A mutual and passionate encounter with Danile one night, sadly, did no improvement on Molly's opinions about Daniel. She, in fact, was utterly dissappointed by him and determined to have nothing more to do with that despicable, cowardice creature. Thus, she cut short all contact from him. All letters from this Deceiver automatically was sent flying straight into the wastebin. Only that later she found out Daniel was actually in trouble, already deposited into the Tomb and had been trying diligently to contact her, pleading for her help. No matter how antagonised she was by this man's behaviors, she never wished any harms would come to him, so naturally she embarked to the Tomb to visit him, though she did have thought that this would be a good lesson to teach this arrogant man.Daniel begged Molly to look for a particular gentleman who might know what to do to help him out of jail and wished for Molly to assist this gentleman in this investigation. Unfortunately, this gentleman turned out to be extremely unreliable and kind of addle-headed. Molly had no other choice and in the end had to take the matters into her hands.Daniel, apparently, was framed. He was accused of being in the pay of a gang and tipped off information of a gang raid, resulting in one officer being killed. Who did this, however, remained unknown. Molly came to a conclusion that either someone who had a grudge against Daniel and wanted a revenge or someone whose secrets had been found by Daniel and wanted to silence him by sending him to prison and expected him to fall victim to typhoids or consumptions. If not, then perhaps it's someone who wanted to remove Daniel from the captain's seat and hoped for a promotion. Or it could also be someone who was afraid Daniel was too close to solving a case which should remain unsolved. From Daniel, Molly knew that he was following a horse doping case and had just been assigned to a serial murder case in which prostitutes were brutally murdered. Having no clear clues and links, Molly stumbled from one thing to another and inadvertently delved into investigating this serial murder with a woman detective who officially worked undercover for the police, although not really well-acknowledged by the other male police, Molly happened to meet on her way to a crime scene.What had made everything all the more complicated was the fact that Molly was pregnant by Daniel, the most sympathetic specimen. Being in a depressed, anxious, apprehensive state, Molly was in no condition to carry out this investigation. What's more, Arabella appeared on her doorstep one day and offered an assignment to Molly. Molly wanted nothing more to complicate her life, but Arabella appeared to be so very sincere and understanding that she could no way utter a rejection. Arabella wanted her to look for her friend who left a letter informing her parents of her elopement with a penniless young man, yet Arabella did not believe in this nonesense and feared that her friend had been kidnapped.What a difficult situation Molly was in. I, for one, do not envy her at all. What with having a suitor sent to jail, being pregnant by this very suitor, requested to investigate a case by this suitor's ex-fiance, and having to carry out her own investigation to free her suitor out of jail or there would be no prospects for either Molly, Daniel or their child.I suppose Daniel was the one to be blamed. Men are always so careless. They act as they please. Perhaps they think children come up from the ground or grow on trees? Never care to take cautions beforehand. Well, Molly wasn't completely blameless, either. But she wasn't really experienced, so let us pardon her then.My, I can't tell you how much the suspense in this book was killing me. My eyes were hurting so much and I had a most piercing headache, yet I carried on reading until the end. It was so thrilling I even got goosebumps. Definitely an excellent read. Mark my words. You will be hooked the moment you set your eyes on it.
Oh Danny Boy is the fifth installment in the Molly Murphy mystery series set in early twentieth century New York City. One of the strongest elements in these books is how Rhys Bowen so clearly ensconces the reader into the time frame of this city full of immigrants. It is the Irish immigrants with whom we gain familiarity most, as Molly is an Irish young woman with all the sauce and temperament of the red-haired Irish lass. She is determined to make her own way in a male-dominated city and profession as a private investigator. The author is most adept at contrasting the accepted male and female roles in the early 1900s. One of the most admirable characteristics of Molly is her refusal to accept the limitations placed on her a a female and Irish immigrant.In this latest book, Molly is faced with major and possible life altering problems, both professional and personal. Her complicated relationship with police Captain Daniel Sullivan takes on a reversal of roles, as she is now the one who must rescue and keep Daniel safe. He is no longer in a position to aid, or, as Molly sometimes sees it, hinder her with any police involvement, as Daniel finds himself in jail and accused of serious infractions against the police code and the law. It is up to Molly to prove that Daniel was set up and gain his release from "The Tombs," where many strong and healthy people go in, but where it is an arduous struggle to survive. In searching for answers to the questions surrounding Daniel's downfall, Molly finds herself in the middle of a serial killer investigation which takes on the nightmarish deception of a funny-house mirror. In her attempts to root out the truth, Molly encounters Police Matron Sabella Goodwin, a character based on real-life Isabella Goodwin, who in 1912 was appointed as the first female first grade detective on the New York City police force. In 1902, Sabella is fighting her own battles of prejudice against women, and it is great luck that Molly finds a kindred spirit and ally in her. It is a long and winding road to ferret out the facts for these two investigators, and Molly will experience both personal tragedy and professional frustration throughout.
What do You think about Oh Danny Boy (2007)?
I enjoyed much about this book. I liked the multiple interesting women characters and reading about New York City at this time particularly seeing different immigrant groups. However, this was the first book of this series that I read (picked up at a used book store) and it was probably not the best introduction to the series. It referred very heavily to previous book(s?) often without advancing the story of this book. I also felt that things really didn't get rolling until almost halfway through. I still might give the series another chance since I liked the main character a lot, but I will try for one of the earlier books in the series.
—Mjmahoney
I didn't enjoy this book. I managed for force myself to read about half of it, and finally gave it up. In my opinion, this author has little talent. I'm amazed she is so successful -- perhaps I picked a poor example of her work. To me, this read like a second-rate television mystery show; it makes "Murder, She Wrote" look more like "Masterpiece Theatre". The characters are shallow and typey, and similarly the language is canned goods as caviar. The story was predictable. No good news on this one.
—Suzanna
Irish immigrant and new P.I. Molly Murphy has a lot on her mind these days. Her former love interest, police officer Daniel Sullivan, is in jail. Daniel’s been accused of taking a bribe from a gang member, organizing a prize fight (banned by the city a year earlier in 1901) and to have tipped off the gang about a police raid, which resulted in an officer’s death. Daniel’s colleagues have turned against him, so his only help is from Molly and a brain-rattled prize fighter.Molly believes Daniel’s innocent and has good reason for wanting to save him from a conviction. While investigating, she’s also asked to look into the disappearance of a friend of Arabella Norton who recently ended her engagement to Daniel. Having more work than she can handle, Molly is also faced with a troubling personal issue and a growing concern that the missing girl might be the victim of a serial killer known as the East Side Ripper.Needless to say, there’s a lot going on in this novel and I haven’t even covered all of the subplots. But this is partly what makes Oh Danny Boy so appealing, as does the story’s 1902 New York setting. Rhys Bowen does an amazing job of moving the story along while portraying life for immigrant women on their own in a big city at the turn of the twentieth century. Molly Murphy is a terrific character who sank deeper and deeper into trouble until I couldn’t imagine how she’d ever get out of the mess she was in, but she does in a credible way.I’ve read lots of positive things about Rhys Bowen’s books and, while I can only judge from this one, I’m ready to jump on that bandwagon. I bought my first Molly Murphy mystery in mid-series so I now want to start at the beginning and read them all. Great stuff!
—Debra
