I love to read books about places I like to visit, and NYC is definitely one of them. Some of the early history of NY and the beginning of a police force of "copper stars" was interesting, but the book never really grabbed me. I didn't find that Timothy was a hero I could cheer for, but his brother Val was rather odd, intriguing, and didn't get nearly enough 'screen-time'. Timothy sets about trying to solve a serial crime, but I don't think the reader was given enough clues along the way to possibly piece together the conclusions Tim reaches, so I was left wanting.

Although this book has been highly recommended by others, I found it slow going in several chapters. The first half of the book was intriguing about life in the mid 1800’s in New York, along with usage of “flash” terminology. However, I started to lose interest during the second half of the book and found myself skimming to the end rather than virtually giving up on it entirely.

Timothy Wilde is a “copper star” in the slums of New York in 1845. And he’s determined to find the serial killer who’s murdering children and burying them in a field. This book is rich in history...it’s moves fluidly from start to finish with characters who were foreign to me simply because of the time period. Lyndsay Faye does a great job of bringing these characters to life using vivid descriptions and language. The ending of the book wraps up the story quite nicely. I’m left to wonder about this time period, what it must have been like to live from hand to mouth in a city where having nothing meant fighting for survival. Put murder and mystery into the story and you definitely have a book that you can’t put down.

Kudos to authors who can blend historical elements with fictional characters to tell a great story. The creation of the first New York City Police Department was a great backdrop and the journey of the lead character Timothy Wilde was gripping.

This turned out to be one of the best historical history books I have read in a long time. It is compared to the movie "Gangs of New York", but after the first chapter, this book turns direction to the creation of the first detective of the new New York Police Dept. One of the best reads of the year for me.

I received this audiobook for review from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own. This story takes place in New York City during the time of the Irish Potato Famine, which sends many Irish people abroad in search of a better life. Timothy Wilde has had a hard life. When he was just a youngster, his parents were killed in a fire that ravaged their home and barn. Only he and his older brother, Valentine, survived. Valentine became a pseudo-father to his younger brother and took care of him, and Timothy grew up to be a bartender. It was an honest job for pretty good pay, and he saved every dime he earned so that he could offer something to the apple of his eye, Mercy Underhill. And then, the unthinkable happens: Another fire destroys the bar where he works, as well as his home. Not only have all of his savings been melted in the fire, but his face is also scarred by burns. His dreams have now been destroyed, and he has nothing. Valentine arranges a job for Timothy as a "Copper Star" in the newly-founded police force. Timothy rents a room above a bakery owned by a widow, Mrs. Boehm. A young ten year-old girl, Bird Daley, literally runs into Timothy one evening and she is covered in blood. Rather than take her to the police, Timothy takes her back to Mrs. Boehm's place. The girl has a penchant for lying, and she tells Timothy one falsehood after another. Because of Bird, he is thrown into the city's largest homicide case: Kinchin mabs (aka child prostitutes) are being killed and mutilated, with large crosses cut into their chests. Because of her volunteer work with the poor, Mercy Underhill is drawn into the investigation to identify a victim. Little does Timothy realize that Mercy is the key to solving these unspeakable crimes. This was a really good historical mystery! Faye is a new-to-me author, and Timothy Wilde is just such a fantastic character! He has grown up in the school of hard knocks, and he keeps on keepin' on. He is absolutely brilliant and was made for detective work. After the second fire forced him to find a new place to live, he searched out just the right one. Living above the bakery would ensure that he would be kept well-nourished with day-old bread, even if money was tight. In the winter, the heat from the ovens would warm his room without the need for a fire. He is a natural! I love a mystery that can keep me guessing, and Faye did that for me. With a few shocking revelations, she held my interest right until the end of the story. Faye is a fascinating story-teller, weaving in just the right amount of historical detail. There was a little more political talk than I cared for, but still very enjoyable. I will definitely look into her backlist while I await the next installment in the Timothy Wilde series. Steven Boyer is a new-to-me narrator, and I just loved his performance! His voice was clear and pleasant to the ears, with the right amount of emotion. I wish he would be more liberal with his accents, as his voice for German Mrs. Boehm is, by far, my favourite! Some narrators doing opposite-gender voices sound awkward, but not so with Boyer! He sounds very authentic. MY RATING: 4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR list! Thanks to Penguin Audio for the review copy!

It is 1845 and the potato famine has struck Ireland. Immigrants are coming to America in droves and most of them arrive in New York City. Overpopulation has caused slums to form, gangs to rule, disease to rage unchecked and of course, corruption and crime to run rampant. The year 1845 also sees the formation of the first NYPD. Giving the copper star to political friends, known “enforcers” and some questionable characters is the norm and intimidation rather than police legwork appears to be the way to halt the criminals. Timothy Wilde is the most reluctant of the “coppers” being given the job by his brother’s (questionable) good graces after a fire destroys everything he owns as well as half his face. He is walking home during his first week on the job when a waif of a girl runs headlong into his legs. Street urchins, homeless orphans and child prostitutes are the norm for the Sixth Ward he patrols and Timothy knows he should take her to “The Home”. Something about her tugs at him and instead he takes her to his home. Not knowing this would be the beginning of his first real investigation Timothy trips through the muck and the mud, the haves, the have-nots and the have-nothings of New York and finds he is a good “copper” after all. Turn the first page of this book and you step back into the New York of 1845. Ms. Faye researches her book so thoroughly and writes so convincingly you can almost smell the smells and feel the grit as the story moves along. She transports the reader back to a time when Manhattan was divided by colour and nationality, primarily made up of slums, with a few well-to-doers living high and farmland greenery only a carriage ride away. Drawing on her meticulous research into the history of her newly adopted city of residence, Ms Faye produces a book of accurate historical fiction that reads like a thriller.

I bought this book on a whim. It was in an Indigo email that I received and Im so glad I did. I love historical fiction and this one definately does not disapoint. It is very well written and the characters are fantastic. "Timothy Wilde" is a character that I will hang on to for a long time.... I cant wait for the sequel :-)

Check out my review of Faye's work on my blog: http://8bookcases.blogspot.ca/2012/04/gods-of-gotham-by-lyndsay-faye.html

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye's is newly released novel today. And it's definitely one you want to get your hands on! "On the night of August 21, 1845, one of the children escaped." I was captured from that opening line - hook line and sinker. History and mystery combined is a sure bet for me and Faye did not disappoint. 1845 is a turning point in the history of New York City. Thousands of immigrants fleeing from the potato famine in Ireland settle in the city and the first formal police force is formed. That line? It's from a report written by 'copper star' Timothy Wilde, a policeman in the Sixth Ward - home to the notorious Five Points and more. Wilde has been hired on based on the recommendation of his bigger than life brother, Valentine. And also on his knowledge of 'flash'. " Flash, or flash-patter, is the curious dialect spoken by foisters, panel thieves, bruisers, dice burners, confidence men, street rats, news hawkers, addicts, and Valentine.....It's not a language, exactly - it's more like a code." Faye provides us with a mini lexicon in the beginning of the book, based on George Washington Matsell's actual book from 1859. (Take the Penguin 'Flash" quiz here.)Matsell is also a character in the book. I loved the amount of history and detail that Lyndsay Faye has woven into her book. It brought the time period to life - the political machinations, the religious unrest, the racial prejudice and the social fabric of the time provided a engrossing backdrop for a delicious plot. Faye's prose paint vivid pictures: (It's a long passage but especially good!) "If there's a wider street on earth than Broadway, a street more roiling, a street with a more dizzying pendulum swing between starving opium fiends with the rags rotting off of them and ladies in walking gowns bedecked like small steamships, I can't imagine it nor do I want to. Colored footmen sitting atop phaetons and wearing summer straw hats and pale green linen coats whirred past me that morning, one nearly colliding with a Jewess selling ribbons from a wide hinged box hung around her neck. Ice delivery men from the Knickerbocker Company, shoulders knotted with painful-seeming muscles, strained with iron tongs to hoist frozen blocks onto carts and then wheeled their cargo into the opulent hotels before the guests awoke. And weaving in and out, mud-crusted and randy and miraculously nimble, trotted the speckled pigs, rubbery snouts nuzzling the trampled beet leaves. Everything begrimed but the storefront window panes, everything for sale but the cobblestones, everyone pulsing with energy but never meeting your eye" But what really grabbed me were the characters. Timothy's life changes radically over the course of the book. From a bartender saving his coins, dreaming of marriage and a small piece of land to being consumed with solving the child murder cases that have fallen in his lap - and finding out he's very good at it. "I wanted to know how they came to be there like very little else I've ever wanted, and I'd never felt so about a puzzle before....this was a single goal, a mountain to climb and see the top with your own eyes, and I needed to know." The relationship between Timothy and his brother Valentine is a mystery to be solved as well. I loved the cast of eclectic supporting characters - especially Mr. Piest and George Matsell. Lyndsay Faye has combined a great mystery with a fascinating look at history and engaging characters, all of which kept me up late, rapidly turning 'just one more page'. I truly hope that that Faye has plans to continue on with these characters. **Just found in an interview with Kirkus reviews...."The first draft of the sequel is finished, actually. It’s the winter of 1846, about six months later, and in it I merrily continue to do terrible, terrible things to Tim and Val." Fans of Caleb Carr's The Alienist would enjoy this book. And author Michael Connelly says "A wonderful book. Lyndsay Faye's command of historical detail is remarkable and her knowledge of hum"A wonderful book. Lyndsay Faye's command of historical detail is remarkable and her knowledge of human character even more so. I bought into this world in the opening pages and never once had the desire to leave. It's a great read." Five stars for me!