Fresh Meat: Hush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys Bowen

Hush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys BowenHush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys Bowen is the eleventh book in the Molly Murphy mystery series (available March 13, 2012).

My first introduction to Rhys Bowen came when I began reading her delightfully entertaining series featuring Constable Evan Evans and the sleepy Welsh village of Llanfair. My personal favorite? Evan Can Wait. Then along came the Mollie Murphy series set at the dawn of the 1900s, which brought to life the strong willed and energetic Molly, who, in the first book of the series, Murphy’s Law, is forced, under a murderous cloud, to leave her native Ireland using a false identity, only to run smack into murder on Ellis Island just on the edge of New York City, where she hopes to make a home and build a life for herself. Well, Molly gets out of that scrape, and meets a handsome Irish American police captain in the bargain.

With a need to support herself and her greatest asset an insatiable curiosity Molly decides on a career as a private investigator, an unusual profession for a young single women at the turn of the previous century. But Molly manages to attract clients and build a solidly professional reputation. And of course there is always a need to consult with the handsome police captain, Daniel Sullivan in the process. And so we go merrily along until book number ten of the series. In Bless the Bride, Molly and Daniel are to wed, and Molly has promised to give up her private investigator business and settle in the domestic life of wife, and perhaps some day, mother.

I was not alone in fretting that we might never again see the spirited Molly flitting around the streets of old New York catching crooks and murders alike. The along came Hush Now Don’t You Cry, book eleven.

The newly wedded Molly Sullivan and her husband Daniel arrive at the Newport estate of New York City Alderman Brian Hannan for a restful and romantic honeymoon. The Alderman’s housekeeper settles them in the guest cottage but not before Molly sees what can only be the ghost of a child in a window of the main house. Of course her husband scoffs at the thought and instantly derails any thought of mystery or Molly’s previous profession. Here’s a conversation between the two as they stroll the streets of Newport:

“We should go on a boat trip,” Daniel said, again as if reading my thoughts. “Do you feel up to walking into town and seeing what we can find there?”

“I’m no little delicate flower.” I looked up at him, smiling. “I walk miles every day when I’m following someone in the pursuit of my profession.”

Walked,” Daniel said. “Past tense, remember. Now you will have no need to wear out your shoe leather, and you can take a pleasant troll around Washington Square instead.”

“Before I go back to my embroidery?”

My giving up my profession as a detective had been a bone of contention between us for a long time. I had finally come to realize that Daniel not only worried about my safety, but also that it could compromise his own position with the police force. Since he was to be the breadwinner, I had agreed that I would take no more cases.

As yet I hadn’t had time to see how I would handle boredom and domesticity. We’d just have to see.

And how does it all end? Suffice it to say that the Alderman’s family descends on the main house; poor Daniel gets sick; there are several dark and nasty Hannan family secrets to be uncovered and more than one murder to solve. Naturally Molly falls back into her old sleuthing ways and we hope she can accomplish all she needs to without serious damage to her marriage.

To discover the how of it all, you will have to read (and thoroughly enjoy) Hush Now Don’t You Cry. Then we can all wait for book twelve.


Terrie Farley Moran’s recent collection of short stories, THE AWARENESS and other deadly tales, is currently available in e-format for the Nook and the Kindle. Terrie blogs at Women of Mystery.

Read all Terrie Farley Moran’s posts on Criminal Element.