Tag Archives: Mary Handley

Review: Second Street Station & Brooklyn on Fire

March 3, 2018 Clio Leave a comment

Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy	Brooklyn on Fire by Lawrence H. Levy
Title: Second Street Station Author: Lawrence H. Levy Published: 2015 ISBN-13: 9780553418927 Publisher: Broadway Books Publisher’s Blurb What’s Auntie Reading Now? picture	Title: Brooklyn on Fire Author: Lawrence H. Levy Published: 2016 ISBN-13: 9780553418941 Publisher: Broadway Books Publisher’s Blurb What’s Auntie Reading Now? picture

“She had a magnetic aura about her, fueled by her strong spirit and her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, that only those purely interested in the superficial could possibly miss. (p. 12)

I enjoyed the trilogy of Mary Handley books (Last Stop in Brooklyn being the third) as light afternoon reads, and recommend them to those looking for something slight to read.

Mary is meant to be a novelty, the tough and independent, outspoken women who dreams only of being a detective. And she isnovel, but the constant bickering with her mother over getting married wears quickly. Hopping into bed with men she’s romantically involved with may not be shocking to contemporary readers, but it doesn’t fit well with the character we are meant to admire. The way Levy handles makes it seem forced. As though this is how he proves to his readers Mary truly is a novelty in this era.

She can often be coarse, without needing to be. And she almost always rubs men the wrong way, even those she winds up engaged to. I often wonder what sort of research writers do to prepare themselves for writing protagonists of the opposite sex. Mary Handley is Levy’s conception of what a smart, independent woman should be. But he gives her traits which feel forced.

In Brooklyn on Fire, it’s her romance with George Vanderbilt which feels forced. To me, all the romances in these books feel forced. It’s like Levy wants her to be non-traditional, but not too non-traditional. The text clunks a bit from one plot point to the next, often telegraphing what’s coming.

And yet, Mary is fun to follow. As are the power mongers just waiting to get their comeuppance by the brains of this extraordinary woman. The history is fun too. Best not to take these books too seriously and just go along for the ride.

Reviews

Review: Last Stop in Brooklyn

February 10, 2018 Clio Leave a comment

Last Stop in Brooklyn
by
Lawrence H. Levy

Title: Last Stop in Brooklyn
Author: Lawrence H. Levy
Published: 2017
ISBN-13: 9780451498441
Publisher: Broadway Books
Publisher’s Blurb
What’s Auntie Reading Now? picture

“Coney Island,” Lazlo remarked. “It’s where intelligence and human decency go to die.” (p30)

The third in the Mary Handley series. By chapter 3 I knew I needed to get the first two, it’s that entertaining. Fortunately, one doesn’t need to have read the first books to keep up with the plot of Last Stop in Brooklyn.

Mary Handley, Victorian era detective in Brooklyn, breaks all the stereotypical rules about how women should behave. As her mother frequently reminds her, nice women get married and have a family. They don’t traipse around Brooklyn as private detectives, solving crimes and speaking her mind to the Manhattan rich.

It starts simply as a case of possible adultery. A friend of her mother’s son is concerned that his wife is cheating on him. Using familial pressure, Elizabeth convinces Mary to take the case. Which leads her to Coney Island, the last stop on the train in Brooklyn.

In her ten days of following Colleen Murphy, Mary notices that she too is being followed and confronts her tail. Who, it turns out, is the brother of a man wrongly convicted of killing a prostitute in a similar fashion to Jack the Ripper.

Mary agrees to take on the case which leads her through New York police department corruption fed by money from the rich and powerful who run the stock market like Jay Gould, Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller.

Mary’s quest to prove Colleen’s infidelity (or not), and Ameer Ben Ali’s innocence takes her to the seedier part of Coney Island where racism, sexism, and violence live cheek by jowl, rarely noticed but ever-present.

My favorite kind of books are the kind which entwine history with fictive, but believable, history. Levy does not disappoint in this regard. However, I did find the plot wandered as though Levy were trying to get his bearings, or to fit too much in before then end. And there were a few times when I was shocked out of the story by Mary’s profane language, and actions which didn’t seem to fit her character or the times.

Despite that, I’d gladly spend another day reading the further adventures of Mary Handley.