Book Review ~ In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Title: In The Shadow of Gotham

Author: Stefanie Pintoff
Published: 2009

Summary
Dobson, New York, 1905.

Detective Simon Ziele lost his fiancée in the General Slocum ferry disaster—a thousand perished on that summer day in 1904 when an onboard fire burned the boat down in the waters of the East River. Still reeling from the tragedy, Ziele transferred to a police department north of New York, to escape the city and all the memories it conjured.

But only a few months into his new life in a quiet country town, he’s faced with the most shocking homicide of his career to date: Young Sarah Wingate has been brutally murdered in her own bedroom in the middle of an otherwise calm and quiet winter afternoon. After just one day of investigation, Simon’s contacted by Columbia University’s noted criminologist Alistair Sinclair, who offers a startling claim about one of his patients, Michael Fromley—that the facts of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to Fromley’s deranged mutterings.

But what would have led Fromley, with his history of violent behavior and brutal fantasies, to seek out Sarah, a notable mathematics student and a proper young lady who has little in common with his previous targets? Is Fromley really a murderer, or is someone mimicking him?

This is what Simon Ziele must find out, with the help of the brilliant but self-interested Alistair Sinclair—before the killer strikes again.

Thoughts: 

This book took a lot for me to get into and it was awhile before I discovered that I wanted to know more. I did figure out who the killer was pretty early on and found I just wanted to see if I was right which is part of the motivation to keep reading. This book had some hit or miss things for me. I didn’t appreciate how easy it was to figure out. Though there was a twist that I won’t mention here. I did find that I wanted to finish it by the time the “killer” was revealed. I also found myself invested in Simon Ziele and his story. There were a few roll my eyes moments especially when we are told numerous things. I also had a hard time believing the techniques used by the detective at this time frame. However, it eventually became second nature and I got use to the writer’s style.

This is a pretty good story and I am glad I read it. I will probably not continue with the series simply because I feel that most of my questions were answered and I didn’t need anything else to feel satisfied.

Goodreads score: 3/5