Murder on Sister's Row by Victoria Thompson

Murder on Sister's Row is a Gaslight Mystery with 13 titles and featuring Sarah Brandt, a midwife, and Sgt. Frank Malloy.  The setting is 19th c. New York.  This is the first one I've read: I pulled it from the new book shelf at the library.

Sarah Brandt has been summoned to deliver a baby at what she first assumes to be a private home, then believes to be a rooming house for young ladies, and finally realizes is an upscale brothel.  The mother manages to confide in Sarah that she wants to leave, but that leaving is dangerous, so she prevails on Sarah to take a message to a wealthy society woman who helps women escape from prostitution.

Sarah does deliver the message and ends up becoming slightly involved with the attempt to rescue the young woman and her baby.  The "slightly" comes back to bite her, and just as the house was not what it originally seemed, many of the characters, including the young mother are not what they seem.

The writing and dialogue at the beginning was simplistic, but did improve.   The characters are a little thin--especially Sgt. Malloy whose role is definitely limited.

About a C in a grading scale.  I didn't  mind reading it, but it wasn't terribly involving.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2011.  289 pages.