Near Prospect Park is a very good historical mystery that is well written. This story has interesting and well developed characters.

Wow! This fourth installment in the Mary Handley mystery series is a gut punch to the faithful series reader. The material, although still sadly poignant to this day, was darker than found in previous books in the series and quite shocking in its telling.

It's late 1896 in New York City. The wealthy top 400 families are in charge; the constabulary is afraid to cross them and there are some on the force who are as crooked as a country lane. A young woman, looking to better her life by pursuing an acting career, accepts an unfortunate assignment which leaves her in a horrible situation. It appears that her condition is delivered at the hands of a wealthy few. On another matter, our plucky protagonist, mature, clever and bright Mary Handley, is hired by William Gilbert (of famous musical theater team - Gilbert & Sullivan), to handle the trade off of a Gilbert-written stolen play manuscript in exchange for a sizable sum of money. The handoff is not without a few wrinkles and Mary's dear husband is murdered in the course of the exchange. Will Mary solve her beloved's murder before her own life is snuffed out? What's the connection of the aspiring artist to the manuscript theft or is there one?

What a delicious mystery this one is. At least it was after I got over the initial darkness of the subject matter and the death of Mary's recently wedded mate. Author Lawrence Levy delivers a thoroughly researched and well written story of the Golden Age. Although not realistic for the time period presented, Mary Handley is a strong, capable and extraordinary female detective. Her physical/mental strength and quick presence of mind carry her well throughout the story. The story incorporates larger than life real people such as Theodore Roosevelt, Pie Girl "Susie Johnson", architect Stanford White, photographer James Breese, fellow actors Diamond Jim Brady and Lillian Russell. All in all, this was a rewarding and fascinating read.

I am grateful to author Lawrence Levy and publisher Ballantine Books for having provided a free uncorrected ebook through NetGalley.com. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Mary Handley is at it again. Working to bring crooks to justice in 1896 New York City. Only this time the case is personal -- someone has shot and killed her husband, near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, leaving her with an infant and some memories.

So we look at the seedy underground, and the rich men who like to see near-naked girls pop out of cakes and pies. We also get a good look at the beginnings of musical theater and William Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan. We meet Diamond Jim Brady and Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge and George Vanderbilt and Lillian Russell.

I read this EARC courtesy of Random House and Net Galley. pub date 01/14/20

Very good book, but a dark subject especially since it still goes on in today's world. I enjoy the characters and will miss Harper. I enjoyed have Teddy Roosevelt in the book. I look forward to where the author will go with any forthcoming books.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Near Prospect Park by Lawrence H. Levy is the fourth book in the Mary Handley historical mystery series. It worked as a standalone novel with a strong female protagonist and is set in the late 1890’s in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York.

Mary Handley works as a detective in a time when most women did not work outside of the home. Her character shows decent character depth during the course of the story. She is married to reporter Harper Lloyd and has a nine month old daughter Josephine. Unfortunately, Harper is murdered during the pursuit of a story and Mary sets to work finding the killer.

While this is a historical mystery novel, it pulls in elements of real history and people including Theodore Roosevelt when he was the president of the board of police commissioners, W. S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan, actress Lillian Russell and many more. The book does a great job of bringing the reader into late 19th century New York and explores several themes including murder, poverty, the treatment of and crimes against women, corruption and the elite social scene. Unfortunately, these same conditions still exist in the 21st century.

I recommend this well-written historical mystery to those that enjoy the genre.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books and Lawrence H. Levy for a digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for giving me the option to read this story in return for my honest review.
I am an avid historical romance reader and was not disappointed.
Mary teams up with Teddy Roosevelt to solve the murder of her husband. I like how other famous historical figures appear throughout the story, including Andrew Carnegie. I was totally immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened next.
Finally, this story was very personal for me. Having grown up in Park Slope, Brooklyn near Prospect Park myself, I enjoyed reading about the places that I've been, years before I'd been there.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery!

I love this era of storytelling so I was immediately drawn in and having recognizable historic figures like Roosevelt was a huge bonus of fascination. Mary Handley was a strong character although on the outset it was hard for me to believe she had an infant and maintained a career. I love the idea based on my own ideals and life but it is completely unrealistic for the time and place of this novel. So on that opening, I struggled to buy into the character's premise. However, it did become the classic twisty mystery we love from that Gilded Age when detectives lurked in the shadows... but this time she wears a dress. I continued turning the pages, faster as the crimes continued to mount, and found myself drawn into the story based on my need to know how it ended.

Sprinkled with notorious people like W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan and famous actresses like Lillian Russell, Mary investigates a wealthy society filled with dark deeds that include the rape and murder while dealing with her own terrible loss. Aside from the exaggerated independence of the main character I was all-in for her adventurous ride to solve these crimes.

Link to bookbub review: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/4214875225?source=email_share

Link to goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2995995870?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The Gilded Age fascinates me; so too does fiction sprinkled with recognizable historic figures. Near Prospect Park provides both. Mary Handley is a private detective, married and a mother, whose reputation brings her famous clients. This time around she mingles with W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, the renowned architect Stanford White, Diamond Jim Brady and Lillian Russell, along with her friend Theodore Roosevelt. She enters a wealthy society tarnished with depravity and excess to solve a rape of a young girl and two murders. She suffers unspeakable abuse and loss through her attempts to seek justice for the crimes of the privileged. Lawrence H. Levy has written an historically-based mystery series around a tough Brooklyn-native survivor, providing the readers with good stories and memorable characters.

This is historical fiction/mystery at its best. Mary is a strong female protagonist and she meets her match with the New York elite. A good portrayal of power at its worst and sexual abuse.

Historical fiction is my preferred way of gaining insight in to places and periods I am not well acquainted with. Levy's mystery takes us to the final years of the 19th Century in Manhattan and a "high-living" crowd of wealthy bachelors who amused themselves by drugging and taking advantage of women.

Levy's detective, Mary Handley, encounters these "gentlemen" and determines to take them down. The feminist angle to the book is repetitive and over-written, but the truth behind the novel was worth learning about. Noted architect Stanford White was a leading figure in the circle of debauchery that is the book's centerpiece. I was aware of his reputation as an architect, but not as a man and that aspect of the book was fascinating to me.

I am drawn to strong female protagonists but Mary Handley takes it a few steps too far for me. Her character didn't ring true or seem fully realized enough to make me sympathetic to her---even though her personal situation was one that definitely deserved sympathy. She was one of the book's weaknesses, not strengths and that is difficult to accept when she is the central character. Her personal relationships needed to have more depth and believability if we were to accept her as the brave, intelligent and talented woman the text kept telling us she was.

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

Second book in this excellent series I grew up in Brooklyn ,Prospect Park a place I visited often.Love books where I know the settings.This story has a strong woman touches on sexism a strong woman rare in the 1890s involving smart an excellent read.#netgalley#randomhouse.

The book starts out with a few different stories and it really made me wonder if I could keep up.They all eventually intersect to make a wonderful mystery.
Mary Handley is a detective.She was in the middle of a case when her husband is murdered.Along with the commissioner Teddy Roosevelt’s help she tries to solve this case.The who’s who of New York’s high society cross paths with them along the way.
Loved the historical setting.A mystery you can really sink your teeth into.
#netgalley#nearprospectpark#lawrencehlevy

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Net Galley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I love this series and have read all of the Mary Handley Mysteries. In this installment, Mary solves the murder of her reporter husband, Harper Lloyd. There are lots of twists and turns along the way. It's also an exciting story because her partner in solving the crime is Teddy Roosevelt. Some of the other characters are also based on real people. I hope the author keeps writing these intriguing mysteries! I am definitely a fan! .