When Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy is assigned to investigate the murder of an influential man in the deaf community-presumably because his own son is hearing impaired-midwife Sarah Brandt lends a hand, only to find herself searching for a killer in an unfamiliar world where those who can hear refuse to listen to those who cannot.
New York City Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy is called to a murder scene at a business office on a Saturday afternoon. Frank quickly learns that the man has a deaf daughter and is heavily involved with one of the deaf schools in the area. Frank’s son is deaf as well, so he already has some knowledge of the schools, but he quickly begins to learn more about the deaf community as he investigates. He also realizes that he must bring in midwife Sarah Brandt. Sarah’s involvement turns out to be a good thing since she can get close to the victim’s family. Will she learn enough so that the two of them can solve the case?
Frank gets involved in this case pretty quickly, although Sarah’s involvement takes a little longer to develop. Still, the duo once again make a fantastic team as they work together well to solve the case. Along the way, we get plenty of suspects and twists. I was sure I had it figured out several times before we reached the end. We do get some updates on Frank and Sarah’s families, including something that I think will jump start a new longer mystery arc. I also appreciated how this book explored the deaf community in the 1890’s. You really could jump in here, but whether you start this series here or go back to the beginning, you’ll be pulled back in time with these excellent books.
Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy is called to the office of broker Nehemiah Wooten whose body was found by the administrator of one of the two schools in New York City for the deaf. Since the scene is outside of his district, Frank assumes he’s been assigned to the case because it involves the deaf community and he has a son who is deaf. Wooten’s daughter attends the school where the students are taught speech reading and speaking; his son is being taught sign language at the other. The two methods, and schools, are at odds and are at the center of the conflict involving Wooten, which may lead to the perpetrator.
Midwife Sarah Brandt becomes involved when her particular skills are needed in an emergency that arose during Frank’s interviews. It was absolutely wonderful having these two teamed again in a murder investigation, her facilitating situations he could never have access to and him providing her investigative direction. They worked almost seamlessly, a reflection now of how they’ve grown equally as comfortable with each other personally.
The cast of characters in this one was outrageous on so many levels, making it difficult to find any redeeming qualities for many of them. There are situations that will shock, appall and leave you stunned. I’m not used to the kind of twist this one presented at the end and it will be great fodder for our group’s discussion. The story also presented both teaching methods for the deaf quite fairly, providing the merits of both and their issues. As usual, I learned something new pertaining to this era (I’ll leave that for you to discover). I really enjoyed this story and was a bit stumped through the end, which I found provocative.
Murder on Lexington Avenue, Gaslight Mystery #12 by Victoria Thompson centers on the murder of a deaf girl’s father. The history of the divided teaching methods of the time is explored within the context of the story. The emotions run high as several leads are chased down to provide a very satisfying conclusion. This is an excellent mystery series.
The wealthy father of a deaf daughter is murdered. His wife is pregnant. Solving the mystery takes Malloy and Sarah into the deaf community, where two prominent schools have differing teaching techniques. Malloy’s son attends one of the schools. The victim’s daughter happens to be in love with a deaf teacher. There is no shortage of mysteries in this story, one of the most intriguing pertains to Catherine and her sudden meltdown. Will Sarah hire the Pinkerton Agency to locate Catherine’s family so she can understand and help the girl? In the meantime, Mrs Elsworth continues with her endless supply of superstitions. I am happy to see her more involved in Sarah’s family, rather than just being the nosy neighbor.
I loved it! Such a sad turn of events. Poor Adam. I can’t wait for the next book!
I have read all the books in the series and they are great! Just a bit different now that main character is married. Has turned into more about her detective husband solving the cases with some help from his wife. I preferred more about her solving the cases in past.