Book Review - All That Is Hidden by Rhys Bowen

 

All That Is Hidden by Rhys Bowen is about a husband and wife who try to solve the murder of a man who is accused of being corrupted. In 1907, New York, Molly Murphy Sullivan used to be a private detective. She is now content being married to her husband, Daniel, who is a police captain. They live in a small but beautiful home in Patchin Place in the West Village, which is close to her beloved friends. She is also the mother to a happy and energetic toddler, Liam, and adopted daughter, Bridie. Molly feels that she has a good life and her marriage to Daniel works well because they have a partnership where they trust and believe in each other.

On a family walk one day, Daniel surprises Molly by telling her that they will be moving into one of the fancy homes on Fifth Avenue. He also said that he is leaving his police captain job and running to be sheriff of New York. Molly is flabbergasted because she never knew of such a position, and the political party that Daniel is running for is filled with corruption and members taking kickbacks. She knows Daniel is against corruption and has fought tooth and nail to make people accountable. Daniel tells her to trust him, but Molly is unsure of how to feel with their new change of circumstances.

The novel is part of a series, but I was able to follow along and read it. There were some character nuances that I might have missed but it didn’t take away from the story. The book is a cozy mystery read. There would be pages where we would learn about Molly running her household instead of learning more about the mystery. I felt like she didn’t do much, but instead things fell into her lap. I also felt that the series is named after Molly, but she seemed to take a backseat approach to the investigation. The book felt boring to me and I thought that the book didn’t need to be as long as it was. I felt that the ending was a bit rushed and could have been more intricate and had more flair. While I did finish the book, I don’t think I would continue reading the series as there are a lot more interesting murder mysteries out there.