Murphy's Law

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Murphy's Law is the captivating first entry of Rhys Bowen’s New York Times best-selling Molly Murphy series.

Molly Murphy always knew she'd end up in trouble, just as her mother predicted. So, when she commits murder in self-defense, she flees her cherished Ireland, under cover of a false identity, for the anonymous shores of late 19th-century America. When she arrives in New York and sees the welcoming promise of freedom in the Statue of Liberty, Molly begins to breathe easier. But when a man is murdered on Ellis Island, a man Molly was seen arguing with, she becomes a prime suspect in the crime.

If she can't clear her name, Molly will be sent back to Ireland where the gallows await, so using her Irish charm and sharp wit, she escapes Ellis Island and sets out to find the wily killer on her own. Pounding the notorious streets of Hell's Kitchen and the Lower East Side, Molly undertakes a desperate mission to clear her name before her deadly past comes back to haunt her new future.

©2001 Rhys Bowen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Murphy's law book1

Was very enjoyable. held ones interest and never became boring. looking forward to book 2

Just ok

I like this author. On the one hand she does push the historical limits of women in that time. On the other hand the heroine is too flighty to enjoy.

Charming

I love Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series, so I was curious to see if I’d like her Molly Murphy series too. It was enjoyable, I’m in for more and thankfully there are lots! Both series are light yet interesting, and the installments are short and enjoyable… an excellent formula for when I just want to be entertained.

They both center around a plucky, adventurous-for-her-times-yet-still-naïve, murder-mystery-solving heroine and the plots remind me a bit of Agatha Christie novels (“the murderer is someone in this room!”). I liked the peripheral characters in this book, loved that it’s set in turn of the century NYC and I especially enjoyed reading about the immigrant's experiences arriving though Ellis Island.

Looking forward to discovering more of Molly’s continuing adventures!

Good Once - Better Twice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'm listening to "Murphy's Law" for the second time and enjoying it more than the first time. Molly's resourcefulness, cleverness, bravery, and determination are a delight. She should be safe, she should find a job at a hat shop but she can't let a criminal get away. Rhys Bowen makes New York City come alive with rich detail and remarkable historical knowledge.

Good book

Enjoyed the development of the character and how her life in America started. Nice way to introduce a new series.

My cup of tea!

I’ve listened to the entire Her Royal Spyness Series and was skeptical how this one would be, but dare I say this first book may be the start of an even better series?? It touches on Rhys’ usual historical fiction, based in NYC when thousands of Europeans were migrating West. I find this whole era to be fascinating as many of us have relatives that went through this. And how she describes the roughness of the streets in that time, etc. Very interesting topic all while throwing in a bit of romance! Def my cup of tea! Looking forward to finishing the next book!

Riveting

I absolutely loved this book. The narrator did an excellent job at epitomizing each character.

Your journey begins now, and boy is a good one!!!

I love this series!!!!!!! The term,"cozy mystery" is not my favorite, but there is really no better way to describe this series, for each book leaves you feeling cozy, warm, and wanting more. I haven't found many that compare!!!

Cozy Mystery

Fun cozy mystery. Spunky heroine. Will more than likely continue with the series. Great for those times when you need to relax from the anxiety brought on by weightier reads.

Good but the Royal Spyness is series better

Nicola Barber’s narration is well done, she has many different accents in this book from Irish to American to a little Italian, and her male voices are also very good. I enjoyed her narration and I think it added to my enjoyment of this book.

Molly Murphy accidentally killed a man after he attacked her it was self-defense but she ran away and ran all the way to America under an assumed name. While waiting to get through Ellis Island another man is murdered and Molly was seen arguing with him hours before his death and becomes a suspect in the murder. Molly decides to investigate and of course things don’t go well.

I did enjoy the descriptions of New York City in this time period (the early 1900’s) how Molly was expecting Americans and found that NY City was really just a bunch of little countries that didn’t mix with each other, when she is out trying to find a job and runs into ladies that make shirts but the boss won’t hire her because she isn’t Italian, and how the Irish all live in one area and the Italians in another and so on and so forth with all the different ethnic groups not wanting anything to do with each other. Also the descriptions of Tammany Hall and the corruption there was interesting too.

This was more of a whodunit than a mystery as Molly tries to find the man she saw the night of the murder, she takes a liking to the good looking police man who seems to be the only one that believes she is innocent. You can guess what happens with them by the end of the book.

This is a good historical cozy with characters you come to like, Bowen is a good author and I liked Molly, but I do like Georgiana from the Royal Spyness series better, however I would pick up another one of these up to see where Molly goes from here.

3 ½ Stars