Member Reviews
Rose wants a little excitement and in her life. After all she comes from Five Points and is a housemaid in NYC. Her boss has disappeared and she takes it upon herself to rescue him. Along the way she is inhabited by a shade and may have a short time to live. She discovers that her boss works for a secret group in The Pinkerton Agency.
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This is the first Rose Gallagher book, and it was a great debut. Rose is a housemaid in a big house on 5th Avenue. She grew up poor and is a little dazzled by her surroundings now. When her employer disappears, Rose feels like the police aren't taking it seriously and she decides to search for him.
There's a supernatural element to the book I wasn't expecting but it definitely made the book more interesting. I recommend it and look forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC via NetGalley.
Even though I tend to like more action-packed or suspenseful mysteries, I can appreciate a cozy once in a while. I was not expecting the supernatural twist since it was not alluded to in the summary.
The novel started out interesting after Thomas’s disappearance. I liked Rose. She was very determined, strong, and a capable sleuth. However, the story dwindled after Thomas was found, and the story focused on the paranormal. I liked the historical aspect but the fantasy aspect did not make any sense. Still, I recommend this for those who love paranormal reads.
The title of this book as well as the quiet beginning gave no indication of what a cracking good read it is. Told by a housemaid at a wealthy bachelor's Fifth Avenue home, it begins with Rose, the narrator, setting out to find out what happened to her employer after the police come to call.
Following clues sometimes given to her inadvertently Rose investigates the disappearance and gets involved with things far beyond her experience. The book got so exciting I read half of it in less than a day!
I'm not going to give away the plot. Suffice it to say that Rose and her cohorts are great characters, the plot is wonderful, and the ends left dangling make me very excited to read Lindsey's next book in the series.
A fun read I did have a little bit of a hard time getting into the period aspect of it. That usually doesn’t bother me but I struggled a little with this one. I stop very much enjoyed it though and am hoping for a sequel!
Murder on Millionaires' Row wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I loved what I read! Lindsey's novel sounds like a conventional upstairs-downstairs mystery, but there's a lot more lurking beneath the surface, including ghosts, murder and mayhem. A great read for those who enjoy paranormal elements in their mysteries.
A perfect read for the spooky haunting season. A fun mystery with a gripping mystery and the right amount of spookiness.
The beginning of this was super fun and gave me all the Christie vibes. As I got further into the story. it turned into a storyline I wasn't as into. But that is more because of my own personal taste. I would recommend to someone who enjoys fun, fantasy with a twist!
MURDER ON MILLIONAIRES' ROW by Erin Lindsey is a fun and entertaining mystery story set in late 19th century New York. The heroine, a young housemaid named Rose Gallagher, is certainly determined and likeable, although rather too impetuous for her own safety. She sets out to locate her missing employer and gets tangled up with some sinister activity. Then she starts spotting ghosts and seeks to learn more, including about the special "luck" that rich aristocrats often experience. "'If you’re sure that’s what you want,' Mr. Wiltshire said, 'but take care: I daresay life is a good deal simpler not knowing.' This [opines Rose in an aside to the reader], incidentally, was very good advice, which anyone reading this tale ought to consider. Ignorance is bliss..." Given the supernatural and paranormal elements, I decided to trust Rose and move on. Please note that Library Journal called MURDER ON MILLIONAIRES' ROW "a highly recommended romp" and gave it a starred review.
Murder on Millionaires’ Row is a debut mystery by Erin Lindsey. Rose Gallagher works as a maid in the household of Mr. Thomas Wiltshire on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1886. Sunday evening Rose arrives home after her day off and goes to prepare her employers room for the evening. Something feels off and Rose is sure that boss has not been in since Saturday. The next morning the coppers arrive after 5 a.m. because Mr. Jonathan Burrows, a friend of Thomas’, has filed a missing persons report. Rose can tell that Detective Ward is not taking the case seriously, and she decides to pursue the matter on her own. Rose has dreamed of becoming a travel and adventure writer. Little does she realize that searching for Mr. Wiltshire and the mystery he is embroiled in will be the adventure of a lifetime.
Murder on Millionaires’ Row is a complex novel. Ms. Lindsey captured the Gilded Age with her vivid descriptions of the clothing, the architecture, the literature, music, the language and attitudes of the people especially towards the Irish. New York City is brought alive in Murder on Millionaires’ Row. I can envision Fifth Avenue with its cobbled streets, the carriages, ladies decked out in beautiful gowns with their hats and parasols, and the men in their bespoke suits, hats and carrying their walking sticks. Of course, we can also imagine Five Points with children running around, litter in the streets, and thugs on the street corners as well as the Tenderloin with its dangerous bars, illegal businesses and men who will knife you for your money. The author did her research for this story, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end. Rose is a feisty Irish lass who has a crush on her employer. Nothing is going to stand in her way of tracking Mr. Wiltshire down when he goes missing. She is tenacious and intelligent. Thomas Wiltshire is a complex man with a unique position. He introduces Rose to another side of life that she had no idea existed. Another great character is Clara Freeman who is the cook for Mr. Wiltshire. I did feel the Rose’s infatuation with Mr. Wiltshire was mentioned too often. It seems to be the only reason she is searching for her employer. I felt Rose was also curious and needed the challenge (a much better rationale). I cannot believe she managed to keep from being fired by the tartar of a housekeeper. Rose disappeared frequently while looking for Mr. Wiltshire. Clara has hidden layers. We just dig at the surface in Murder on Millionaires’ Row. I found Murder on Millionaires’ Row to be a slow starter. The pace picked up the further I got into the story as well as my interest. I was unprepared for the paranormal aspects, but I was delighted by it. It added another layer to the story along with Pinkerton agents, ciphers and magic. Included in the story are witches, mediums, ghosts, shades and so much more. The mystery is multifaceted. It plays out over the course of the book with new aspects being regularly introduced. At times it does feel overwhelming (there is a lot going on). I would have liked the mystery to have been one that readers could solve along with Rose and Thomas (I love unraveling a puzzle). Murder on Millionaires’ Row is a unique cozy mystery that will take you for a walk on the dark side of New York City.
This is the kind of book I love stumbling upon. When I saw it listed I was attracted by the fact that it was a female protagonist, historical and the start of a new series. Oh, it was all that but then I got an extra that I was not expecting - a paranormal element. This was a wonderful read. May the series be long.
Rose is an Irish girl from New York's Five Points neighborhood, no stranger to the rough, ugly side of that great city. She works as a housemaid for a fine gentleman with an English accent who has a house with three employees - Rose, Clara (her best friend) and Mrs. Sellers, the housekeeper, who thinks she is the employer of Rose and Clara. Rose reminds her that Mr. Wiltshire is their employer and he is, at present, missing. Rose is a bit smitten on him and sets about to find out what has happened to him. When she embarks on this task there is just one thing most people would know, like what does Mr. Wiltshire do for a living? All she knows is he dislikes Wagner. That's neither here nor there, Rose is determined to find him and bring him home. On the way, she encounters the paranormal element of her quest. She see a fully formed ghostly lady and talks with a man who has seen a ghostly man on the river. Now how can she put the pieces together to find the solution to this mystery? With the help of many colorful friends and a large dose of determination, Rose sucked me into her story and I read way past my bedtime. Now I'm eager to read about what comes next.
Having previously read Erin Lindsey's fantasy Bloodbound, I was curious to see what she would do with a mystery. It also intrigued me that this book included a paranormal element. The result was an engrossing start to a new series. Set in New York during the Gilded Age, Rose is a maid who longs for something more. She also has a huge crush on her employer Mr. Wiltshire, and when he goes missing she sets out to investigate his disappearance. The story includes several other interesting characters. Most noteworthy is Clara the cook, who harbors some secret skills and may have dreams of something more herself. I felt like the story moved a little slower than I would have liked, but I loved the plucky Rose, her employer Mr. Wiltshire, and the cook Clara.
ust as I hoped, the paranormal element was an interesting addition to the historical mystery. I thought it was incorporated into the story pretty well. At the end of the book we are left with a mystery to solve that relates to a ghost in this story. I'm expecting her to show up in at least one more book in the series, but I'm curious to see how other ghosts and possibly other types of creatures will play a role in future books.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Rose, who is a maid for her Fifth Avenue employer, tries to track him down, using somewhat unorthodox means, after he disappears. The book has an interesting premise and I thought I would love it but it was disappointing. The storyline was plodding and I don't care for paranormal elements in my mysteries.
I can't recommend this one, though I might be willing to give this author a second chance someday.
New York City - 1886
Rose Gallagher, age 19, has a crush on her wealthy employer, Mr. Thomas Wiltshire. An Irish girl from Five Points, Rose works in the Wiltshire home as a housemaid. She wants nothing more than to be a Travel and Adventure writer. She visits her mother once a week to clean and cook for her. The woman appears to be sinking into dementia because she talks to her mother’s ghost all the time.
While straightening Mr. Wiltshire’s room for the night, she realizes he must not have come home the previous evening. When the police arrives the next morning looking for Mr. Wiltshire, Rose is convinced that something has happened to him. The police don’t seem to think his disappearance is anything to be concerned about. Rose wonders if his friend, Mr. Jonathan Burrows has seen him. So, Rose takes it upon herself to visit Mr. Burrows to try and find out what happened to Mr. Wiltshire. When he tells her that he doesn’t know where he is, Rose doesn’t believe him and decides to follow him.
While out looking for Mr. Wiltshire, Rose sees a woman who appears to be an apparition and she is coming for her. Rose ducks into her Chinese friend’s store who hides her.
Rose discovers Mr. Wiltshire tied up in a warehouse. Rescuing him, he explains that he is a Pinkerton Detective and is involved in solving paranormal cases. He explains to her the difference between shades and ghosts. The apparition that came for Rose is a shade. He seems to think that her mother’s energy is being sapped by her grandmother’s ghost being around the woman all the time.
As Rose and Thomas become more involved in this case, things become very dangerous and Rose’s life is in serious danger.
The idea of this plot is interesting but I found it very far-fetched and just a bit gory for me. I do have to applaud the author for her imagination though.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I’ve been a fan of Erin Lindsey for a while, and let me just say I was ecstatic when I found out about Murder on Millionaires’ Row. On her author’s page, it states that she is a lover of all things history, mystery, and fantasy, and I was happy to find this novel a jaunty mixture of all three.
It is New York City in 1886. Rose Gallagher is a young woman from Five Points who has always dreamed of a more adventurous life, though she knows things could be much worse than working as a housemaid in one of the city’s poshest neighborhoods. Secretly, she is also in love with her employer, the wealthy and handsome Thomas Wiltshire.
But then Mr. Wiltshire goes missing, and when Rose discovers that the police isn’t taking his disappearance seriously, she decides to take matters into her own hands. In the first few days of her investigation, she learns more about her employer than she ever bargained for. Apparently, Mr. Wiltshire traveled in some strange circles, and is not in fact an attorney as he claimed to be. What he was really up to before he disappeared, Rose doesn’t know, but she has strong suspicions that it has something to do with the Freemasons after tailing one of his friends to their headquarters. However, when a ghost of a woman suddenly appears in front of her one day, covered in blood and looking desperate and scared, Rose realizes that the man she loves may be in more trouble than she initially thought.
What follows is a delectable brew of lighthearted intrigue, drama, and yes, even a little bit of romance as we go hunting clues through the streets of late 19th century New York City with one of the most delightful lady detectives I’ve ever met. Part of the charm of Murder on Millionaires’ Row is its highly appealing throwback feel to some of the earliest mysteries to feature amateur female detectives (I was reminded a little bit of the works by Catherine Crowe, who was notable for featuring maid servant sleuths and ghosts in her stories). Erin Lindsey must have done an insane amount of research to get the setting and the atmosphere just right, and it was an effort that paid off as we got to experience all the wonders of the city with Rose on her exploits.
This book is also the author’s debut mystery, putting her abilities to write a compelling crime novel to the test, which she passes with flying colors. While on the surface, Murder on Millionaires’ Row might seem very different from her previous work, I still found it remarkably easy to get into. For one thing, readers who enjoyed Alix Black in her fantasy trilogy Bloodbound will recognize the same kind of courage and strength in Rose Gallagher, an incredibly resourceful woman who never quits. There’s also a supernatural component which may come as a surprise to unsuspecting readers because it doesn’t come into play until well into the mystery, though speaking as a speculative fiction fan, I really appreciated this aspect. We have everything from ghosts to magic, mediums and witches, as well as individuals who have special powers, or “luck”.
As supernatural mysteries go, this was by far one of the most lively and entertaining ones I have ever read. It offered up just the right amount of the paranormal without distracting from the mystery plot, and I think even non-fantasy readers would not be left feeling too overwhelmed. My only criticism is that the ending felt a little too rushed in stark contrast to the slow build of the investigation, and the resolution also felt too convenient. That said, I think the conclusion leaves room for many more fantastic storylines in the future, and I sure hope we’ll see more of Rose and Thomas. The two of them have amazing chemistry, which I sensed from only getting a small taste of their budding romance.
All in all, Murder on Millionaires’ Row is a fine debut bursting with potential, and definitely not your run-of-the-mill cozy mystery. The story pulled me in straight away, and it also didn’t take me long to fall in love with its courageous heroine and the rest of the plucky cast. Fans of historical fiction and detective stories will eat this one right up, especially if enjoy a touch of the paranormal.
I’m not usually a fan of magical fiction. I do love my historicals, though, and I was charmed by the way that “Murder on Millionaires’ Row” morphed from a tale of 1850’s New York, to a ghost-ridden adventure story.
Rose and Thomas are products of their time. Rose is the Irish maid in the aristocratic Thomas’s home. When Thomas disappears, the (slightly) besotted Rose decides to hunt for him. And what a hunt ensues!
This is a super-fun adventure tale. and I look forward to more from Erin Lindsey.
I chose this book because:
Anticipating my move to NYC, I've all of a sudden developed a new fascination with how NYC is portrayed in novels, films, and other media. This historical murder mystery seems like another fun way to dive into that. Y'all know much I love plowing through thrillers/mysteries! But wait, a ghostly apparition? The world changing forever? A suspicious friend? Is that not a premature hint? I need to know how it all goes down! This novel also reminds me of The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night (following a kitchen maid turned magic person), which I read recently and enjoyed, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Upon reading it:
Mr. Wiltshire's disappearance was only the tip of the iceberg. As Rose uncovers the mystery, more and more secrets are revealed about NYC's most wealthy. It's hard to fathom that there exist people as rich and powerful as NYC's elite, so it's fun to muse about how they come about it (even if we know it isn't true). I was just as eager as Rose to get to the bottom of it all, and had the pleasure of reading from the sidelines as she did all the heavy work.
Rose is intelligent, observant, headstrong, and stubborn. But it always irks me when the strong female lead has a weakness for a man. Why is it always like that?? You can probably guess from the blurb that Rose and Mr. Wiltshire may or may not have a thing. I don't mind people having innocent crushes on each other, but the way this thing happened felt like a Disney plot line. I think the development of their relationship could have been more compelling if there was more tension and a more nuanced regard to the power structures of those times, especially since Five Points vs. Fifth Avenue is already a theme in the novel.
Then again, I've always been critical of relationships (especially in YA novels). I've gotten used to overlooking this aspect in most novels I read, and anyways, there was enough adventure to keep me preoccupied!
This story (and potential series) has a lot of promise and a lot of surprises, but I don’t consider it a perfect book. The paranormal element was wholly unexpected, and I think that’s what made it a little less enjoyable for me. There was too much and yet not enough explanation of the other world elements, and that bugged me. And I felt almost zero connection between the hero and heroine.
I will probably read a second book, just because I like resolution with my characters.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Rose is an interesting character to lead what may well be a new series. A housemaid, she manages to move effortlessly between Five Points and the Fifth Avenue brownstone where she works for Thomas Wiltshire. Who would expect a young woman like this to go off investigating when her boss goes missing? Certainly not the characters she encounters. I could have done with less of the paranormal (in fact, I would have been perfectly happy without it being included at all) . Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely written, a tad twisty, and certainly atmospheric.