Death of Riley: A Molly Murphy Mystery (Molly Murphy Mysteries)

by Rhys Bowen

Book Overview

Death of Riley, the fascinating, well-researched, and suspenseful second novel in Rhys Bowen's Agatha Award-winning series. Molly Murphy has finally begun to forget the unpleasant murder of a would-be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312989687
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.9" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A Texas Reader

Love this book. The order was easy and came as indicated. Good response for order and information.

Excellent Work, Again!

Rhys has managed to put together another well-written, original mystery, featuring Molly Murphy, an immigrant from Ireland in New York. After helping the police find a murderer, Molly decides that investigation is the field for her. She badgers Paddy Riley into taking her on as his apprentice in his detective agency. Paddy insists that this was no job for a woman, but lets Molly clean and organize his office. Until she walks in on Paddy's murderer. Molly, unsatisfied with the police investigation into her mentor's death, decides to find the man who killed Paddy and attacked her. The story unfolds with Molly's new experiences in New York, her new friends, and her tenacity to investigate. The beginning of the story seemed to take a while to come together, but once it did, I couldn't put it down. Now on to: For the Love of Mike!

Another winner for Rhys Bowen

Murphy's Law--the first book in Rhys Bowen's new Molly Murphy series--won an Agatha award last year. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Death of Riley won another. Rhys Bowen also writes the wonderful Constable Evans series. How she can switch back and forth from contemporary Wales to turn of the century New York with an Irish main character is a measure of her talent.Death of Riley starts off with Molly getting a job as companion to an elderly lady, which doesn't suit her independent nature at all. A disappointment in Captain Daniel Sullivan, the police office Molly met and fell for in Murphy's Law, causes her to reassess her situation and decide she needs a new occupation. When she first arrived in New York she had become involved in helping to solve a crime, so she figures becoming a private investigator would work well for her. She fully intends to stay out of criminal cases and work on finding lost relatives for families left behind in Europe.However, a criminal case pops up in front of her when she finds Paddy Riley, the PI she's persuaded to hire her as an assistant, slumped over his desk, and discovers he's been murdered. It seems perfectly obvious to Molly that it's up to her to find out who killed him. She sets off to do just that, meeting all kinds of intriguing people along the way, and showing the reader, in fascinating detail, just what the New York of 1901 was like.Molly is soon involved in several friendships--with a charming male playwright, a painter who wants her to pose for him, and a couple of unusual women, highly independent and artistic women--a writer and a painter--who introduce her to new ideas and a different lifestyle. She even falls in with a group of anarchists. And of course, as might be expected, the intelligent and persistent Molly does solve the mystery of Riley's death. What is not so expected is the surprising turn of events that leads to a quite explosive finish!And at the end, it even seems possible that Molly and the attractive Captain Daniel Sullivan might get together again. Stay tuned to this delightful, wonderfully well-written series and you just might find out.

delightful historical cozy

In 1901 New York, Irish immigrant Molly Murphy is not having any success in her search for a job that interests her. Her beau, police captain Daniel Sullivan, wants her to take a job as a companion to a wealthy woman, which she agrees to try. While working, she notices a man lurking around the woman's home in a furtive manner and is told by Daniel that he is Paddy Riley, a private detective.Molly nags Paddy until he agrees to hire her as a clerk. One day she finds her employer murdered. Someone has gone through his files and a few days later, someone sets fire to the office, destroying everything inside. Molly has the notebook he always carried around while on a case and she notices that he was very upset about a conversation he overheard in a bar. Molly successfully tracks down one of the people and through him she is able to locate the person he met with that night. Headless of the danger to herself, Molly continues to investigate and brings herself to the attention of a murderer who has every intention of killing again.Rhys Bowen gives her audience a very accurate picture of what New York City was like for an immigrant in 1901. The heroine is a very spunky and likable woman who acts on her convictions even when it puts her in danger. DEATH OF Riley is a delightful historical cozy starring characters that are eccentric, bohemian, and believable. The ending will come as a shock to the audience because the author cleverly disguises the direction she is moving the story line along.Harriet Klausner

Molly's in Danger Again

It's been several months since Molly arrived in America, and she's still trying to find her nitch in New York City. Her strong will and sharp tongue have gotten in the way of several jobs. She has her heart set on becoming a PI to hunt lost relatives. After much persuasion, she starts to assist Paddy Riley with his PI business. But she hasn't been there too long before she walks into the office one day to find her new boss dead. Why was he murdered? Molly's determined to find out. Meanwhile, her relationship with Daniel hits a major snag. And her living situation gets very sticky when Seamus's relatives keep showing up.I enjoyed the second in this historical fiction series. The author has done her research, and it shows. The detail is fantastic, and I was drawn into the world of 100 years ago. The plot moves better here then in the first in the series, and the subplots add the right mixture to the overall storyline. Molly's really grown on me, too. She's the right mix of stubbornness and the naiveté that would come from her previous life in a small Irish village. The historical aspect of this is done right as well, mixing real life people into the fictitious story.I've recently been rediscovering my love of historical fiction, and this book is a perfect fit in that genre. Ms. Bowen seamlessly mixes history and mystery into an engrossing story.