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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Murder in Little Italy in Books

May 18, 2019  
Murder in Little Italy
Murder in Little Italy
Victoria Thompson | 2006 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An Irish Death in Little Italy
Midwife Sarah Brant is called to the Ruocco family for a birth in their home over their Italian restaurant. Antonio’s new Irish wife is in labor, but she is two months early. However, when the baby arrives, Sarah begins to suspect that the baby is actually full term and Nainsi lied about when she got pregnant. When Sarah returns for her follow up visit the next day, she finds that Nainsi died in the night – although she quickly realizes that Nainsi didn’t die from complications from child birth and sends for Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. Since Frank is Irish, his presence draws suspicion from the family. As the racial tensions in the city over this incident begin to rise, Frank must find a way to solve the case. Can he do it with Sarah’s help?

This is another engrossing trip back in time. These books suck me into another time and place. The mystery here is strong and takes up much of the book, only allowing for brief updates on ongoing stories. However, the case is more than enough to keep us turning pages. Frank and Sarah continue to be strong leads. Frank is a little more dominant in this book, but Sarah still makes significant contributions to solving the case. There are twists, red herrings, and a strong group of suspects. I really could have believed anyone was guilty until Frank and Sarah figured things out at the end. As always, this book was over all too quickly. You can bet I’ll be back in time with these characters soon.
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Remembered in Books

Jul 8, 2019  
Remembered
Remembered
Yvonne Battle-Felton | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is set in two time periods: the ‘present’ of February 1910, and 1843-1867. This second time period is during slavery in the USA, and follows the story of Spring and her sister Tempe. This was a time when black people were property, treated no better than cattle (their white owner even talks about ‘breeding’ them), and goes up to the emancipation and what happens afterwards.
In the ‘present’ timeline, we see Spring sitting by her sons deathbed in hospital, with the ghost of Tempe.
There are several newspaper articles that start chapters, and they go some way to explaining what is happening in the story - at least from a white mans perspective. Spring’s son, Edward, is accused of driving a Philadelphia streetcar into a department store and endangering the lives of white people. It’s not explicitly said (that I can remember), but Edwards injuries aren’t just from the crash. Spring arrives at the hospital knowing that he’s unlikely to survive. Mainly because the ghost of her sister is telling her so, and encouraging her to tell him the true story of his birth, in order that he can ‘go home’ and not become an earth bound ghost.
So we get to see for ourselves what motherhood really is - it’s not about who gives birth to a baby, but about who loves and brings that child up.
It’s a difficult story to read, as it should be. This was a difficult and terrible time in history, but I did enjoy reading it. I can see why it was nominated for the 2019 Women’s Prize. It’s well worth reading.