Last Stop in Brooklyn by Lawrence H. Levy

Last Stop in Brooklyn (Mary Handley, #3)

by Lawrence H. Levy

The third book in the Mary Handley Mystery series features Mary's most dangerous and personal case yet. 

It's the summer of 1894, and an infidelity case has brought PI Mary Handley to a far corner of Brooklyn: Coney Island. In the midst of her investigation, Mary is contacted by a convicted man's brother to reopen a murder case. A prostitute was killed by a Jack the Ripper copycat years ago in her New York hotel room, but her true killer was never found. Once again it's up to Mary to make right the city's wrongs.

New York City's untouchable head of detectives, Thomas Byrnes, swears he put the right man behond bars, but as Mary digs deeper, she finds corruption at the heart of New York's justice system, involving not only the police, but the most powerful of stock titans. Disturbing evidence of other murders begins to surface, each one mimicking Jack the Ripper's style, each one covered up by Thomas Byrnes.

As Mary pieces together the extent of the damage, she crosses paths with Harper Lloyd, an investigative reporter. Their relationship grows into a partnership, and perhaps more, and together they must catch a killer who's still out there, and reverse the ruthless workings of New York's elite. It's Mary's most dangerous, most personal case yet.

Don’t miss any of Lawrence H. Levy’s enchanting Mary Handley mysteries:
SECOND STREET STATION • BROOKLYN ON FIRE • LAST STOP IN BROOKLYN • NEAR PROSPECT PARK (Coming Soon!)

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

3 of 5 stars

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Thank you to firsttoread for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

"We're a nation of immigrants, and yet a person who is different is often shunned. It defies explanation."

This was my first Mary Handley novel and I'm so glad to say that this one can be read as a standalone even though it is part of a series.
Mary is a woman private investigator who has had many cases in the past and has now taken on one that deals with an Algerian man being charged with a Jack the Ripper style murder that happened in New York. With crooked policemen, missing evidence, and an immigrant that doesn't have any money Mary has her work cut out for her.

“The point is, that woman may have been a prostitute, but she was also full of life and deserved to live out her days as much as anyone. Not have it snuffed out by some animal.”

We get to see many different characters and a lot of real history as well incorporated into this story. At times it did feel like a few too many characters and I really didn't see the point in a few of them. Emily, for instance, was unneeded and as well as the person that was suing Sage wasn't really needed either in my opinion. Obviously, it was important in the part that it got us to meet Harper who is very important in the story and helps Mary out a lot as the story goes on.

Also who the killer really was kind of disappointed me, because there was no real indication that it was that person and it came out of nowhere in my opinion.

"Yes, misogyny can have some nasty ramifications. Of course being a hypocritical, racist pervert didn’t help your cause either."

Overall I enjoyed this book for the most part, but certain parts that I mentioned above just really didn't do anything for me personally. I loved seeing a female PI during this time period and how her family was supportive for the most part. Also, the amount of support she had from certain police people and powerful men was hard to believe but also was nice to see as well. The friendship between Harper and Mary was so funny at times with the banter they had going back and forth and how they truly cared for each other, but also were able to separate themselves and still keep their work going and it didn't just become all about that person. (more of this in books please.) I'm interested to see what happens with Mary next and I kind of want to go back and read the first two books in this series.


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  • Started reading
  • 15 December, 2017: Finished reading
  • 15 December, 2017: Reviewed