Free And For Me

Brooklyn on Fire by Lawrence H. Levy is the second book in A Mary Handley Mystery series.  I did not read the first book, Second Street Station in which I have heard is apart of a good mystery book series.

I selected this book with hopes of being taken away every time I picked it up.   There is nothing like reading a page turner.   Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Brooklyn on Fire is a fictional historical mystery novel.  Set in April 1890 in Brooklyn, New York.  Mary Handley is New York’s first woman detective.  As she sets out to solve the first case in this book she is pinned against some of the most powerful men in New York.  Some familiar historical figures.

I was intrigued by the familiar names but, found this led to a list of characters that were not consistently mentioned in the book.  Which then led to me turning back the pages to refresh my memory.  I was never engaged by any of the characters outside of Mary.   I am an avid reader that loves period pieces and was committed to reading this book

I was initially taken in by Mary’s confidence and spunk.  However; some points were unrealistic.  She seemed to  get herself in and out of situations as if she was invincible.   She connected with some of the most powerful and wealthy people.  This is possible but, for me some of the situations were really unrealistic.

The historical backdrop was definitely the strongest suit of this book.  I was able to visualize this period and wanted more.

The book offered romance, mystery, action and adventure but it was not what I expected.  This was not a page turner.  I was hopeful that I would lose myself in this book but, it never happened.

I remained committed to reading this book and it took longer than usual to read.

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