- Paperback: 374 pages
- Publisher: Soho Press (Sep 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1569474028
- ISBN-13: 978-1569474020
- Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 14.4 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,101,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
“Engaging. . . . The 19th-century local color makes a good mystery even more enjoyable.”—Publishers Weekly
“A hell of a yarn that moves with the velocity of a newspaperman on a hot story.” —Michael Connelly
“Absorbing . . . puts modern-day urban scandals into perspective.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Fabulous.”—The Charlotte Observer
“A superb mystery.”—Mystery News
“Delightful. . . . This is the bawdy, seamy, ripe-for-reform Gotham City no reader would want to live in—The crooks! The corsets!—but any reader would enjoy visiting.”—Detroit Free Press
“A gritty and fascinating glimpse of New York in the late 19th century.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Blaine is a wonderful tour guide of old New York.”—The Washington Post Book World
New York, 1893. Max Greengrass is an ex-pugilist turned space-rater for the New York Herald—he’s paid by the column inch. With no regular salary, Max must hustle for his stories. After a lucky night at the faro table, he nearly trips over his big scoop: four cats, killed and ritually arranged on a Greenwich Village sidewalk. Catricide! Max sells the story and pursues it, from low dives to posh mansions; from a proper, if eccentric, organization of respectable ladies, who are killing stray cats to “save” them; to a bizarre conspiracy of tenement landlords and insurance interests who are getting rich by exploiting the misery of the poorer elements of society.
At the heart of The Midnight Band of Mercy is a story too strange to be true, except most of it is. Based on actual events—actual crimes—that occurred in New York City in 1893, Michael Blaine’s brilliant historical novel re-creates an age when American belief in scientific progress led to the slaughter of innocents.
“A hell of a yarn that moves with the velocity of a newspaperman on a hot story.” —Michael Connelly
“Absorbing . . . puts modern-day urban scandals into perspective.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Fabulous.”—The Charlotte Observer
“A superb mystery.”—Mystery News
“Delightful. . . . This is the bawdy, seamy, ripe-for-reform Gotham City no reader would want to live in—The crooks! The corsets!—but any reader would enjoy visiting.”—Detroit Free Press
“A gritty and fascinating glimpse of New York in the late 19th century.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Blaine is a wonderful tour guide of old New York.”—The Washington Post Book World
New York, 1893. Max Greengrass is an ex-pugilist turned space-rater for the New York Herald—he’s paid by the column inch. With no regular salary, Max must hustle for his stories. After a lucky night at the faro table, he nearly trips over his big scoop: four cats, killed and ritually arranged on a Greenwich Village sidewalk. Catricide! Max sells the story and pursues it, from low dives to posh mansions; from a proper, if eccentric, organization of respectable ladies, who are killing stray cats to “save” them; to a bizarre conspiracy of tenement landlords and insurance interests who are getting rich by exploiting the misery of the poorer elements of society.
At the heart of The Midnight Band of Mercy is a story too strange to be true, except most of it is. Based on actual events—actual crimes—that occurred in New York City in 1893, Michael Blaine’s brilliant historical novel re-creates an age when American belief in scientific progress led to the slaughter of innocents.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A great 1890's period mystery
4 Nov 2004
Format:Hardcover
The Midnight Band of Mercy is an exceptional historical mystery based in New York City at the end of the nineteenth century. A self-righteous group of women has taken it upon themselves to put an end to the cat over-population problem in the city which makes good headlines for a Jewish reporter named Greengrass. But the murder of a source leads Greengrass to a far reaching conspiracy involving politicians, power brokers, and the Catholic Church. Life in the big city is meticulously detailed to the point of including musical lyrics, language nuances, and overall succeeds in creating a gritty, realistic portrait of the metropolis. But the most noteworthy feature of the novel is the characters and the lives they lead. It is a well-researched and entertaining novel, one that is well worth the read.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
The Midnight Band of Mercy is a wonderful historical novel.
18 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover
The Midnight Band of Mercy is a wonderful historical novel. Michael Blaine has done deep research into the mind set of the time, not just the manners and clothes, though he gets those details just right, too. His hero, the streetwise Max Greengrass, is admirable, just a little corrupt, smart and capable of self-decpetion when it suits him. In short, a complex human being. When he picks up the thread of his story, four cats killed in cold blood, right on the first page, the writer has you hooked. There is nothing simplistic here. You find yourself admiring some of the more evil characters and loathing some of the most high-minded. There are too many colorful characters to list here, but a few include the old reporter, Biddle, the cantankerous editor, Parnell, the larger than life lawyer, Howe, as well as Max's sister, the vaudevillian, Faye, who is addicted to Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, some kind of narcotic. This novel is fun and frightening and funny all at the same time. It's definitely for anybody who loves fine historical novels.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
My opinion
18 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover
If you're looking for a good read that doesn't insult your intelligence, and you like great historical fiction, The Midnight Band of Mercy will fill the bill. I was really immersed in this book. The research is great. You feel as if you're really living in New York in 1893. And the story just carries you along. I found myself identifying with the young reporter, Max Greengrass, who is literally writing for his life. When he gets on the trail of a hot story, some weird upper class ladies are killing cats, you're right there with him. The thing I liked the most was that the characters aren't stick figures, they're like living, breathing human beings, warts and all. The inside view of a nineteenth century newspaper was fascinating. There's a great fire scene and the action really builds up by the end. After I put this book down, I kept thinking about it. You won't forget it.
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