I thought I was grabbing another cozy. One set in Gilded Age New York, but a cozy none the less and I expected it to suck. I don’t know why I expected it to suck but I did. I was wrong. On all accounts about Murder on Millionaire’s Row by Erin Lindsey.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

Rose Gallagher might dream of bigger things, but she’s content enough with her life as a housemaid. After all, it’s not every girl from Five Points who gets to spend her days in a posh Fifth Avenue brownstone, even if only to sweep its floors. But all that changes on the day her boss, Mr. Thomas Wiltshire, disappears. Rose is certain Mr. Wiltshire is in trouble, but the police treat his disappearance as nothing more than the whims of a rich young man behaving badly. Meanwhile, the friend who reported him missing is suspiciously unhelpful. With nowhere left to turn, Rose takes it upon herself to find her handsome young employer.

The investigation takes her from the marble palaces of Fifth Avenue to the sordid streets of Five Points. When a ghostly apparition accosts her on the street, Rose begins to realize that the world around her isn’t at all as it seems―and her place in it is about to change forever.

My Thoughts:

This is a fantasy mystery with all the trimmings. And I loved it.

Rose is fun, flat out amusing. She has great adventures, thinks about things in unusual ways, and generally shows the reader a darn good time, even if it is at her own expense.

I have to admire a woman who handles herself in a time where that alone could get you in trouble and this book has more than one such woman. Nicely balanced with men who mostly appreciate them. So the historian in me is suspending her disbelief at that because it made for good reading.

I am vastly impressed by Erin Lindsey and I can’t wait for the next one.