they’ll have to deal with Parnell Vaughn, Catherine’s legal parent. Parnell is willing to help the Malloy family but his fiancé feels he should receive some sort of payment. When Frank tries to see Parnell separately to speak with him, he’s arrived too late. Parnell is dead and no sooner has he called for help when he is being hauled off to jail.

Frank Malloy, now a private investigator, never thought he’d find himself accused of murder but as soon as he can post bail he is going to busy himself with finding who murdered Parnell. With the help of Gino, also a former policeman now working for Frank, Sarah and their nursemaid, Maeve, the four will be questioning the actors to find out who could have harmed Parnell.

They find that the theater group was losing money, their once loved star is getting older and not commanding as much attention and there are new actress who want to take center stage. Anyone could have had a grudge against Parnell and the Malloys decide to set up a trap to see if they can smoke out the killer of course this means reaching out to someone who helped them on a previous case.

This long running series captures the social customs of the bygone era with a lot of details but what has made this such a strong series are the characters. The interactions between Sarah and Frank are what kept me engaged and sadly I feel like we are losing a bit of the charm as the series continues. I like Gino and Maeve but they now have much larger roles and while I think Gino’s is warranted, I would prefer to see Maeve a bit more in the background. If you want to check out this series, I highly recommend that you start with the earlier books. As for me, I’ll probably be here for the next installment and hopefully we’ll have more chapters just focused on Sarah and Frank.

I have tried reading other books in this series and I really wanted to enjoy this one and the series as a whole. I really had trouble enjoying this book through. I suppose I enjoy reading about British protagonists and families versus American ones. The writer is very skilled in her craft, though.

This time it is Frank who needs to be cleared of a murder charge. All the characters rally around to find the guilty party. This one had me guessing the entire time. This series just keeps getting better and better. I love the interplay between all of the characters. Who knew that adopting Catherine would cause so much trouble. A law that should protect instead proves the pivot point of the plot.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book, mostly because I haven't read any others in the series (and since there have been more than 20, clearly I've missed a lot) and also because for whatever reason I didn't realize that it's a turn-of-the-century setting. Once I figured that out, though, the dialog and interactions among the characters made total sense; from then on, reading it was quite an enjoyable experience.

At the beginning, New York married couple Sarah (nee Brandt) and Frank Malloy (she a midwife and he a private detective) are hoping to adopt Catherine, a child Sarah apparently has been raising (how that came to be was, I suppose, the subject of an earlier book). They learn that the man Catherine's mother was married to isn't her birth father; and under the law, only the real father has parental rights and can sign over his daughter to the Malloys. Turns out he's Parnell Vaughn, an actor in a small, independent theater company, and he's more than willing to give up the child he neither knew nor wants anything to do with. His actress fiancee, though, isn't about to let him give something for nothing; ante up, she demands, or she'll put the kabosh on the deal.

Even though the real dad doesn't care about the money and such payments are illegal, Frank agrees; but when he returns to the theater with cash in hand, he finds that Parnell has been brutally murdered. Worse, since Frank gets covered with Parnell's blood when he inspected the body and nobody else seems to be around, Frank becomes the No. 1 suspect. Needless to say, he didn't do it - so he and his partner Gino, with help from Sarah, set out to prove his innocence.

There's no shortage of other suspects, including the aforementioned fiancee, a long-in-the-tooth actress who refuses to give up ingenue roles and act her age, her producer husband who would do anything to keep her happy and an agent who may have motives that are not in his clients' best interests. Helping to sort things out is Serafina, another character from an earlier book or books; as a medium, she just may be able to conjure up insights that will help get to the truth.

The action moves along quickly (although it does get a bit bogged down here and there by too-lengthy "what if" discussions among the characters). The writing is interesting and true to the period, and once in a while there's a touch of humor. The only thing I was never able to figure out, though, is why Frank is referred to by his first name in some instances and his last name in others (for a while, I actually thought they were two different people).

Still, I'm happy to find this series, a delightful combination of historical fiction and murder mystery. For sure, I'll be watching for the next installment. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

Murder in the New York Theater District in the Late 1800s

Sarah and Frank Malloy, now married, are hoping to adopt Catherine, the child Sarah rescued in a previous adventure. Adoption is not as easy as they’d hoped since Catherine’s father Parnell Vaughan, a minor actor, is alive. In order to complete the adoption, the pair ask Parnell to sign over his parental rights. Parnell is willing but his money grubbing fiance wants cash for the transaction. Paying cash for a child is illegal, but the Malloys decide to comply.

When Frank goes to see Parnell with the cash, he finds him beaten to death in his dressing room. Having discovered the body, Frank finds himself the primary suspect. Frank, of course, is innocent so Sarah, Maeve, Catherine’s nanny, and Gino, Frank’s associate, join forces to find the culprit.

This is a good historical mystery. As usual, I loved Frank and Sarah, however, I wasn’t as happy with Maeve and Gino. Their romance seems strained and their sleuthing activities are poor. In this case, they’re pretending to be news reporters, but they don’t play their parts well.

I did enjoy the background of the theater and learning about New York City in the late 1800s. The author’s note at the end provided more information on the theater district in that era and the syndicate that tried to control the actors and their access to roles in the theaters.

I recommend this book, if you enjoy historical mysteries.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

A cozy historical mystery set in turn of the century New York City, Murder on Union Square is a good entry in an excellent series. The descriptions of the NYC theater scene of the time were fun and detailed, but there was less of the characters' home life than in previous books, as the plot focused on solving the crime.

Fans of the Gaslight series will enjoy this new installment in the lives of Frank and Sarah Malloy. Their foster daughter Catherine is once again at the forefront of the mystery, as the sleuths are trying to legally adopt her and hitting a roadblock, in the form of the man legally identified as her father. When Frank goes to talk to the man about relinquishing his rights, he finds the man dead, and Frank takes the blame. In order to clear his name, and finally be allowed to adopt Catherine, Sarah, along with Maeve and Gino, must find the real killer among the backdrop of NYC's first theatre district in Union Square. I enjoyed this mystery, although I felt it got a little repetitive with Sarah and Maeve going one way and Frank and Gino going another and then meeting up in their kitchen to swap stories. I will admit I don't have any interest in Gino and Maeve, and would rather see the books focus more on Sarah and Frank. They can still be interesting as a married couple but we don't get to see enough of them together now and I miss their solving crimes together, their interactions being the main reason I got drawn into this series in the first place. Unfortunately I think this foursome will continue and the focus will be less on Frank and Sarah which may lower my ratings in the future. For now, this is still a solid four star book. Recommended for fans of historical mysteries with a little bit more grit than your typical cozy and anyone who loves early NYC life.

When Sarah and Frank Malloy try to follow through with adoption of Catherine, a child Sarah has raised, they run across stumbling blocks including the husband of the girl's mother (though not her father) and a murder. Frank tries to clear his name and complete the adoption process, but the drama of a theatre cast blocks his path.

MapYourMystery review to be published on Monday, April 23.

A big thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this latest Gaslight Mystery.

I am a big fan of this series and look forward with great anticipation to each new installment. This one is solid as we see character development continuing for the Malloy family as well as Maeve and Gino. I love seeing the elder Mrs. Malloy have more of a voice in this particular mystery as well as the larger roles for Maeve and Gino. I did find the repeated questioning of various theater company members to be a bit repetitive and also when reports were brought back to the group it was a bit difficult to keep track of who had been talking to which witness/suspect. Still, very enjoyable and I look forward to #22!

Sarah and Frank want to adopt the little girl they are raising. When her guardian dies, they go to visit the attorney to make it official. But there's a small problem. The lady who had her was married to another man when she got impregnated by a lover and the child is now his responsibility. They have to get him to sign off his parental rights. He doesn't seem to object but, unfortunately, he doesn't live long enough to sign...

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published May 1st.

When Frank discovers him dead in his dressing room, the woman who finds him there screams and accuses him of murder. He goes to jail denying the charge and Sarah finds a lawyer to bail him out. Then they begin their own hunt for the murderer.

He was killed at the theater and there's plenty of gossip and affairs going on. Not only that but they have not joined the Syndicate (a union of actors who are guaranteed work). The lead lady likes to choose her own roles, her own leading men, and sleeping with the leading man before going on the stage. Her husband finds her the venues but she's aging, their plays aren't as popular nowadays and things are not going well. A murder will bring them notoriety but whether that will be good or bad is another worry.

Frank and Sarah find out there are any number of reasons the lead man and the parent of the child they want to adopt might have been killed. He's sleeping with the lead lady and she's married. He has a girlfriend who says they are getting married. There's another man in love with the girlfriend. Nobody is telling the whole truth.

This was a very interesting case and I liked reading about Frank and Sarah. They're a lovely couple and they make a good team. They find the killer. Can you?

Well written late entry into a series. Having not read the remainder of the series, this title was not at all confusing. The well developed characters and interesting plot will have me seeking out the series next time I'm in the mood for a cozy, historical mystery. would recommend for fans of Rhys Bowen, David Walker and the like.

This is my first Gaslight Mystery but it won't be my last. This is a good historical/literary mystery set in the Victorian era in NYC. The descriptions are wonderful and the cast of characters' interactions are so well-drawn.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2338458305Continuing this very appealing mystery series, Victoria Thompson has Sarah & Frank Malloy once again investigating a murder that hits close to home. As the Malloy's go through the legal process to legally adopt Sarah's ward Catherine (and the reason for Frank's good fortune a few books ago), they are stymied by the fact that Catherine's father of record (at least legally) is the actor Parnell Vaughn. To adopt Catherine, they will need Vaughn to sign a paper allowing it. When they seek out Vaughn they find him willing but his new actress girl friend seems determined to make some money out of the deal for him. When Frank goes to get the paper signed he finds the actor murdered in his dressing room and he gets arrested for the murder.
As we have seen in previous books in this series, NYC crimes of this time period are definitely different for those who are rich and those who are poor. So we are quickly shown that the chance for millionaire Frank actually getting convicted of this crime are small but his need to clear his name as well as their hope to settle Catherine's adoption becomes the plot of this book. In this book we are also treated to descriptions of New York City's acting community and the theater scene. As usual, the author has written an interesting and fun book to read.