Seven for a Secret (Gods of Gotham #2)

Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye is the second book in her Gods of Gotham series - about New York City in the 1840s and the beginnings of the NYPD.

Timothy Wilde joined the copper stars reluctantly. Now, six months later, he is the only copper who solves cases, as opposed to walking in a set circle on the lookout for a crime being committed. But in 1846 there are more laws to follow that those on the books - there is also pleasing the Democrats, who keep the police force in existence. And Wilde, unlike his older brother, has not use for politics.

While celebrating the recovery of a painting for a wealthy family, Wilde and a fellow copper are interrupted by Lucy Adams who returned home from work to find her family stolen. At the time, along with returning escape slaves to the South, it was fairly common for free blacks of the North to be kidnapped and sold at slave auctions in D.C. or other market.

Wilde teams up with his old friend Julius Carpenter to find Lucy's family. Carpenter is a member of the New York Committee for Vigilance - trying to protect free blacks from the crooks and criminals who see them as potential profit.

What follows is a twisting mystery of politics, criminals, civil rights and a colorful history of one of the most famous cities in the world. Fans of many genres will love this series. Faye writes in such a way as readers feel they are in the 1840s. You can almost smell the setting.

Faye, Lyndsay. (2013). Seven for a Secret. New York: Amy Einhorn Books.

The Gods of Gotham (Gods of Gotham #1)

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye is the first book in her series by the same name. The Gods of Gotham is a mystery set around the founding of New York City's first police force, the "copper stars" in 1845. This creation coincided with massive immigration of Irish due to the potato famine to change NYC forever.

Timothy Wilde is a bartender. He dreams of one day saving enough money to marry the girl he fancies and move to Long Island or somewhere he can spend more time in the outdoors. But a massive fire that destroys much of lower Manhattan changes his plans. Tim's brother, Val, sets him up with a job - the newly forming police force. Though he does not think he wants the job, both because of the nature of it and because his brother got it for him, he show up the first day.

Tim Wilde is assigned as a roundman - a police who walk around a set path for his entire shift, both to prevent crime and arrest anyone committing a crime. At the time there were no investigative roles, only stopping what was going on. But Wilde, with his background as a bartender and his like of puzzles, will be given a situation that he must solve when a ten year-old girl in a bloody night dress literally runs into him on his walk home.

When the body of a young boy is found, and matches the story the girl told, it seems take New York has a killer of children hiding within its masses of people. Incorporating politics, race relations, clashing religion and the slang of the day, Faye has set readers up to dive into the past of our most famous city. Imagine a time when the wilds north of New York started just above Chelsea. Great story and characters in a fascinating setting. Fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series might like this grittier version of historical mystery.

Faye, Lyndsay. (2012). The Gods of Gotham. New York: Penguin.