Last Stop in Brooklyn by Lawrence H. Levy

Title: Last Stop in Brooklyn: A Mary Handley Mystery
Author: Lawrence H. Levy
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis: Private investigator, Mary Handley is looking for a serial killer in 1894 Coney Island, a Jack the Ripper copycat. If she can catch this killer then a wrongly accused man may go free.

My Thoughts

This is the third Mary Handley Mystery and the first that I have read. While reading the other two may provide context, I find that this one stands alone quite well.
Mary is a witty and intelligent woman who wants to be respected as a private detective. Her personality is fun and she is willing to admit when she makes a mistake early on in the story. The mystery she is working to solve is interesting and intricate, at some points I feel there are too many characters contributing to the story that are unnecessary. I am not usually one to complain about too many characters or storylines (I really enjoyed reading the Game of Thrones series) but I really expect that each character should serve a real purpose.
If you are looking for a quick and fun mystery with some historical figures and places then this book is for you! 


Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!


To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom

Title: Glory Over Everything
Author: Kathleen Grissom
Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: James Burton, formerly Jaimie Pyke, is living in Philidelphia in 1830. He is the owner of a silversmith shop and a home, he is popular with women, and he has a secret that could take it all away. 'Passing' as a white man, James is actually a runaway slave who escaped at 13. When he impregnates a married aristocrat who is unhappy in her marriage and his young servant, Pan, gets stolen by slave catchers, his secret is more dangerous than ever. James travels to find Pan and receive some help from Sukey, an enslaved woman, who tries to get them to the underground railroad. 

 My Thoughts

This novel follows characters from Grissom's first novel, The Kitchen House. Glory Over Everything stands on its own, so it is not necessary to read the author's other novel first, but The Kitchen House is so devastatingly well done I really recommend that you do. I read it before I began this blog, so I have not officially reviewed it.
I was so excited to see this book on the shelf during my last trip to the bookstore. It has the honesty about the horrors of slavery that, like in The Kitchen House, the author does not shy away from or sugar coat. This novel also offers a perspective of a young man who was raised as a white boy and finds out his mother was a slave on the plantation. Then he is taken in by a family in Philidelphia and he has to keep the secret that he has African heritage from the people he loves. The inner conflict he suffers about his identity and having to 'pass for white' in order to keep everything he has worked for is a type of a runaway slave story that I had not encountered before.
The author also chooses to tell the story from different character's points of view by chapter. The reader gets to hear from James, Pan, the Burtons, Caroline, Sukey, and Pan's father. Having multiple perspectives on a story can really help the reader relate to the characters on a deeper level. 
This was a great book to read! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!


To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above.