A review by nitabee
Bless the Bride by Rhys Bowen

3.0

Bless the Bride opens with Molly visiting Daniel's mother out in the country, where she's supposed to be helping prepare her trousseau. Unfortunately, Molly is not so good with a needle, which brings Mrs. Sullivan to much despair. Molly is thrilled to hear from Sid and Gus with the news that not only do they wish to throw her a bridal party, but a man was recently at Patchin Place looking to hire her for a job, so Molly rushes back to NYC. She decides to stay with Sid and Gus, since Daniel's having her house redone for their marriage, and Molly's less than anxious for Daniel to know of her return, fearing his disapproval of her taking on another case. This case leads Molly to Chinatown, at a time in history when the Chinese are much discriminated against in our country. Lee Sing Tai, a rich and powerful man, wishes Molly to retrieve a piece of jade jewelry he says is missing. Although Molly visits all of the nearby pawnbrokers, she comes up empty handed, and it turns out Lee Sing has an ulterior motive for hiring Molly -

Spoiler

he really wishes her to find his bride that's gone missing. It turns out he's paid for a child bride, a girl no older than 16, to come over illegally (Chinese woman are forbidden from entering the States, in the hopes that Chinese men will return to China to be with the women) and give him a son. The girl, Bo Kei, has completely disappeared, and Lee Sing is beside himself with anger. Molly finally locates her hiding in a nearby church but is reluctant to return her to Lee Sing after hearing of the suffering Bo Kei has endured in his home, so she hides her at Gus and Sid's house. Lee Sing ends up dead, and it's a bit convoluted, but the culprit is an English lord named Monty who was set to marry Sarah, a nice young lady Sid and Gus introduced Molly to. I knew Monty was guilty somehow, and I knew he was addicted to opium, but I couldn't determine his motive (he was being blackmailed by Lee Sing, who knew of his addiction and threatened to tell Sarah's family). Bo Kei is free from Lee Sing's torture and can be with his secretary, an American-Chinese man named Frederick who she fell in love with when he came to China to escort her to America. The book ends with Molly marrying Daniel in a lovely service, with Gus and Sid as her bridesmaids. Oh, and she's reunited with Bridie, the young girl she first came to America with, as Seamus, Bridie's father, is leaving the city to help build the Panama Canal. He pleads with Molly to find a home for Bridie, and she sets her up with Mrs. Sullivan, who has been lonely since losing her husband

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