Set in lawless Manhattan in 1845, shortly after a fire destroyed much of the lower island, this is a carefully researched thriller/murder mystery by a native New Yorker. A cadre of untrained and corrupt rogues is recruited as New York’s first police force. They have poorly defined job descriptions and little oversight, amidst the influx thousands of starving Irish during the potato famine. A 10 year old street vagabond tells the narrator, the newly-minted cop, Timothy Wilde, endless lies about why she was covered in blood when he found her. Multiple murders, dark political intrigue involving the Boss Tweed/Tammany Hall Democratic machinations, brothel owners, child prostitutes, narcotic addicts and animosities between Protestants and drunken Irish Catholic immigrants complicate the very complex plot.
The twisted period dialect and lingo in short meaningless conversations between too many characters to keep track of makes the going difficult for most of the story. Strange names such as Deadeye, Fang, Ninepin, Matchbox, Hammer, Zelenograd the Rat, Bird, Silkie Marsh, Valentine, Moses Dainty, and Hopsrill abound.Young do-gooder Mercy Underhill does not seem to fit in with the other debauched characters until her dark side is exposed in Chapter 21 of 27.
There are some notable quotes. “Riots are farmed, and when they bloom, the farmers get to smash their fists into an entire city.”
“For God to make something young and perfect and then crush him. Why go to the trouble? Stupid people imagine God thinks like they do….but I cannot believe that God is stupid.”
The absence of any virtues in any of the devious lying characters, even the clergymen, seems unrealistic. Many injuries in street brawls that should be fatal appear to never impede the characters’ ability to continue fighting. The bodily reactions to various emotions, except possibly for facial expressions, defy anatomical or physiological explanations.
As in many tales in this genre, oblique hints and false leads will confuse readers until late in the story when the most unlikely characters are revealed as the the mysterious child murderers.
This is the first of three novels featuring Timothy Wilde, clearly modelled after Sherlock Holmes. I have not read any of the sequels, but I can predict that Mercy Underhill will return to New York and hook up with Timothy Wilde in one of them.
Fans of this genre will enjoy this tale. Me, not enough to read the others in the series. Two stars.
Thanks,
Andra via Cratejoy
The Passionate Reader 