"Sarah Brandt, a mid-wife in late 1800s New York, finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when she visits a woman whose baby she recently delivered. Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy is investigating a young woman's strangulation at the same boardinghouse. Malloy and Sarah instantly mistrust one another, especially when Malloy insists she go with him to search the girl's room. Reluctantly, Sarah begins looking through the dead girl's clothing. There she finds a label identifying the victim as Alicia Van Damm, the younger sister of Sarah's friend Mina. Sarah begins to investigate the crime on her own, much to Malloy's dismay. He tells her to keep out of the situation. Malloy wants no part of Sarah; mostly because he is attracted to her and believes she is out of his league because her family is old money and Malloy is an Irish immigrant.
When Malloy delivers the news of Alicia's death, the Van Damm family is strangly unemotional. Many possible suspects appear; Ham Fischer, also a roomer at the boardinghouse who disappeared the night Alicia was murdered, and Sylvester Mattingly, an older man the Van Damms are said to be forcing Alicia to marry."
Jan Lamers, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Murder on Astor Place
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- relative
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- doctor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- police
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
