Publisher's Weekly Review
Edgar-finalist Thompson's eye-opening ninth Gaslight mystery (after 2006's Murder in Little Italy) examines the culture clash in early 20th-century New York City between Chinese and Irish immigrants, whose poverty prompted many of them to intermarry. While midwife Sarah Brandt is attending pregnant Cora Lee, "a strapping Irish girl" whose husband is a successful Chinese merchant, Cora's teenage half-Chinese niece, Angel, bursts into Cora's Chinatown flat and asks Cora to save her from an arranged marriage to Mr. Wong, an elderly Chinese restaurant owner. When Angel later disappears, Sarah investigates and learns the missing girl had a secret lover, a young Irishman. After Angel winds up dead in an alley, Sarah turns to her detective friend, Frank Malloy, for help. The action of this thought-provoking novel with its vivid portrait of the miseries of tenement life builds to an unexpected climax. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Racism, immigration policy and lust all add up to murder as a new century dawns. Because immigration law does not allow Chinese women into the United States, many Chinese men marry poor Irish girls who are happy to have hardworking husbands. The Chinese are in danger of attack anytime they venture away from Chinatown. So the disappearance of Angel Lee, the mixed-race niece of a mother whose baby midwife Sarah Brandt has just delivered, terrifies her family. Sarah calls on her friend Detective Sergeant Malloy for help even though he disapproves of the sleuthing that places her in harm's way (Murder On Lenox Hill, 2005, etc.). Angel was being pressured to marry John Wong, a wealthy but much older Chinese friend of her father. Sarah's snooping reveals she has eloped instead with Quinn O'Neal, a poor Irish boy she had been secretly meeting. When she's found strangled in the backyard of the family's tenement, there is no dearth of suspects. The O'Neals despised the bride, and the Lee family was dishonored by her lack of obedience. To add to the confusion, Malloy, who's learned that Quinn's sister has taken up residence with John Wong, receives a number of false confessions from the Lee family. Despite his warnings to leave the case alone, Sarah keeps digging and putting herself in danger before the killer is revealed. A suspenseful tale of casual racism and corrupt police. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
"Midwife Sarah Brandt's patient, Cora Lee, is an Irish woman with a Chinese husband. In New York at the beginning of the twentieth century, impoverished immigrants often married one another, but cultural differences led to conflict. As Sarah attends the birth of Cora's son, Cora's young, half-Chinese niece, Angel, runs into the room to ask for help. Her father has arranged her marriage to an elderly Chinese man. Angel later disappears, and Sarah helps the family investigate. When Angel turns up dead in an alley, Sarah asks her friend, Frank Malloy, a New York City police detective, for help. It seems that Angel had a secret lover, a young Irish boy. As the plot unfolds, readers will learn about the miseries of tenement life, the discrimination against Chinese and Irish immigrants, and the hardships and dangers facing young women. They will also be drawn to Sarah, a strong, caring female protagonist who is not afraid to help those in need. The unexpected climax adds to the impact of this first-class historical mystery."--"Bibel, Barbara" Copyright 2007 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Edgar Award-nominated Thompson continues her "Gaslight" mystery series with this ninth title featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and police detective Frank Malloy. This work provides a vivid portrayal of the culture clash between Irish and Chinese immigrants as well as life in New York City's tenements in the early 20th century. Thompson says she "became enchanted with New York City" while her daughter attended New York University, and she has taken that enchantment and used it to create a thought-provoking historical mystery told against the backdrop of those overpopulated and often squalid buildings. Suzanne Toren makes each character come alive with her clear and forceful narration. Murder in Chinatown is compelling, with a surprising climax, and the listener's interest will be engaged throughout. Highly recommended. [The paperback of this mystery, released last year, is due in June 2008; also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.--Ed.]--Denise A. Garofalo, Astor Home for Children, Rhinebeck, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
