The Gods of Gotham
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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, saving every dollar and shilling in hopes of winning the girl
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, saving every dollar and shilling in hopes of winning 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 untested "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 returning from his rounds, heartsick and defeated, Timothy runs into a little slip of a girl—a girl not more than ten 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.
Baker & Taylor
Joining the newly formed NYPD at the height of Ireland's 19th-century potato famine, Timothy reluctantly assumes his duties in a notorious slum district, where in the middle of the night he hears a little girl's claim that dozens of bodies have been buried in a local forest. 60,000 first printing.
Baker
& Taylor
Joining the newly formed NYPD in 1845, Timothy reluctantly assumes his duties near the notorious Five Points slum, where in the middle of the night he hears a little girl's claim that dozens of bodies have been buried in a local forest.
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Add a CommentThis is a dark story. But it happens in what was a dark time. And through Faye’s writing you feel like you really, at least start to, understand what it was like to live at that time. The setting is very realistically brought to life. I like the use of flash (dictionary provided) which is a street language that not everyone understood. It was interesting to learn some of the words and it added something to the realism of the dialogue. There are a host of interesting characters that are complex and well thought out. And with all the different political and personal motives and goals going on you are kept guessing as to how the mystery is going to resolve. The history of the time is interesting to read about and I like the way Timothy turns from a copper star walking a beat into a detective solving crimes by the end of the book. As I’ve mentioned it is a bit of a dark story but without belittling the bleakness of the times or the hardships of the people Faye manages to put some hope in the story too so it does not leave the reader depressed. The ending does leave the possibility that we will be hearing about Timothy Wilde in the future. Which I will be looking forward to.
I read the first chapter and it didn't engage me. Too drawn out. I couldn't bring myself to read the rest of the book, so this may not be fair to the rest of the book.
finish
It ain't Doctorow or even Caleb Carr, but it's a good pre-Tammany Hall NYPD page turner. It almost reads like a film treatment -- although I learned after finishing the book that the BBC got there first with its new "Coppers" TV series. You get the feeling Faye intended readers to interpret her references to 19th Century pop culture through a 21st Century lens, and keeping that in mind, the breezy historical scenes can be quite entertaining.