In Dublin's Fair City by Rhys Bowen

[meganbmoore]

I don’t know if I’ve just been in the exact right mood or if these books just went from “really good” to “really really good,” but I’ve liked the 5th and 6th Molly Murphy mysteries even more than the earlier ones.

In her 6th outing, Molly is hired by Tommy Burke, a mover and shaker in Old New York’s theatrical world, to go to Ireland and find his sister, who he didn’t know existed until his mother’s deathbed confession. Ready for a break from the difficulties of her life, Molly agrees, despite the legal difficulties that face her in Ireland. On the ship, a famous actress she met in New York, Oona Sheenah, hires Molly to pretend to be her, only sick and confined to her cabin, so that Oona can escape her admirers. Molly is confused as to why anyone would give up a luxurious first class cabin for a tiny second class one, but agrees.

On the voyage, however, Oona’s maid is murdered, and when Molly confesses the deception to the captain, she learns that Oona hasn’t even been in Molly’s cabin the entire voyage, and is nowhere on the ship, leaving Molly not only with a second mystery, but also Oona’s luggage. From there, Molly’s search for Burke’s sister and her unwilling involvement with Oona’s machinations leads her to become increasingly involved with The Irish Republican Brotherhood, and forces her to confront some aspects of her past.

As sometimes happens with Bowen, the actual mystery gets a bit lost in favor of Bowen’s interest in the time period. This is far from a bad thing, as Bowen’s clear love of the era is a lot of the charm of the series. The only downside of the book is that, out of necessity, we don’t see much of Molly’s New York friends, and their absence is felt. On the other hand, Daniel has clearly not been forgiven for his behavior in previous books by the ladies, and has the full force of Ryan O’Hare unleashed on him. If you’re familiar with the books, you know that the encounter couldn’t be anything of glorious.

As is Gus’s response when Daniel is complaining (admittedly with decent justification) about his current, disgraced situation and says it’s none of Gus and Sid’s business: “Oh, we are most concerned. It affects us to. If you are unhappy, then Molly is unhappy, and if Molly is unhappy, then we cannot truly enjoy life ourselves. And since it is our aim and pledge to enjoy every moment, the sooner the situation is rectified, the better.”

Translation: “We still hate you, but for some strange reason, our Molly likes you, and so we are concerned for you. Until she gives up on you.”

And now to wait until March for the next book to be released in paperback, and then decide if I want to follow the series in hardcover. As Bowen is continuing with both this series and the Royal Spyness series, and the releases are spaced several months apart, I might be able to resist temptation.