I am enjoying this series, although this one not my favorite.

I have read these books via audiobooks and was disappointed and distracted by the new narrator, Suzanne Toren. Her style is so different from the previous narrator, Callie Beaulieu. Toren's voice portrayal of Frank Malloy suggests an almost totally different character -- much more gruff, rough; less sensitive, thoughtful. I think Toren is the narrator for the rest of the series, so I hope I get used to her. ( )

Chinese/Irish 15yr old girl is murdered.

Murder in Chinatown
3 Stars

Midwife Sarah Brandt finds herself embroiled in another murder when the young niece of her latest client goes missing and is later found dead. The case is made all the more difficult by the fact that the victim is of mixed Chinese-Irish parentage and the suspects from both ethnic groups abound.

A good mystery with interesting historical background on the interracial marriages between the Chinese men and Irish women. The information on the restrictions places on Chinese immigrants was eye opening.

The range of suspects and motivations make the investigation particularly intriguing, and the eventual revelation of the culprit is satisfying.

So why only 3 stars? Well, this is actually the first book in which Sarah's actions annoy me. She makes a certain request of Frank Malloy that is very disconcerting particularly in light of the crimes committed against women both in the past and to this day. Thankfully, the issues is resolved quite easily, but it still put a damper on my appreciation for the story.

The romance between Frank and Sarah is progressing as they both appear to have accepted their feelings for one another even if they have yet to admit them out loud.

The next book will focus on the murder of Sarah's husband and I am eager to find out who killed him and why. ( )

Not totally sure how to feel about this one. There's a fair bit of racism, but I'm not 100% sure that it's all in the spirit of historical accuracy. It was a decent little mystery and I didn't have trouble following along despite the fact that it was the ninth in a series, but I can't say I'm eager to read the others.

I picked this up somewhere, for free, mostly because it's set in New York City at the turn of the nineteenth century. You get a taste of tenements, the "mixed salad" of American immigrants, ridiculously restrictive immigration laws, and the sleazy underbelly of the criminal justice system--or lack thereof.

Unfortunately, it hits you over the head with these things repeatedly, and most of it is told rather than shown. American historical fiction at its most basic. The book didn't need to be half as long as it is if we didn't have to rehash every development in the case in real time.

All that said, there were definitely interesting details to absorb. So yeah, it was okay, but it wasn't great. ( )

Sarah Brandt can not stop getting herself caught up in murders no matter how hard she tries to do so. This time she delivers a baby in Chinatown. All is well until a family member goes missing. Angel is 15, not street smart and she has run away to avoid an arranged marriage. Still, it is none of Sarah's business and she has no intentions of changing that.

Until...Maeve suggests Angels' friends know more than they are saying and since Angel's mother and the new mother are both so upset over her running away, she decides to at least pass on the information Maeve has suggested. Despite having promised Frank Malloy she would stay out of it, she agrees to question the girls.

It is a few days later that she finds out that Angel has been murdered and she ends up embroiled in yet another murder. For a sheltered girl, Angel has made a lot of people angry at her. It is up to Sarah and Frank to find the murderer before the wrong person is prosecuted. ( )