Last Stop in Brooklyn by Lawrence H. Levy

Last Stop in Brooklyn

By Lawrence H. Levy

Publisher: Crown Publishing

Publication Date: January 9, 2018

A Mary Handley Mystery #3

Summary: “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'll be Mary's most dangerous, most personal case yet.”

About the Author: Mr. Lawrence H. Levy is an author, film and television writer. He has written for some of my favorite television shows, Saved by the Bell, Family Ties, 7th Heaven, and Who's The Boss. This is his 3rd book.

My thoughts: Mary Handley has her hands full trying to prove that her client’s brother Ameer Ben Ali is innocent in the murder of Carrie Brown. In the search for the truth Mary runs into real trouble all the while dealing with “Masculine Patronization” in an era where women were trying to get men to understand that they were stronger than men gave them credit for. 

Author, Lawrence H Levy’s writing of a strong, brave woman is refreshing. Mary is a spitfire and humorous to boot!  Some might find her annoyingly blunt, however I didn’t. I thought she was tough when she needed to be tough and sensitive and soft when she needed to be. I loved seeing both sides of her character. Her investigative prowess is straight on, her steps always ahead of the police. There is a relationship that builds from a step in her first investigation in the book that might be not what it appears to be, only you can decide by reading the book.

This book is the 3rd and final episode in the trilogy of The Mary Handley Mysteries. I didn’t read the first 2 books and I thought It held its own when it came to not having to know the back stories.  I enjoyed the depth of the characters, her father, his boss Leo, Mary’s landlord, book proprietor Lazlo and the others encountered along the way.  I appreciated the real people characterized in the book too,  Andrew Carnegie, Russell Sage and other tycoon moguls and the realism that their voices came out as dealing with the fictional characters.

Mary Handley never once cringes when she is dealing with the harsh realities of murder and takes the task in hand aptly.  I felt as if she could have been a real person in modern day fighting for women’s rights and the rights of the lowest of the low as she does in the story.  

The only thing that I didn’t like about this book is that it ended too soon. The location of Brooklyn is part of my heritage it drew me in wanting to experience the ugly corners, like Coney Island was back in the Victorian Age and compare it to it’s modern day atmosphere. I hope that everyone wants to take that last stop in Brooklynn as I do now.

Mr. Levy even has a map of Brooklyn during Mary's time that you can find Here.
I think I need to go back and read the first two books and also, follow along on the map for Last Stop in Brooklyn.

Please go and buy this book and the 2 proceeding books at your favorite Indie Store. For convenience you can buy at Amazon and B&N. I prefer the Indie route. 

I give this book a 4 out of 5 for a not so obvious mystery, the swell writing and the historical aspect of the book.

I thank Crown Publishing for allowing me to read Last Stop in Brooklyn via Net Galley in lieu of my honest review. It was a fun and mysterious read.