The Gods of Gotham

By: Lyndsay Faye

Narrated by: Steven Boyer

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

It is 1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever.

Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, fantasizing about the day he has enough money to win the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured, unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical of this new "police force". And he is less than thrilled that his new beat is the notoriously down-and-out Sixth Ward - at the border of Five Points, the world's most notorious slum.

One night, while making his rounds, Wilde literally runs into a little slip of a girl - a girl not more than 10 years old - dashing through the dark in her nightshift... covered head to toe in blood.

Timothy knows he should take the girl to the House of Refuge, yet he can't bring himself to abandon her. Instead, he takes her home, where she spins wild stories, claiming that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of 23rd Street. Timothy isn't sure whether to believe her or not, but, as the truth unfolds, the reluctant copper star finds himself engaged in a battle for justice that nearly costs him his brother, his romantic obsession, and his own life.

©2012 Lyndsay Faye (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Immersion in a fascinating world

Would you listen to The Gods of Gotham again? Why?

I'm not one to re-visit mysteries, but I can see myself diving back into the world Faye created here. Her 1845 New York City is grimy and irresistible, and her characters stick with you and grow as the book moves along.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The central mystery of The Gods of Gotham is good-not-great; but the book is so much fun that my interest never flagged.

Which character – as performed by Steven Boyer – was your favorite?

All of the characters are well-performed by the gravel-voiced Mr. Boyer. His most memorable creation is the drawling, inscrutable Valentine Wilde.

If you could rename The Gods of Gotham, what would you call it?

I will leave the artistic license to Ms. Faye, who has surely earned our trust.

Any additional comments?

The Gods of Gotham isn't perfect, as the big reveal is a bit of a letdown. However, it's still a gripping story, set in a world I didn't want to leave. All of it is expertly read by Steven Boyer. I highly recommend it, and I look forward to reading/listening to the next two books in the series.

Wilde about this Cop!

Any additional comments?

Excellent gothic historical detective noir. ??Love this genre, and I think this will be the next big book in it. ??Faye did a wonderful job of research, setting and character, and her " flash" language is incredible, but made easy for the reader. ??Also, the audible version was just outstanding, so I have a new fab author and narrator to add to my list. ??I even enjoyed the video on the author's website and information on her background that shows you why this book feels so period right.

Even the names evoke the characters, in a Dicksonesque ??way. ??You know what you are going to get when in New York during the Irish potato famine, you have a small disfigured detective named Timothy Wilde whose brother is named Valentine Wilde, Mercy Underhill is the girl of Timothy's dreams, and Bird Daly is the little girl who has run from the scene of the crime. ??(And that's just the short list of perfect names). With all of that detail taken care of, the reader can just sit back and enjoy. ??

Here is an example of what makes Wilde so likeable, even before he starts figuring out how to solve a murder:

"Escorting Mercy down a block, depending on her mood, you might not be there for all the attention she pays you. ??And I'm not exactly Sunday, so to speak. I've never been a special occasion. I'm all the other days in a work week, and there are plenty of us streaming by without notice. ??But I could fix that, or I thought I could."

Faye also did a great job of giving the sense of the racial and prejudicial turmoil of the times without being trite or judgmental, and in outlining the true grit of the first police force in New York. ??If any of this appeals to you, go get your copy today!

A solid detective novel

Had some usual detective story clichés and a few dialogues that were longer than necessary, but the world building of 1840s New York City was fascinating!

Engrossing from start to finish

I first encountered author Lyndsay Faye’s work when I came across her novel, Jane Steele, which reimagines Jane Eyre as a serial killer of sorts. Obviously, no self-respecting person with an English degree could pass up such a tempting tale. :) Next came the Paragon Hotel and now The Gods of Gotham in all its riveting, horrifying glory. As something of a book snob, the only two instances I could ever imagine listening to audio books were as the driver on a long road trip, or if suddenly struck blind. Readers read. They don’t listen to someone else read, or so my previous thinking went. But life and pandemics happen and suddenly you realize you’ve been an idiot, missing out on things like the brilliant performance of Gods of Gotham Narrator Steven Boyer because of silly preconceived notions. Boyer is fantastic and Faye’s writing is incredible. This is the kind of story and performance that stays with you once it’s over and makes you reflect on our country—where it’s been, where it’s going, how much—and how little—things have changed. Highly recommend.

Outstanding Story, Flat Narration

New York in 1845 was a powder-keg of unrest. With an influx of Irish immigrants escaping the tragic Great Potato Famine into an already packed city, the New York summer of 1845 was filled with riots, religious unrest, murder, and the eventual birth of the New York Police Department, known by New Yorkers as a "standing army." Timothy Wilde, once a bartender with an unfulfilled love for a charitable woman named Mercy Underhill, has accepted a position as a policeman after a horrible fire leaves him with no bar to tend and his face disfigured. Amidst racism, brothels, drugs and murder, Timothy learns there is much more darkness in the city than he ever imagined. When a young girl, Bird, runs into him one night during his rounds, her nightdress covered in blood, with unbelievable stories of a murdered child, his new career becomes even darker.

A strong dislike for his older and more politically-minded brother, Val, Timothy's got an ethical side that can't be undone. Even with Bird, he doesn't have the heart to deliver her to the House of Refuge for orphaned children and instead takes her back to his apartment building where the female proprietor cares for her. As he takes the case to uncover the child murders, which seem to point heavily to a blatant hatred for Irish Catholicism, Timothy's unsure of who to rely on. His brother is of questionable character and the locals don't take any issue with brothels, even if children are an option. It's a gritty underworld that he didn't expect to be immersed in.

The Gods of Gotham is superb with early 1800s elements of New York life and American history, from the combination of race and religious unrest to the Irish "assimilation" into New York and even to the seedy brothels. While Mercy Underhill maintains her own sense of willful independence that at times was shocking, she provides the clear contrast to the city's evil with her ministering of care to the orphans and uncared for children, all the while dreaming of her one-day voyage across the Atlantic to England to escape New York. Each piece of the story was brilliant.

However, I did take issue with the audiobook so let me first encourage you to visit the Audible.com reviews site because I definitely do not represent the majority of the listeners. While I loved the story, I struggled with the audio considerably. In 1845 New York, I anticipated a little more accented English and instead felt the narrator's voice was flat and non-regional, and a good portion of the audio was monotonous, even to the point that there wasn't any variation between the male voices. There was also a distinct lack of emotion for several of Timothy's truly painful moments and with such a vivid story, it's unfair to the characters to be so colorlessly represented. Usually, a narrator keeps a bad story going, but in this case, The Gods of Gotham was thankfully a captivating tale which was the sole reason I was motivated to continue. I do want to mention that there was one bright spot that I loved in audio, which occurred between the newsboys and Timothy when they spoke "flash," a slang dialect of the lower classes in New York. It was extremely unique and interestingly enough, "flash" is also the foundation of several slang words we use today. Other reviews point out that these conversations were a difficult part when reading in print, however I can say the audiobook makes it much, much easier to understand and visualize and I do feel the narrator did a good job here. (For a really cool interview with the author discussing "flash," click here.)

The story and historical elements are fascinating and while it was a bit wordy at the start of the book, it evened out and became an engaging tale which makes me now eagerly await the sequel. At that time, though, I will be reading the printed version versus listening to the audio.

Good Book.

I enjoyed this well put together historical mystery but I thought it was a bit long. Lots of research in the book. Steven Boyer is a great voice.

RichlyTextured Historical Thriller

If you could sum up The Gods of Gotham in three words, what would they be?

I want more!

What did you like best about this story?

The historical setting at the juxtaposition of the formation in 1845 of the NYC police force and the early waves of Irish famine immigration is fascinating. More fascinating are the characters we follow, who provide most of the surprises in this thriller about a killer of child prostitutes. We may know who dunnit before the very likeable protagonist, but we understand why he doesn't get it first and we want to know why this diverse cast of characters behave as they do. The hero has a moral code, refreshing after living in modern America.

Have you listened to any of Steven Boyer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Excellent narrator bring engaging story to life

I like historical fiction and "Gods of Gotham" is a great example of the genre. The characters are well written, the period felt very well research. This is a period I pretty much know nothing about so I can't really judge the accuracy but to me it felt like I could see, hear and smell New York in 1845.

However, the really outstanding thing about this audiobook is the narrator Steven Boyer. The way he is able to change his inflection and accent really makes you feel like you are standing in a room full of Irish and American's, doctors and prostitutes. This was the first book I heard narrated by Boyer but I will definitely see whether there are others that I might be interested in.

gods of Gotham

quite a pleasurable escape to another time. I will seek out other books by this author. Loved it!

For those who enjoyed the alienist

This is a good novel for those who enjoy historical fiction. The story is entertaining and the narrator I found quite enjoyable