by Theodore Feit

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Away in a Manger, along with a link to purchase the book.

It was inevitable that the Molly Murphy series should have a Christmas tale, and now it does. It is the winter of 1905 in Little ‘Ol’ New York, and the streets are filled with Holiday shoppers, beggars and pickpockets. Molly, now Mrs. Murphy, with a little boy and married to police Captain Daniel Murphy, is looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her family and her husband’s visiting mother. Instead, of course, she becomes involved with a murder mystery.

While out pushing the pram in which Liam is belted in, with her young ward Bridie accompanying her, Molly hears an angelic voice singing carols coming from a young girl sitting, freezing, in the entranceway of a store. It turns out that the little girl and her eight-year-old brother were left in the care of a Scrooge-like boarding house owner by their mother, who just brought them to America from England where they were living. The children, with little clothing, are forced into the streets during the day to beg for change by their minder. The mother is missing. Circumstances ideal for Molly to once again demonstrate her detective skills despite her promises to her husband to refrain from such activities.

The story is a simple one, straightforward and with few complications. About the only impediments are the snow and slush and the fact that Captain Murphy is shot along the way, delaying Molly’s progress in discovering the whereabouts of the children’s mother and hopefully reuniting them with their American family. The descriptions of turn-of-the-century New York, customarily excellent in previous entries in the series, are up to grade, especially in the way the author describes what no longer exists in Manhattan: the Sixth, Ninth and Third Avenue Els and trolley cars.

Another charming chapter in the life of Molly Murphy, and one which is recommended.

To enter to win a copy of Away in a Manger, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Manger,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 19, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Ted & Gloria Feit live in Long Beach, New York, a few miles outside of New York City. For 26 years, Gloria was the manager of a medium-sized litigation firm in lower Manhattan. Her husband, Ted, is an attorney & former stock analyst, publicist & writer/editor for, over the years, several daily, weekly and monthly publications. Having always been avid mystery readers & since they’re now retired, they’re able to indulge their passion. Their reviews appear online as well as in three print publications in the UK & US.