While I like Victoria Thompson's other series with Charlotte and Thomas Pitt
580512
While I like Victoria Thompson's other series with Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, this book's characters and plot did not keep my interest.
1715738
What I liked about this book is that I really felt immersed in Victorian life as I read it, yet I didn't feel like the author was trying to "tell" me about Victorian life. She simply portrayed a character who lived that life and "showed" what it was like. I thought Charlotte a very interesting character with some unusual insights into life.
2097177
For those unfamiliar with this series, Inspector Pitt is a police detective in Victorian England, in the period shortly after the professional police force was first established.  Policemen were respected to a degree, but apparently had about the same social status as a skilled laborer.  Pitt's wife, Charlotte, on the other hand, is from a much wealthier and higher-status family.  Indeed, Charlotte's sister is married to a wealthy and well-connected man who is being considered for a vacancy in Parliament.  That connection enables Charlotte to participate discreetly in Pitt's investigations when they require a peek into the activities of society's upper crust.
The story: a sleazy loan shark is found shot to death in an unusually gruesome manner.  Almost everyone who knew the man had good reason to want him dead.  Even Inspector Pitt, who is assigned to investigate the case, can't avoid the feeling that the murderer did the rest of society a favor.  But murder is illegal, and so the investigation goes on.
It quickly develops that the victim was not only a loan shark, but a blackmailer as well, with several socially prominent people on his list of victims.  Hence the investigation must proceed delicately.  And that's where (as usual) Pitt's wife, Charlotte, lends a hand.
If you are already familiar with Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt series, you know that she's one of the very best mystery writers around.  Personally, I think Elizabeth George and possibly P. D. James are her only superiors in the field.  It's hard to rank one book in the series against the others, but this one certainly upholds the high standards of the entire series.  The characterizations are vivid and believable, the plot is complex and captivating, and the ending is logical and satisfying.  My only complaint about the book (and it applies to all the Inspector Pitt books) is the constant obsession with differences in social class.  Those differences existed in Victorian England, of course, but I find it hard to believe they were such a preoccupation in everyone's mind, minute by minute, day after day, as Perry makes them out to be.  The class distinctions were more likely taken for granted, like the weather.
If you're a mystery fan and you haven't read any of Perry's work, then this is as good an introduction to the series as any.  You're in for a treat.
3085898
I love historical fiction, and especially historical fiction based on the Tudors. Though the Tudors have a colored history that reads better than most fiction. However, I couldn't resist the first book in a new series based around the Tudor court, Wolf Bride.

Eloise is a young lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne Boleyn. In this story, Anne is near the end of her life and is no longer a favorite of Henry VIII. Henry's eye is roaming for his next conquest. Before Henry can ensnare Eloise, her father comes to court to marry her off to someone she has no desire to wed: Lord Wolf.

From the beginning their 'courtship' is unusual. They meet under awkward circumstances, but from the very first kiss, Eloise is intrigued by her future husband. However, Wolf is kinda a jerk. He's been hurt in the past, so he takes it out on Eloise. Also, he's very insulting to her without even realizing it. Her manners are gentile and hiss are rough. It's a great contrast. In fact this book reminds me a bit of Taming of the Shrew. But you'll have to read the book to figure out which one is the shrew.

There were times that I really liked the characters and story line, but there were also times that I didn't. The thing I enjoyed most about this book is the historical aspect. The characters, however, were another story. Sometimes the characters seemed inconsistent with what the author was trying to portray. Their motivations seemed inconsistent and it left me confused and irritated. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. I plan to check out the next book, Rebel Bride, before I make any hard-and-fast decisions on whether or not to continue with the series.
56605
This book is a group of three early novels.  As I only recently discovered the series, I hadn't read the earliest stories. The stories are light reading. Although these stories do touch on the class distinctions and hardships of the underclass, and while they are the same period as Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, they do not emphasize the hardships of the time. They are simply fun stories of a kindly, very decent, but perhaps not particularly sharp, police detective who inherits money and now has a staff of household servants and friends who enjoy investigating his murder cases behind his back and dropping him hints to assist in solving the cases. There's bits about early forensic science of bullet wounds, cause of death, and charming and colorful characters you would enjoy knowing.
2664841
This book differs from Perry's other novels in that two major elements of the series, Charlotte's relatives and Pitt's investigations which crisscross London at different social levels, are downplayed, though not totally absent. Instead the focus is on the residence of one scholarly clergyman and the death of his assistant. Since the suspects are limited and the household highly dysfunctional, the plot comes off as group therapy in the guise of a murder investigation. While the insights provided by the swinging outbursts and accusations is well done, I find it less interesting than the pictures of London provided in her other books.
3486887
This is the 8th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series of Victorian Age mysteries.

Charlotte had embarrassed her family by marrying down when she went against her family's wishes to wed Thomas, a police captain, almost a tradesman by Victorian standards.  Her sister Emily though had pleased them greatly by marrying well, a member of the aristocracy.  That Emily's husband, George, had no qualms about having a dalliance quite publicly humiliating her was unimportant.  This was just something that women were expected to cope with after all.  In fact Emily was quite thoroughly criticized by various members of the household for even acknowledging the fact.  When George was discovered dead one morning all involved assumed that Emily was the responsible party, after all to think anything else would be so inconvenient.  Charlotte (and Thomas) rushed to Emily's aid and not a minute too soon it seemed.  It soon became apparent that there were quite a few other nasty little secrets hidden away that would need to be investigated before the true culprit could be unmasked.

It would be helpful to read this series in order although it certainly is not absolutely necessary to do so.  The characters are interesting, the mystery aspects are handled well and the historical elements are woven skillfully into the story.  This is a worthy additional to an excellent series.
3355575
The girls are now in there 2nd year of nursing school and the drama continues. We follow the same characters that we met in the first book with the addition of a new Night Nurse, Violet. Helen's story got little time in this story so I hope we get to follow her more in the next book. The stories are interesting and the romance is alright. I don't appreciate that so many of the characters have such low moral standards. This is a fun series and I can see it is heading into a little more information on the time period by sending one character to Berlin. It only makes me want to read the next one and see how it all plays out.
431569
Really liked, but want more of Charlotte and
Bly's story.  All the other characters aren't as important to me.  Looking forward to the next installment!
1889652
It never occurred to me that someone else was in the scope of this mystery. I couldn't imagine who the killer was. I thought and I thought but I couldn't figure it out. Duh...No wonder Anne Perry is one of the queens of mystery! I love Charlotte and her stickiness. I love t hat show v especially Thomas even tho he's not of the same social level as Charlotte. And who wouldn't love Great-Aunt Vespacia?

I so enjoy An e Perry's books and bow detailed she writes...about the furniture and draperies and the plants, for goodness sake! Please keep writing!
2055493
3.5 Stars

This last book the Power of the Matchmaker series has a different feel than the others.

First, Miss Pearl is never called Miss Pearl in this book. If you've read the other stories, you know it's her. If you haven't read the other stories, you know it's the matchmaker, but it just isn't as overt as some of the other books.

Second, this story has more mature content. There is talk of sexual intercourse and how it is done in a round-about way. I was surprised when I read it. It isn't too graphic, but definitely discussed more than in any of the other books.

Third, the romance isn't as "sweet" as some of the others. There is a bit of a love triangle and lovey feelings aren't discussed as much.

Having said all of this, I still like this book. I don't love it like I did some of the other Power of the Matchmaker books, but I find it an interesting read based on the time period and the situation the characters are in. Like some of the other Power of the Matchmaker books, it takes me to a time and place I don't know much about and I find that engaging.

Warnings: Talk of sexual intercourse

I would let my 15 year old read this book after I warned her that there would be talk of sex in it.

Received ebook in exchange for an honest review
4216574
I'm generally not a fan of historical novels but this series has changed my mind book by book.  Lady Ginger Gold along with her friend have been summoned to the Dowager Lady Golds home to investigate a poltergeist.  What they end up is investigating both the poltergeist and a murder.  Scotland Yard is called in and Ginger must prove they have arrested the wrong person before it's too late.

Tight plotting, with characters that have increasing depth as this series continues makes for compulsive reading.

I received an advance reader copy of this book and have voluntarily reviewed it
1524929
I've noticed a pattern in her books that is just not my style. I can see where the series is going
1538784
Mary Daheim is a good writer. Her characters are interesting and her plots are each different. But that's sort of the problem. Some of her characters, like Judith's mom in the B&B series, are a little TOO interesting. I get awfully tired of Judith and her mom arguing. And some of the plots in that series are kind of off the wall. I mean, I like my mysteries to have some surprises in them, but too much is still too much. I was really unimpressed with the latest one I read.
That's why I was interested in exploring this series. And this one is more to my taste. There are some eccentrics, but mostly it's just small town life on a believable scale. Of course, like Judith, Emma Lord has her share of romantic problems and kid problems. But I enjoyed this one a lot more than the B&B ones.
1209618
Murder in Chinatown by Victoria Thompson is the latest entry in the Gaslight mystery series. I've fallen in love with Thompson's tales of Knickerbocker turned midwife Sarah Brandt and her ally Detective Frank Malloy, and while this tale doesn't satisfy on every point, it's definitely a good read.  Sarah is summoned to Chinatown to attend the birth of Cora Lee, a Irish girl who's married a Chinese businessman.  Sarah soon meets the rest of the Lee family with both its Irish and Chinese roots and sees the effects of American xenophobia.  Chinese women are not allowed in the US, so Chinese men marry Irish girls who are hoping for something more than life in a tenement and aren't afraid to face the racism they will face with their mixed marriage.  When Cora's biracial niece, Angel, disappears, Sarah does her best to investigate without infuriating Malloy who wants her to stay out of trouble.  Sarah's newly acquired daughter Catherine encourages her to watch her own safety as well.  Maybe that's why this story has a little less teeth than previous entries.  Soon, Angel turns up dead, and Malloy is on the case, both to make sure it is solved in New York's climate of ignoring crimes against minorities and to ensure that Sarah stays out of it.  Thompson has created considerable heat between her lead characters in previous books, but in this one, only a few glances are exchanged.  Perhaps because Sarah and Malloy are thinking so much about each other, they miss the obvious clues to the real killer, or maybe Thompson is making a statement about how judging purely on appearance can lead to tragic consequences. The climax is powerful as both Malloy and Sarah realize what they have missed.  The denouement promises interesting things to come for the Gaslight series.  I can only hope for a little more romance and a little more excitement.
4496633
This series is not going the way I wish it would but I still like it.  Victoria needs to quit being a prick tease and just pick a lover.  While it looks like it's going to be Sebastian, I really wish the author would just get on with it.  The pace of this series is a little slow for me at times.
91345
I've read her Ivy Morgan series.  Really good reads.  This series is too reminiscent of that series.  Also, her premise was first developed by Victoria Laurie.