DEATH OF RILEY

A second sabbatical from her Welsh policeman hero Evan Evans (Evans to Betsy, 2001, etc.) takes Bowen back to the summer of 1901 for a second chapter in the life of Molly Murphy (Murphy’s Law, 2001). Months after arriving from Ireland to New York, Molly still hasn’t found a suitable job until she takes the suggestion of police captain Daniel Sullivan, her friend and, she hopes, more, and becomes companion to cranky old Miss Van Woekem. But when a chance encounter brings to Molly’s attention Miss Van Woekem’s niece Arabella—and the unhappy news that she’s engaged to Daniel—Molly loses no time in quitting the job. Determined to become an investigator, she seeks out private detective Paddy Riley, persuading him to hire her, if only to keep his office clean. It takes only a few short days, however, for her ship to come in. One morning she arrives at the office to find Riley dying and herself sharing space with the killer, who slams her to the floor and makes his escape. All Molly’s energies are now devoted to finding the assassin, starting with clues from Riley’s correspondence, notebooks, and camera and ending, of course, with timely assistance from Daniel.

Molly is a bit too clever and reckless to be totally convincing, but Bowen’s highly detailed picture of New York at the turn of the century is a delight.