A review by johnw613
Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson

emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Another stellar entry in this always satisfying series. A young woman who teaches French at a teacher’s college in Morningside Heights is found murdered on campus. Frank Malloy has just established a private detective agency with his former police department colleague Gino Donatelli (and, let’s be honest here, his wife Sarah and her maid Maeve are also in on the investigating), and he gets the call to track down the killer before the school (which sounds like an early representation of the teachers’ college at Columbia University) is enveloped in scandal. Was the murderer one of the “spinster ladies” the young teacher lived with, or the young gentleman who wished to court her? Or someone else? A spine tingling resolution wraps up a satisfying mystery, along with Sarah having an opportunity to again provide midwife services to a young lady, in a side plot that foreshadows a tantalizing direction for the now Mrs. Malloy’s daily life.