Frank Malloy and his partner Gino Donatelli receive an urgent plea for their investigative skills from Gino’s sister-in-law. An acquaintance, Miss Jane Harding, has vanished from the settlement house where she is volunteering and it looks like she is the latest victim to be kidnapped by The Black Hand. Frank and Gino, with the help of Frank’s wife Sarah and their friend Maeve Smith, look into the young woman’s disappearance. The case then takes an unexpected turn and now Gino is in grave danger unless Frank, Sarah, and Maeve can keep him safe while clearing his name.

Murder on Pleasant Avenue is the latest in the longrunning Gaslight Mystery series. I have read most of the books in this series and have been enjoying the later books as much as the first books in the series. I’m so glad that changes have been made that have allowed Frank to finally be with Sarah since the time they had to spend apart went on way too long. Now this installment comes closer to moving the relationship between Gino and Maeve forward. Seeing those things play out in this book is fun to read. The terrible events with women, children, and others being kidnapped for ransom has the welcome effect of bringing these two characters closer.

This is a fictional novel set in the early 1900s in New York City, but it’s filled with a lot of historical background. I wasn’t aware that East Harlem had a large Italian neighborhood at this time and I enjoyed learning about this. I have Italian ancestors that lived in New York around this same time period, so I easily connected with the Italilan-American characters in the book. The author’s note at the end discusses some of the actual history behind some parts of the story. I liked learning more about settlement houses with volunteers “settling” in a home to better help local families in need in that area.

I enjoyed the plot of the book, and especially liked seeing Sarah playing an active role in the investigation. There are some twists and turns in the case before the whole story is revealed. I think it’s clear from the beginning there is more to Jane’s story than it appears on the surface. I didn’t guess the whole thing, but was disappointed that Sarah and Frank didn’t catch on to some of the more obvious clues sooner. A lot of time is wasted in the investigation because of false assumptions that are made. Working together, they are eventually able to get to the bottom of the case. Then just when it looks like the book is winding down, something unexpected happens that spurs a lot of drama. These events are surprising and entertaining and the very ending will please longtime readers of the series. New readers who enjoy historical fiction will be able to enjoy the story even if it’s their first time reading a book in this series.

~ Christine

A clean, romantic murder mystery. However, the biggest drawback for me was guessing the murderer early on, and then having to listen to all of their theories of who they thought was guilty. I do like the relationship of Sarah, and Malloy, Maeve, and Gino are too cute! I wished there was more romantic scenes, what is wrong with a happily married couple holding each other in bed, talking about their day? If you like super clean mysteries this is for you.
Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

This review was originally posted on <a href="http://booksofmyheart.net/2020/04/21/murder-on-pleasant-avenue-by-victoria-thompson/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I have been loving this <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/41275-gaslight-mystery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Gaslight Mystery</strong></em></a> series. I started on audio but switched to ebook when the narrator changed after the first 8 or so books. They are so addictive, I read 9 books in one week!  Then I was determined to catch up for the new release, <strong>Murder on Pleasant Avenue</strong>.  There may be some spoilers for earlier books in this review. I do recommend reading in order, because I always do, but also the personal lives of the characters progresses throughout the series. I especially love Brian and always wanted to know more about how he was doing.

I will say I enjoyed the building relationship between Frank and Sarah in earlier books.   They each developed their bright, young assistants, Maeve and Gino.  I think Maeve is particularly sharp.  I enjoyed the mystery handled by all the secondary characters, but primarily Gino and Maeve while they were on their honeymoon. I don't like them being quite as much of the story as they are though.  Gino seemed less experienced, then he seemed more seasoned after volunteering in Cuba, but now he is back to more mediocre efforts.

I enjoyed this mystery and learning more about the settlement houses in New York City.  The settlement house concept was great but implemented at various levels of competence, like anything. Sarah certainly created a wonderful place with her maternity hospital. I suspected the culprits quite early this time.

I wish there was more Frank and Sarah and a bit less Gino and Maeve.  At least, I wish there were more of their discussions and personal time without the other two.  The mentions of the rest of the family, meals and Mrs. Ellsworth are simplistic, barely more than a mention now. Mother  Malloy does sometimes have a bright observation to contribute.

I got tired of Maeve's sort of whiny attitude at office work and her jumping into dangerous investigating on her own. At the end, however, Maeve comes through playing an integral part in solving the loose ends once the case is solved. Her quick mind and fearless action saved the day.

I'll be thrilled to read more in this series.  I love the characters and the historic setting. I enjoy the author's note ending each book with details about the authenticity of historical aspects.

This book is a historical mystery set in New York City in 1900. This is the 23nd book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous mysteries.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Frank, Gino, Sarah, and Maeve all helped with the investigation and used their unique skill sets. Since so many people were collecting information, the problem for the characters was that they didn't always correctly convey to the others what happened during their interviews and investigations. Due to certain assumptions, they missed some obvious clues until nearly the end. Whodunit was a strong suspect for me from the beginning, but I understood why they weren't guessing that person. What happened became clearer and clearer as they collected clues.

Interesting historical details were woven into the story. The main characters were nice, engaging people and had realistic reactions to events. There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.

Impressive tale of a pilot from Texas who does not give up. Bill Ash is a marvel. He joins the RAF via Canada (after being rejected the first time for being underweight, he borrows money and eats for two weeks straight before trying again), gets show down over France, and joins up with the Resistance hoping to escape back to Great Britain via Spain. The Gestapo captures Bill in Paris and puts him in a POW camp. Before being rescued at the end of the war, Bill makes a dozen attempts to escape from the camp he was currently assigned to. Every time the Germans caught him, he was thrown in the cooler and/or sent to yet a different camp. An amazing tale that will appeal to kids who love the "I Survived" series. Looking forward to reading more Great Escape books!

Thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

This is the twenty-third book in the Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson.

This was well-written and it captured my interest right from the beginning. I don’t think I have ever read a historical cozy from this author but I will definitely pick up another in this series! Wow, this is the twenty-third book in the series! How amazing!

Basic premise: A man is murdered and Gino is found hovering over the body just as the police enter the scene. We know it has to be a set up, but who would go to such lengths to make another look so curiously guilty?

I love how the author weaved the tale and even the women here who are usually so reserved during such a historical piece were rather forward thinking, to my mind.

I am not sure who is supposed to be the POV character since this feels like a mystery with a bunch of people in the lead position. In this I felt like Sarah and Frank were more front burner, but the mystery itself had Maeve and Gino in the number one position. I am okay with either of these as the lead characters. Heck, maybe this is always a group effort sort of like when the Scooby gang goes in and investigates. Loving the whole vibe of this story.

I felt like this was so easy to read and get into. The flow was amazing and the character development high. I felt like I was watching this on tv and not just reading a book. This would be a great series to adapt to television with so many turn of the century mystery shows on television right now. Make sure and check this series out! I am surely going to start from the beginning and see what I have already missed.

If you love a good historical cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Private investigators Frank Malloy and Gino Donatelli get a case that’s very close to home. Gino’s sister-in-law Teo asks for help in finding a missing volunteer worker who is a resident at the settlement house in Italian East Harlem. They fear she’s been kidnapped by Nunzio Esposito and his gang who’s operating under the Black Hand. As they get into the investigation, Gino finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and is accused of murdering the crime boss. The entire team, including Sarah Malloy and Maeve Smith, must use all of their resources to clear his name, not only to avoid prison but retaliation from the Black Hand.

It was great being back in this series and even more interesting to get to know Gino’s family and his world. I wasn’t aware that at the beginning of the 20th century East Harlem was considered to be part of Little Italy, nor had I heard of settlement houses that served as a central community volunteer resource. The notion was fascinating and operated similarly to what we see today as the YMCA/YWCA but with volunteers in residence. The mystery involving the missing volunteer wasn’t tough to solve but the underlying motives weren’t as clear so that kept me engaged. And, I learned more about the Black Hand and how they really operated.

I enjoyed this story as much for the historical elements as the characters and mystery. Since Gino is at the forefront, so is his relationship with Maeve, which took a giant leap forward. It was wonderful getting to know his family and especially his brothers. Solving the murder was interesting and led to lots of intriguing situations, culminating in an exciting but bizarre climax. I continue to enjoy this series and look forward to what’s next for these characters I’ve come to care about.

I have been reading this series for years. I love historical mysteries and these are well researched. And I really love all of the characters in this series. So much has happened to all of them over the course of the books! It’s been fun to see how they’ve developed over the years.

In this book, Frank and Sarah are asked to help investigate the kidnapping of a young woman. At first they think she was taken by the Black Hand, a group of Italian gangsters. But the woman returns on her own and seems to be unharmed. Was someone else behind her kidnapping?

For longtime fans of the books, something finally happens toward the end of the book that made me very happy. I hope other fans enjoy it too.

Murder on Pleasant Avenue is part of a series written by Victoria Thompson. I enjoyed this cozy, historical mystery and I found I was able to read it without feeling like I needed to read the previous books in the series (although I now want to). The storyline flows beautifully and kept this reader guessing until the very end.

Fans of Sarah & Frank Malloy will thoroughly enjoy this latest entry in Thompson's Gaslight series.. This time, our friends use their deductive skills to help out old friend Gino Donatelli when he is accused of a heinous crime. Thompson comes through again with a clever plot, engaging writing, and wonderful descriptions of the relationships cultivated by the Malloys and the denizens of 19th century New York. While this can be read on its own, it is much more enjoyable if you've read the previous series entries.

Well done!

Gino Donatelli is accused of murder and Frank and Sarah Malloy are on the case to find out exactly what happened because they know Gino is innocent. They are determined to clear their friend’s name once and for all. Readers of the series won’t be disappointed!

Two men who used to be cops have become private eyes. They will take the cases the police shrug aside. They work in the areas of town that are dangerous. It's common for people with money to suddenly have a wife or child kidnapped and they must pay a ransom to get them back. If they go to the police, they will kill them...

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 28th.

They are asked to find a young woman who went missing. She just disappeared one afternoon and has been gone a few days. The man asking them to look has hopes of marrying her. They begin the search by asking a lot of questions. Then they find out she has returned but won't speak to anyone.

When they discover where she was held, Gino goes to brace the man he knew took her. He finds him in the room, dead. And a cop comes in right behind him and arrests him for the murder.

His partner gets him out of jail and now they have to find the murderer to clear Gino. They don't have a large staff. There are the two detectives, a secretary, and the wife of the other detective. But they accomplish a lot.

The man in love confesses to the crime but they know he didn't do it. He's afraid his girlfriend might have done it. So are the detectives...

As a long time devotee to this series and author, I am saddened to say that this probably my least favorite installment. I will, however, still recommend this series to anyone and everyone who will listen to me forever and ever.

This series follow a traditional cozy formula with memorable characters it’s easy to root for, a well-established sense of place, and a puzzle that the reader can work out with the characters. Where this series diverges, however, is Thompson’s willingness to lean into the darkness that was present in her chosen time period. In her novels she has addressed incest, child labor, sex trafficking, and other real evils that existed in our past and in our current reality. Her willingness to shine a light on the underbelly of society in turn of the century NYC sets her series apart. Recommended for readers of Laurie R King and Jacqueline Winspear

Great seeing everyone again. Once again one of their own is in trouble. I did wonder who done it. I also know one character was not what she seemed. The story includes a lot of historical information woven into the setting and the plot. This series is holding its own with new and interesting characters and plots.

Many story lines going for many characters. The tenement house residents and the help they receive from the settlement houses. Several children and young women are being kidnapped, and the only one coming close to claiming responsibility are the Black Hands group. When the leader of the Black Hands is murdered, the plot thickens. Gino is accused of the murder because he happened to be the one to discover the body. The whodunit kept me guessing. There were many bits of history and glimpses into the times. This is an ongoing series and we get more of Maeve and Gino in this book, and also hear plenty of Frank and Sarah.

Latest novel in a long-running, cozy, historical mystery series set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. The mystery wasn't difficult, but it was a fun book in terms of the characters (though some of the more peripheral regulars were absent or nearly absent). New readers would get the most out of this series by starting at the beginning while readers who've been following the series would definitely want to read this one for Maeve and Gino's plotline.

This is a very interesting historical novel set in the early 20th century New York City. It captures the social norms of the day as well as the corrupt judicial system. You get a feeling for the neighborhoods of the immigrants and the gangs of the time.
There is a little of everything from murder, rape, and kidnapped women and children. I love the female protagonist and the her male counterparts.

Sarah and Frank Malloy exonerate a friend and uncover a treacherous plot in The Gaslight series. It's a cozy mystery for a winter afternoon.

This is one of my favorite series. I like how the author is able to keep the story lines going for the characters. They mystery kept me guessing. I also like the bits of history that you get while reading the books. We get more of Maeve and Gino in this book, while still getting plenty of Frank and Sarah.

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