Miss Maddie’s Murder

(Book Blurb)

In the spring of 1859, a beautiful, young, society woman is bludgeoned to death in the churchyard of St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. It is a shocking murder, even for crime-ridden New York. Investigating police officer Michael O’Shea soon discovers that Miss Maddie Van Eyck’s social position and family wealth didn’t protect her from a life of turmoil and abuse.

Leads regarding suspects come from many sources, including the Van Eyck’s maid, their elderly neighbor, and O’Shea’s love interest, as well as a treasure trove of diary entries and letters hidden in Maddie’s room. The issues of sexual identity, mental illness, and abortion rights color the investigation. From early interviews of the innocent through later suspect interrogations, culminating in a conviction and hanging, the police investigation and legal process are affected by the influence of Tammany Hall, the Union Club elite, and the gangs of New York.

Setting the context of Maddie’s life and her murder investigation, Miss Maddie’s Murder depicts the patriarchy, classism, hypocrisy, and corruption that characterized pre-Civil War New York. Newspaper columns from two very different dailies - The New York Herald and The New York Tribune - appear throughout the book, and add a social media perspective to the story. The political and social context of the investigation prompts questioning of whether justice was truly served, a question that is addressed as well as raised in Miss Maddie’s Murder.