Murphy's Law

November 18, 2002
In Bowen's second Molly Murphy adventure (after 2001's Agatha-winning Murphy's Law), the spirited Irish immigrant is determined to bring a killer to justice and, in doing so, break all the rules for proper young ladies amid 1901 New York City society. As Molly's beau, Daniel Sullivan, New York's youngest police captain, informs her, "women do not become investigators." Molly attempts to follow Daniel's advice rather than her own desires by taking a more appropriate position as companion to an elderly lady friend of the Sullivan family. The job is short-lived when Molly learns that her Daniel is already engaged to the old lady's niece. But the fury of the woman scorned spurs her to pursue her own dream, and she lands a job with PI Paddy Riley. Also short-lived is her new employer, as Molly barely escapes death when she interrupts Paddy's murderer searching his office. The police show little interest in solving the case, making Molly doubly committed to solving the crime on her own. Molly's hunt leads her to Greenwich Village's artsy community and results in her posing as a nude model. Bowen nicely blends history and fiction as she whisks Molly into a plot involving anarchists and even the assassination of President McKinley. This light romantic mystery should please most cozy fans. (Dec. 16)FYI:Bowen is also the author of
Evans to Betsy (Forecasts, Feb. 18) and five other novels in her mystery series featuring Welsh constable Evan Evans.

October 1, 2001
Mosley's first foray into writing science fiction since Blue Light (LJ 10/1/98), these interrelated stories, set in the near future, read as a natural but chilling extension of our present. From child genius Ptolemy Bent, sentenced to prison for euthanizing his grandmother and uncle, to female boxer Fera, who becomes a feminist icon for the 21st century, his characters battle for both personal survival and a chance to turn back the clock. In this futuristic world, privacy is little but a memory and prejudice and suspicion still sour race relations. Mosley's reputation as the best-selling author of the Easy Rawlins mysteries may entice a number of his regular readers to pick up this book, where they will find some of the same bleak outlook, flashes of insight, and true-to-life African American characters. An additional audience will come from iPublish.com, where the first two stories were previously published as e-books. Recommended for all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/01.] Rachel Singer Gordon, Franklin Park P.L., IL

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2001
Nimble of plot and fleet in the telling, Bowen's latest begins a new series starring the plucky Molly Murphy. Hiding her fiery red hair but not her audacious ways, Molly escapes from her Irish village after inadvertently causing the death of the young laird who tried to rape her. She finds herself in possession of a steerage ticket to New York and the custody of two small children when the kids' consumptive mother begs her to deliver the youngsters to their father in New York. The passage to America and the tumultuous events of Ellis Island, where another murder takes place, are vividly described, as is Molly's negotiation of the Cherry Street Irish ghetto, Hell's Kitchen, and the children's overwhelmed Da and his unsavory relatives. Run-ins with the police and Tammany Hall are only a few of Molly's adventures. The murder is solved in unorthodox ways, Molly finds love and work, and there's promise of more adventures. History-mystery fans should add Molly to their lists of characters to follow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)

September 3, 2001
The prolific Bowen, creator of Welsh constable Evan Evans (Evan Can Wait; Evan and Elle; etc.), relies a bit too much on coincidence but conveys a nice sense of place and period in this debut of a new historical series with its spunky, 19th-century Irish heroine, Molly Murphy. Defending herself from the unwelcome advances of the local landowner's son, Molly accidentally kills him and flees her village to escape hanging. She heads for the anonymity of London, where a twist of fate introduces her to Kathleen O'Connor. Kathleen has two small children and tickets for a ship to America, where she plans to join her husband. But knowing they won't let her on the ship because of her tuberculosis, Kathleen persuades the desperate Molly to take her children to America. On board, Molly attracts the loud attentions of a crude, boisterous type named O'Malley. Her public argument with him comes back to haunt her when he is found murdered on Ellis Island; Molly becomes a prime suspect, along with a young man she befriended. The handsome young policeman investigating the case, Daniel Sullivan, appears to believe Molly's protestations of innocence, but Molly decides her she'd better investigate on her own behalf and that of her friend. Wending her way through a vivid, Tammany Hall-era New York, Molly struggles to prove her innocence, aided by one coincidence after another. (Oct. 15)Forecast:Bowen's solid reputation will generate strong sales for this series debut, though Constable Evans fans should beware that the gentle humor of those novels is lacking here.