One of my favourite mystery series is the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Holt. Sarah Brandt, a midwife, and Frank Malloy, a police inspector, team up to solve many murders. I recently finished Murder in Murray Hill, which is the 15th book in the series.
In the previous book Frank Malloy was named as the person to gain a huge inheritance. At the start of this book, Frank is starting to work on another case but the truth comes out about his inheritance and he is fired from the police.
Beginnings: Being rich wasn’t nearly as much fun as Frank and always been led to believe. Of course he wasn’t really rich yet, and he was in no hurry about it either. Oh, the money would e nice, he supposed. Never having to worry about the future sounded appealing. And, of course, he’d have Sarah as his wife. The rest of it, though, that’s the part he didn’t like. His life was going to change in a hundred ways, only a few of them good, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
The girt he is trying to find had replied to a “lonely” hearts ad in the paper and after arranging a meeting with the person she vanishes and her father hires Frank to search for her. The search uncovers a plot that targets single women. They find a villain that preys on single, not pretty, and lonely women. His treatment of them is horrendous
Page 56: “Catherine’s father was a very wealthy man, and he wanted to make sure she was well taken care of after he died.” She (Frank’s mother) glanced at Sarah again, this time with disdain “So he left the girl well fixed, did her?”
“Not exactly. He didn’t want anyone to take advantage of her, so he left the money to someone else, somebody he named as her guardian.:
She stiffened. “Better still. Now I guess you’re rich, Mrs. Brandt, and you can take care of a family of your own.” Sarah gave her a sweet smile, acting as if she didn’t notice the sarcasm behind the words. “He didn’t leave the money to me, Mrs. Malloy. I don’t think he trusted a mere female to handle it.” “He left it to me, Ma.”
Murders are uncovered in a twisted plot and at the end the girl is found and returns to her family home. After a lot of danger to both of them, Sarah and Frank have found a place to live to include everyone.
I’m hoping there is another book in this series that shows Sarah and Frank settling into a new way of life … perhaps becoming private investigators on their own.
Here are some more books that I’ve read and posted about.
Read more about books in the Gaslight Series.
