Brooklyn on Fire by Lawrence H. Levy

Set in Brooklyn in the late 19th century, Mary Handley once again begins a new case. Mary is looking to set up her own practice as a detective when she is approached by a woman to look into the death of her uncle which occurred 20 years previously. As in the first Mary Handley mystery, there are many historic persons featured in the story including Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and the Vanderbilt family. Amid political corruption, class warfare, and a bit of romance thrown in, the case becomes much more involved than a simple investigation.

The mystery makes for enjoyable reading as well as some of the historical facts of life at that time in Brooklyn. Initially there were a lot of characters introduced without a lot of explanation, but eventually they all come together in the plot. The characters were interesting and did have some depth. There is a glimpse of the disparity between the different social status of people and how difficult it is to cross those barriers.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.