Mayhem and Murder Behind the Scenes of Silent Pictures
Over the course of the Molly Murphy mysteries, we’ve gotten to look at quite a few industries that were prevalent in the early 1900’s in New York. Silent as the Grave takes us to another one - the silent film industry.
This is book twenty-one in the series. Over the course of those books, we’ve watched Molly go from an Irish immigrant on the run to the owner of a private detective agency to the wife of a NYPD Captain and a mother. This book picks up in 1909 and finds Molly embroiled in danger once again.
It all starts with an invitation from her friend, playwright Ryan O’Hara. He’s written and is starring in one of the first silent pictures to include an actual plot. While watching filming at the studio, Molly’s adopted daughter, Bridie, is cast as the lead, so Molly finds herself spending more time at the studio than just the one-day visit she originally envisioned.
The more time that Molly spends there, the more she realizes that something isn’t right at the studio. When she is asked to look into it, she quickly agrees, especially when things hit close to home. But will she uncover what is happening?
If you’ve read enough of my reviews, you know one of my pet peeves is a prologue that starts with a suspenseful or dramatic scene and then we flash back to the beginning of the story. Yep, we get that here. Still not a fan.
Then we get the usual introduction of a Rhys Bowen novel. We are eased into the story as Molly slowly finds herself getting involved in the plot. At this point, I pretty much know to expect that when I pick up one of her books. Unfortunately, the pacing was still off once Molly started investigating. While we did get a logical climax, I felt the plot could have been stronger overall.
Fortunately, the characters are their usual charming selves. I wouldn’t be on book 21 in a series if I didn’t enjoy it, after all. However, they do feel like they are staying in place. It would be nice to see some of the relations grow.
As a fan of movies, I did enjoy this look at the early days of filming. And there’s a great cameo by a real person in the book.
Fans will still enjoy Molly’s latest adventure even if Silent as the Grave isn’t the strongest in the series.
Spend more time in 1900’s New York with the rest of the Molly Murphy Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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