I’m a huge fan of the Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson. I’ve read and enjoyed all twenty of the books in this series (yes, you read correctly. I said twenty, 20). So, when the twenty-first book, Murder on Union Square released, I hurried to my local bookstore to pick up my copy. I will admit that for a fraction of a second I was conflicted. I’m under a deadline and still surrounded by boxes from my recent move and have a To-Do list a mile long. However, with a long holiday weekend in front of me, I threw caution to the wind and dove head first into the book. Below is my review:
Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and making plans to formalize their family arrangement by officially adopting Catherine, the young girl Sarah has raised as her own. In addition, Sarah will also officially adopt Frank’s son, Brian, from his first marriage. The adoptions should be easy given that both of Catherine’s biological parents are dead and before her father’s death, he not only arranged for Frank to be Catherine’s guardian, but left him a fortune to see that the girl would be well-cared for. All seems well until a little known facet of the law requires that Sarah and Frank get the permission of the man who was married to Catherine’s late mother, Parnell Vaughn, even though he was not the child’s father. According to the law, Vaughn is Catherine’s legal parent. Vaughn, a recovering alcoholic and actor is all too willing to sign over his parental obligations, but his scheming fiancé, Eliza, has other plans. She demands the Malloys pay a financial settlement in exchange for Vaughn’s signature. While, the law takes a dim view of the arrangement as it could be seen as paying for a human being, Frank and Sarah realize they have no other choice and agree to the arrangement. When Frank goes to the theatre to get Vaughn’s signature and make the payoff, he finds the actor has been brutally murdered. Found with the actor’s blood on his hands, Frank is accused of the murder and the police are all too happy to arrest the former policeman. As a wealthy man, Frank can certainly grease the palms of officials to make sure his case never goes to trial. But, neither Frank nor Sarah are willing to live under the black cloud of suspicion, let alone permitting a murderer to go free. So, Frank and Sarah enlist the help of their family and closest friends to find the real murderer and clear Frank’s good name.
Once again, Victoria Thompson does a great job taking the reader back in time and weaving a murder which will keep you entertained and guessing until the very end. Murder on Union Square is the 21st book in the series and dedicated readers will enjoy the recurrence of characters from previous books as well as the evolution of the central cast of players. I didn’t need the long weekend to read this book, (I devoured the book in a day). I am still surrounded by boxes and my To-Do list hasn’t shrunk the least little bit. However, my cozy mystery loving soul has been replenished and I’m ready to write with a passion.