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Erica Donato #5
Brooklyn Legacies
The search for a lost portrait of Brooklyn's own genius Walt Whitman sends urban historian and curator of mysteries Dr. Erica Donato into Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood of quaint and charming streets, family names out of history, and spectacular views of the harbor and the world-famous bridge. New York's first suburb has long weathered political battles about neighborhood preservation and destruction. Is a new one shaping up? Erica meets an idol, fiery community activist Louisa Gibbs, now locked in a dispute with the Watch Tower Society. One of Brooklyn's biggest landowners, the Jehovah's Witnesses are selling off their holdings. Then at a glittering party, Erica meets the threatening Prinzig clan who are trying to buy the Witness's property adjoining Louisa's historic home. The discovery of the Society's Daniel Towns' body in the Witnesses' underground tunnels reignites old conflicts. Erica learns Louisa has made bitter enemies in her time while she becomes steadily better acquainted with a collection of characters young and old, sane and not-so-sane, living and dead. They all carry bitter secrets and old enmities. The beautiful setting only hides them. Can Erica use her research expertise to expose a killer?
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
224 pages, Paperback
Published December 3, 2019
About the author
Triss Stein
13 books24 followersTriss Stein is a small-town girl who has spent most of her adult life living and working in New York City. This gives her the useful double vision of a stranger and a resident which she uses to write mysteries about Brooklyn, her ever-fascinating, ever-changing, ever-challenging adopted home. Brooklyn Graves is the second Erica Donato mystery, following Brooklyn Bones.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 16, 2019
4.5 stars
December 5, 2019
I’ve thought for quite some time that fiction authors make great tour guides. I’ve even suggested (okay, begged) an author or two to create an actual, physical tour of the places of which they write. Well, Triss Stein, with her Erica Donato series set in Brooklyn, is one of the best tour guides I read. She brings Brooklyn and its history alive to readers, while Erica, a present-day historian, works on solving historical and murder mysteries. Each book in the series deals with a different area and historical period of Brooklyn, so I keep adding to my knowledge of this fascinating place. In Book #5, Brooklyn Legacies, it’s Brooklyn Heights, New York’s first suburb and first historic district, that gets the attention and storyline, pitting beliefs and traditions and motivations against one another of people deeply entrenched in the community. This story once again has me googling Brooklyn history and looking up further information on Brooklyn Heights. Reading Triss Stein’s Brooklyn series is for sure taking a leap down the rabbit hole, but it’s a rabbit hole I delightfully pursue.
So, at this juncture in the series, Erica is now Dr. Donato, having completed her PhD in urban history studies, and she works at the Brooklyn Art Museum, which affords her a financial security she hasn’t had in ages. Her teenage daughter Chris is a responsible, independent young woman whom Erica has raised by herself. And, Erica’s relationship with Joe is progressing nicely. So, life is going well, and Erica is doing the work she spent so much time studying for. When she takes on a project to find out more about a missing Walt Whitman plaque, it takes her to Brooklyn Heights, a location where posh old generational homes are in danger from modern development. Although it is the plaque that first takes Erica to this grand old neighborhood, there is another interest prodding her research. A book editor has suggested that Erica write a book about Brooklyn, or a piece of Brooklyn, and Erica thinks that Brooklyn Heights would make a fascinating subject.
Louisa Gibbs is a long-time resident and preservation activist in the Brooklyn Heights community, and her devotion to her aging family home, a Victorian brownstone, is often at odds with her Jehovah Witness (Watch Tower Society) neighbors. The Watch Tower Society made its headquarters in Brooklyn Heights starting in 1909, so it’s presence and influence was well-felt there, too, but the organization had recently started selling off its property to relocate to upper state New York. Erica meets Louisa as she is having a property line dispute with one of the powerful leaders of the Jehovah Witnesses who has offices in the building next door to Louisa’s house. Louisa’s age doesn’t prevent her from being a powerful force herself, and Erica realizes that getting to know Louisa and her family’s history in Brooklyn Heights, plus what Louisa knows about all the other history of it, would be a tremendous boon to Erica’s research and aid in settling on a focus in her writing. As Erica gets to know Louisa better, she feels protective towards this elderly woman who is a living part of history, although Louisa doesn’t feel the need for protection, wanting to fight her own battles. But, with the entrance of real estate developers wanting Louisa out, too, Louisa needs Erica’s research and help.
The secrecy of the Jehovah Witnesses is indicative of the secretive atmosphere of Brooklyn Heights itself. People know more than they are telling, and the information being withheld can be crucial to solving a murder of a Jehovah witness leader. As is so often the case, the past connects to the present and the reasons for the murder. Even the people seem to appear from the shadows at times, as Erica explores the neighborhood and runs into characters who seem to offer a tidbit of information and then disappear. Witches and homeless and restoration experts and religious and pillars of the community and eager new business proprietors co-mingle in an atmosphere of addressing past grievances and moving forward. Can there be one without the other? The murder seems to suggest not. And, someone is writing letters to scare those involved, including Erica. Erica is trying to keep her “real” life going while delving into the mysteries of the past, but it’s taking a toll, and her focus is becoming myopic in scope. Brooklyn Heights is quite literally keeping her up nights, and her agreement to work with the police on gathering information helpful to their murder investigation isn’t making things any easier. It’s fortunate Erica is a historian because it’s going to take a lot of digging into the past to unmask a killer in the present.
Mystery with history is my favorite mystery/crime reading, and Triss Stein’s Erica Donato series is one not to be missed by fans with this reading preference. Brooklyn Legacies carries on the astute research, fascinating characters, and superb writing that Stein has achieved in all the books in this series. I can’t wait to learn more about Brooklyn in the next book, which I hope is soon.
I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Brooklyn Legacies from the author. This review is based entirely on my honest reflections and opinions.
So, at this juncture in the series, Erica is now Dr. Donato, having completed her PhD in urban history studies, and she works at the Brooklyn Art Museum, which affords her a financial security she hasn’t had in ages. Her teenage daughter Chris is a responsible, independent young woman whom Erica has raised by herself. And, Erica’s relationship with Joe is progressing nicely. So, life is going well, and Erica is doing the work she spent so much time studying for. When she takes on a project to find out more about a missing Walt Whitman plaque, it takes her to Brooklyn Heights, a location where posh old generational homes are in danger from modern development. Although it is the plaque that first takes Erica to this grand old neighborhood, there is another interest prodding her research. A book editor has suggested that Erica write a book about Brooklyn, or a piece of Brooklyn, and Erica thinks that Brooklyn Heights would make a fascinating subject.
Louisa Gibbs is a long-time resident and preservation activist in the Brooklyn Heights community, and her devotion to her aging family home, a Victorian brownstone, is often at odds with her Jehovah Witness (Watch Tower Society) neighbors. The Watch Tower Society made its headquarters in Brooklyn Heights starting in 1909, so it’s presence and influence was well-felt there, too, but the organization had recently started selling off its property to relocate to upper state New York. Erica meets Louisa as she is having a property line dispute with one of the powerful leaders of the Jehovah Witnesses who has offices in the building next door to Louisa’s house. Louisa’s age doesn’t prevent her from being a powerful force herself, and Erica realizes that getting to know Louisa and her family’s history in Brooklyn Heights, plus what Louisa knows about all the other history of it, would be a tremendous boon to Erica’s research and aid in settling on a focus in her writing. As Erica gets to know Louisa better, she feels protective towards this elderly woman who is a living part of history, although Louisa doesn’t feel the need for protection, wanting to fight her own battles. But, with the entrance of real estate developers wanting Louisa out, too, Louisa needs Erica’s research and help.
The secrecy of the Jehovah Witnesses is indicative of the secretive atmosphere of Brooklyn Heights itself. People know more than they are telling, and the information being withheld can be crucial to solving a murder of a Jehovah witness leader. As is so often the case, the past connects to the present and the reasons for the murder. Even the people seem to appear from the shadows at times, as Erica explores the neighborhood and runs into characters who seem to offer a tidbit of information and then disappear. Witches and homeless and restoration experts and religious and pillars of the community and eager new business proprietors co-mingle in an atmosphere of addressing past grievances and moving forward. Can there be one without the other? The murder seems to suggest not. And, someone is writing letters to scare those involved, including Erica. Erica is trying to keep her “real” life going while delving into the mysteries of the past, but it’s taking a toll, and her focus is becoming myopic in scope. Brooklyn Heights is quite literally keeping her up nights, and her agreement to work with the police on gathering information helpful to their murder investigation isn’t making things any easier. It’s fortunate Erica is a historian because it’s going to take a lot of digging into the past to unmask a killer in the present.
Mystery with history is my favorite mystery/crime reading, and Triss Stein’s Erica Donato series is one not to be missed by fans with this reading preference. Brooklyn Legacies carries on the astute research, fascinating characters, and superb writing that Stein has achieved in all the books in this series. I can’t wait to learn more about Brooklyn in the next book, which I hope is soon.
I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Brooklyn Legacies from the author. This review is based entirely on my honest reflections and opinions.
December 8, 2019
Looking for a plaque related to Walt Whitman leads Dr. Erica Donato to Brooklyn Heights. As an historian, she's well equipped to document and archival research. As a perennially curious person, she's sidetracked into investigating the antagonistic relationship between an elderly community activist and the head of the largest property owner In The Heights, the Jehovah Witnesses. Combining history with complex and interesting mysteries, Stein has written an underrated series that can be read as stand alones without any loss of enjoyment. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review .
December 12, 2019
It takes me forever to read print these days, so the time that it takes me to read a print book is not a mark of my enjoyment (Hell for a book loving librarian!)
I would love to grow up to be Erica Donato. Instead I read the series focused on Brooklyn and her life there. History and the intersection of differing cultures -- what a glorious subject to study!
I would love to grow up to be Erica Donato. Instead I read the series focused on Brooklyn and her life there. History and the intersection of differing cultures -- what a glorious subject to study!
September 8, 2020
I couldn't finish the book. I read about 70% of it but I was bored.
The plot wanders and the characters didn't seem real. I lived in
Brooklyn for a while and interned in the museum. This was years
ago, so maybe that is why nothing rang true to me. I kept waiting
for something interesting to happen but finally I gave up.
The plot wanders and the characters didn't seem real. I lived in
Brooklyn for a while and interned in the museum. This was years
ago, so maybe that is why nothing rang true to me. I kept waiting
for something interesting to happen but finally I gave up.
April 5, 2022
The fifth in a series of mystery novels starring urban historian Erica Donato, who uses her research skills to solve crimes in modern-day Brooklyn that inevitably have a connection to older secrets.
In this particular outing, Erica meets a now-retired activist who was instrumental in getting Brooklyn Heights declared a historic district. Brooklyn Heights certainly deserves the title; it's a beautiful neighborhood directly on the East River, with stunning views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, full of old brownstones and little pocket streets and charming stores that sell expensive doodads. It also, strangely, is home to the world headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses, complete with a massive "Kingdom Hall" with WATCHTOWER in red neon on its roof (or, at least, it was; they moved out about five years ago). Erica's new friend and the Jehovah's Witnesses are unsurprisingly not allies; they've quarreled for years over issues like property lines, development, and gentrification. But when fires that seem to be arson break out and people begin dying, could the crotchety old woman have gone too far in defending her beloved neighborhood? Is it the evasive leaders of a strange religion? Or is it someone else entirely?
Murder mysteries? In Brooklyn? About NYC history? Obviously this series is made for me.
Or so I thought.
Unfortunately, the execution does not live up to the promise. Stein's writing – bizarrely for a series that's entirely sold by its location-porn – has absolutely no sense of place. If you changed a name here and there, this could be any city in the world. And you wouldn't have to change many names, because Stein uses them as rarely as she can. Characters meet for dinner "at an old-school downtown Italian restaurant. No kale. No gluten-free pasta. Waiters in tuxedos. Lots of red sauce and Parm, like my elderly mother-in-law used to make." They exchange secrets at "a small cafe on a Heights side street". They eat at "one of our many local fancy burger restaurants." Every place in the book is like this; there's no individuality, no specifics, no distinguishing details. Reading it feels like visiting a TV studio lot, full of generic sets that can play the background in any sitcom that needs them.
I was also a bit puzzled by the choice of using the Jehovah's Witnesses to play the role of scary, mysterious cult. Not that I want to defend the organization – I certainly have my own problems with their beliefs – but the characters all act as though it's the equivalent of Heaven's Gate or the Manson family, something dangerous and new and unfamiliar, rather than a fairly standard presence in most American cities. And yet Stein never actually brings up any of the actual weird traits of Jehovah's Witnesses, like their refusal to celebrate birthdays or to get blood transfusions (the second is a particularly glaring absence, since the plot ultimately turns out to revolve around a refusal to provide medical care). They're just here to play the role of generic "cult", and could easily have been switched out for any number of other religions without changing the plot.
Overall, it's not a bad book, but it's a boring, flat one. And somehow I'm still tempted to read the others in the series, just because it should be so good.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
In this particular outing, Erica meets a now-retired activist who was instrumental in getting Brooklyn Heights declared a historic district. Brooklyn Heights certainly deserves the title; it's a beautiful neighborhood directly on the East River, with stunning views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, full of old brownstones and little pocket streets and charming stores that sell expensive doodads. It also, strangely, is home to the world headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses, complete with a massive "Kingdom Hall" with WATCHTOWER in red neon on its roof (or, at least, it was; they moved out about five years ago). Erica's new friend and the Jehovah's Witnesses are unsurprisingly not allies; they've quarreled for years over issues like property lines, development, and gentrification. But when fires that seem to be arson break out and people begin dying, could the crotchety old woman have gone too far in defending her beloved neighborhood? Is it the evasive leaders of a strange religion? Or is it someone else entirely?
Murder mysteries? In Brooklyn? About NYC history? Obviously this series is made for me.
Or so I thought.
Unfortunately, the execution does not live up to the promise. Stein's writing – bizarrely for a series that's entirely sold by its location-porn – has absolutely no sense of place. If you changed a name here and there, this could be any city in the world. And you wouldn't have to change many names, because Stein uses them as rarely as she can. Characters meet for dinner "at an old-school downtown Italian restaurant. No kale. No gluten-free pasta. Waiters in tuxedos. Lots of red sauce and Parm, like my elderly mother-in-law used to make." They exchange secrets at "a small cafe on a Heights side street". They eat at "one of our many local fancy burger restaurants." Every place in the book is like this; there's no individuality, no specifics, no distinguishing details. Reading it feels like visiting a TV studio lot, full of generic sets that can play the background in any sitcom that needs them.
I was also a bit puzzled by the choice of using the Jehovah's Witnesses to play the role of scary, mysterious cult. Not that I want to defend the organization – I certainly have my own problems with their beliefs – but the characters all act as though it's the equivalent of Heaven's Gate or the Manson family, something dangerous and new and unfamiliar, rather than a fairly standard presence in most American cities. And yet Stein never actually brings up any of the actual weird traits of Jehovah's Witnesses, like their refusal to celebrate birthdays or to get blood transfusions (the second is a particularly glaring absence, since the plot ultimately turns out to revolve around a refusal to provide medical care). They're just here to play the role of generic "cult", and could easily have been switched out for any number of other religions without changing the plot.
Overall, it's not a bad book, but it's a boring, flat one. And somehow I'm still tempted to read the others in the series, just because it should be so good.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
December 1, 2019
In Book 5 Erica Donato has earned her PhD and is working full time at the Brooklyn Art Museum. Her full time job has given her a greater sense of independence, and her family life has been enhanced as her relationship with Joe is moving forward. Her daughter, Chris, now a teenager, could not be happier.
A historian's job is to uncover the past, give it authenticity, while making it relevant to today. Stein has created an engaging protagonist, one who has the personality and skills to bring the past Brooklyn into vibrant life. Brooklyn Legacies is set in Brooklyn Heights, New York City's first suburb which became it's first historical district. This affluent neighborhood was home to the religious organization of Jehovah;s Witnesses, contains numerous Victorian row houses, and Landmark Buildings. Stein captures the depth and feel of the neighborhood. A reader feels like they are walking with Erica.
The mystery surrounds Louisa Gibbs. A trailblazing, historical preservationist, Louisa was the head of the brigade who forced the city to create the first protected historical district. Now she is engaged in a new battle. Her home is in danger of being taken from her. The powerful real estate brokers along with the board of the Jehovah's Witnesses want to develop her land. With Louisa, Stein explores the feelings of defiance combined with helplessness that many senior citizens face. The battle is not pretty. Someone is sending threatening letters. Someone might be behind a disastrous fire. Someone did kill one of Louisa's adversaries. Will Erica be able to intervene?
Triss Stein is a new author for me. Her talent leaps from the page. I enjoyed Brooklyn Legacies so much, I that I interrupted my reading to order the first books in the series. I look forward to catching up with Erica, and hope Stein continues to explore Brooklyn.
Very Highly recommended
Full disclosure: I received an ARC from netgalley and Poisoned Pen in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.
A historian's job is to uncover the past, give it authenticity, while making it relevant to today. Stein has created an engaging protagonist, one who has the personality and skills to bring the past Brooklyn into vibrant life. Brooklyn Legacies is set in Brooklyn Heights, New York City's first suburb which became it's first historical district. This affluent neighborhood was home to the religious organization of Jehovah;s Witnesses, contains numerous Victorian row houses, and Landmark Buildings. Stein captures the depth and feel of the neighborhood. A reader feels like they are walking with Erica.
The mystery surrounds Louisa Gibbs. A trailblazing, historical preservationist, Louisa was the head of the brigade who forced the city to create the first protected historical district. Now she is engaged in a new battle. Her home is in danger of being taken from her. The powerful real estate brokers along with the board of the Jehovah's Witnesses want to develop her land. With Louisa, Stein explores the feelings of defiance combined with helplessness that many senior citizens face. The battle is not pretty. Someone is sending threatening letters. Someone might be behind a disastrous fire. Someone did kill one of Louisa's adversaries. Will Erica be able to intervene?
Triss Stein is a new author for me. Her talent leaps from the page. I enjoyed Brooklyn Legacies so much, I that I interrupted my reading to order the first books in the series. I look forward to catching up with Erica, and hope Stein continues to explore Brooklyn.
Very Highly recommended
Full disclosure: I received an ARC from netgalley and Poisoned Pen in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.
November 10, 2019
What happens when a religious organization wants a property owned by an elderly activist who has no intention of giving it up? Brooklyn Legacies, 5th in Triss Stein’s Erica Donato series, pits activist Louisa Gibbs against the Watchtower organization (headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses) which owns a huge property next to Louisa’s that it is selling and has been trying for years by means legal (and according to Louisa not-so-legal) to get her property. But now, the pressure has increased because the Watchtower’s buyer wants Louisa’s parcel included in the sale.
Erica becomes involved in Louisa’s life and fight while trying to find a long-lost Walt Whitman plaque for the Brooklyn Museum for which she works now that she has at last finished her doctorate in urban history. While meeting with a Dr. Kingston, a retired history professor and manager of a historical society in Brooklyn Heights, Louisa bursts in to tell him of the Watchtower organization’s latest attempt to gain her property. Erica, a longtime admirer of Louisa, tries to help her and finds herself in the middle of a mystery going back many years. Unraveling the entwined history between Louisa and the Watchtower organization and its investment in getting Louisa’s property becomes a mission for Erica, one in which she runs into people who know more than they will say, threatening letters, a murder, and a police detective who wants her help as an historian.
I learn so much about Brooklyn from Stein’s books and, as someone who lived in Manhattan for many years but rarely crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, I love the way Stein weaves fact and fiction together and tells the reader in an Afterword which is which. I highly recommend Brooklyn Legacies and, since it will be available in December it would make a nice holiday gift!
Erica becomes involved in Louisa’s life and fight while trying to find a long-lost Walt Whitman plaque for the Brooklyn Museum for which she works now that she has at last finished her doctorate in urban history. While meeting with a Dr. Kingston, a retired history professor and manager of a historical society in Brooklyn Heights, Louisa bursts in to tell him of the Watchtower organization’s latest attempt to gain her property. Erica, a longtime admirer of Louisa, tries to help her and finds herself in the middle of a mystery going back many years. Unraveling the entwined history between Louisa and the Watchtower organization and its investment in getting Louisa’s property becomes a mission for Erica, one in which she runs into people who know more than they will say, threatening letters, a murder, and a police detective who wants her help as an historian.
I learn so much about Brooklyn from Stein’s books and, as someone who lived in Manhattan for many years but rarely crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, I love the way Stein weaves fact and fiction together and tells the reader in an Afterword which is which. I highly recommend Brooklyn Legacies and, since it will be available in December it would make a nice holiday gift!
November 28, 2019
Oh what happens when change comes to the neighborhood. Erica Donato finds herself in the midst of a local land war of sorts between Louisa Gibbs and the Watchtower Society and the Prinzig family. Louisa's house is adjacent to property owned by the Watchtower and coveted by the Prinzigs. Then there's a murder. Is Louisa the guilty party? She might be a strong advocate for her community but she's not the nicest person in the world- but murder? This has a nice blend of fact and fiction (read the afterword) and atmospherics of an area which has morphed incredibly over the last few years. Erica, who was meant to be looking for a portrait of Walt Whitman, is the perfect intrepid heroine for this case. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An enjoyable read.
Read
July 7, 2021If you read the publisher's blurb, you know what is happening in the book, so I won't go over the story again... I had heard about this series of ERICA DONATO MYSTERIES set up in Brooklyn... and yes, maybe they are good... but this one lacked energy... or drive... or something...
Maybe I should read the first book... sometimes writer lose themselves in series... the pressure of publishing "just one other mystery, everyone loves your character" (that it is Poirot or Erica Donato!) is great, and the financial rewards greater... so here we go... another one... and maybe the first books has the fire and the drive, and the energy totally missing here...
I read this kind of book in one evening usually... but this one i have been working on it since Saturday night! That says something...
Maybe I should read the first book... sometimes writer lose themselves in series... the pressure of publishing "just one other mystery, everyone loves your character" (that it is Poirot or Erica Donato!) is great, and the financial rewards greater... so here we go... another one... and maybe the first books has the fire and the drive, and the energy totally missing here...
I read this kind of book in one evening usually... but this one i have been working on it since Saturday night! That says something...
February 8, 2021
Despite the 4.1 star rating of this book on Goodreads, I failed to find the heart. There was nothing "wrong" with it, but I found myself feeling grateful that it was short and quickly over or else I wouldn't have finished it.
What was the matter? I can't explain. I just didn't care that much about the protagonist and there weren't any secondary characters I really wanted to spend more time with. It was just a straight up-and-down whodunit to me. Even the Whitman plaque fell flat.
I notice that the people who loved it were much more invested in Brooklyn and the history of the area than me. So if that's your thing, you should love it.
What was the matter? I can't explain. I just didn't care that much about the protagonist and there weren't any secondary characters I really wanted to spend more time with. It was just a straight up-and-down whodunit to me. Even the Whitman plaque fell flat.
I notice that the people who loved it were much more invested in Brooklyn and the history of the area than me. So if that's your thing, you should love it.
February 15, 2020
I had heard about Triss Stein's Brooklyn series featuring historian Erica Donato and was pleased to have the opportunity to read the latest courtesy of Edelweiss+. I was not disappointed. Brooklyn is as much a character in the story as is Erica and her family and co-workers, and you can easily feel the gritty resurgence of the borough. This was a well-written and thoughtful excursion that blended history and mystery. Highly recommended for fans of Mary Anna Evans' Faye Longchamp and Sheila Connoly's Museum Mysteries.
I received a digital ARC via Edelweiss+.
I received a digital ARC via Edelweiss+.
December 6, 2019
It's the first book I read in this series and won't surely be the last because I was fascinated by the historical background and the great plot.
Ms Stein can certainly write a story that fascinates and keeps you hooked till the end.
I loved the well crafted plot, the fleshed out and interesting cast of characters, and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Ms Stein can certainly write a story that fascinates and keeps you hooked till the end.
I loved the well crafted plot, the fleshed out and interesting cast of characters, and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
January 25, 2020
I am crazy about this series by Triss Stein! When I was growing up in the Bronx, Brooklyn seemed like another country altogether. Other than days spent at Far Rockaway or Coney Island, no one I knew really went to Brooklyn. So learning about Brooklyn has been fun. The character of historian, Dr. Erica Donato, is a sympathetic one. Single mom with a burning curiosity about the Brooklyn of the past. Solving murders by looking at the events from the past that led to murder in the present.
December 9, 2019
Having visited the Brooklyn headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses twice, I was curious to see if they would be mentioned in this book. One of the key players. The mystery was interesting. The characters various and well presented. It did not captivate me, but I did have to see whodunit. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.
July 20, 2020
Nice to be in Brooklyn Heights when I can't be there in person, due to the pandemic. Stein has captured the place in words, and the mystery is a good one, the characters alive and this is just a great summer - or anytime - read.
January 2, 2022
A long time ago, I dated someone who lived in Brooklyn Heights, while living in adjacent Cobble Hill myself. Reading Brooklyn Legacies, I felt like I was wandering the Heights again. The novel brought home issues of preservation and development, and the people whose hopes and dreams are caught in the crossfire. It's also a clever whodunnit, with well-developed characters. Historian Erica Donato is an appealing amateur sleuth, and I'll certainly go back and read more in this series.
July 27, 2021
Being a (former) New Yorker, I was very happy to win a giveaway of this book. The description intrigued me quite a bit, and though I hadn’t read any of the other books in Triss Stein’s “Erica Donato Mysteries,” I plunged right into this one. I’m happy to say it stands well on its own and I didn’t think I missed much by starting the series in the middle.
Erica Donato is a curator and historian at the Brooklyn Art Museum. She begins the search for a missing Walt Whitman plaque and ends up deep in a murder investigation in Brooklyn. While trying t track down what happened to the missing plaque, she meets the legendary Louisa Gibbs. She is a fiery community activist that has fought developers for decades to try to maintain the character of the neighborhood she lives in, Brooklyn Heights. Although getting up there in years, she’s still a fighter although her age is slowing her down a bit.
Louisa has been in a continuous battle with the Watch Tower Society; Jehovah’s Witnesses who own a large building on her block. They are looking to sell the building, and there’s a dispute about the boundary between their properties. The developers who are trying to buy the property, the Prinzigs, seem to want to acquire both properties and won’t let anything get in their way.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
Erica Donato is a curator and historian at the Brooklyn Art Museum. She begins the search for a missing Walt Whitman plaque and ends up deep in a murder investigation in Brooklyn. While trying t track down what happened to the missing plaque, she meets the legendary Louisa Gibbs. She is a fiery community activist that has fought developers for decades to try to maintain the character of the neighborhood she lives in, Brooklyn Heights. Although getting up there in years, she’s still a fighter although her age is slowing her down a bit.
Louisa has been in a continuous battle with the Watch Tower Society; Jehovah’s Witnesses who own a large building on her block. They are looking to sell the building, and there’s a dispute about the boundary between their properties. The developers who are trying to buy the property, the Prinzigs, seem to want to acquire both properties and won’t let anything get in their way.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
September 14, 2019
The publisher's blurb is pretty good, so no recap or spoilers here. The mystery is very well done and is interspersed with some tidbits of real history. Actually, I devoured it in one afternoon but now come the disclaimers: I geek history, cozy mysteries, museums, and have family in Brooklyn. So what's not to like here? I absolutely loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
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