I'm happy to be joining #BerkleyMystery in celebrating the May 1 release of 

MURDER ON UNION SQUARE

Book 21 in the Gaslight Mysteries

by Victoria Thompson

When a murder hits close to home, Frank finds himself in an unusual position--the prime suspect in the latest installment of the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series...

Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and looking to make their family official by adopting Catherine, the child whom Sarah rescued and has been raising as her daughter. The process seems fairly straightforward, but at the last minute, the newlyweds discover that Parnell Vaughn, Catherine's legal father, has a claim on the child, and his grasping fiancée is demanding a financial settlement to relinquish parental rights. Even though exchanging money for a child is illegal, Frank and Sarah's love for Catherine drives them to comply. 

When Frank returns with the money and finds Vaughn beaten to death, all evidence points to Frank as the culprit. A not-quite-famous actor with modest means, Vaughn seems an unlikely candidate for murder, particularly such a violent crime of passion. But Frank soon uncovers real-life intrigue as dramatic as any that appears on stage. 

Sarah and Frank enlist those closest to them to help hunt for Vaughn's killer as Frank's own life--and the future of their family--hang in the balance.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Meringue Pie!

By Victoria Thompson

On May 1, the 21^st book in the Gaslight Mystery Series, Murder on Union Square, comes out.  People often ask me where I get the ideas for my books, and this one was really easy:  a fan wrote me a letter explaining that I was about to make a terrible mistake!  In a previous book (Murder in Chelsea), my hero and heroine, Frank and Sarah, became engaged and expressed a desire to adopt the little girl Sarah had rescued. Both of the child’s parents were dead by the end of that book, so I thought the way was clear, but my fan, an attorney in New York City, explained to me that the way wasn’t clear at all!  You see, the child’s mother was married to a ne’er do well actor named Parnell Vaughn, and even though everyone agreed there was no possibility that he was the child’s father, the law considers a woman’s husband to be the father of her children, no matter how unlikely (or impossible!) that might be.

Because the child’s legal father was still alive, Frank and Sarah couldn’t adopt the child without Vaughn’s permission. How annoying for Frank and Sarah, but how delightful for a mystery writer who needed a victim for her latest mystery! If Vaughn were to suddenly turn up dead, Frank and Sarah could adopt the child with no problem! And naturally he does turn up dead. But who would have a better motive for killing him than they would? Which is exactly what the police think, so they arrest Frank.

 

Frank and Sarah must find the real killer and clear Frank’s name, which they do, of course. (I hope I didn’t spoil it for you!) I do like making the best of things, so when life (or in this case, a fan) handed me the lemons that could have spoiled my ideas, I managed to make everything come out right—for Frank and Sarah, at least!

Victoria Thompson is the bestselling author of the Edgar ® and Agatha Award nominated Gaslight Mystery Series and the Counterfeit Lady Series. Her latest books are Murder on Union Square and City of Lies, both from Berkley. She currently teaches in the Master’s Degree program for writing popular fiction at Seton Hill University. She lives in Illinois with her husband and a very spoiled little dog.

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 

clicking on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page.