Brooklyn Graves

January 20, 2014
In Stein’s fine follow-up to 2013’s Brooklyn Bones, Erica Donato, a widow living in Brooklyn, struggles to finish her Ph.D. and raise her teenage daughter, Chris, while keeping some shreds of her humanity. She doesn’t need more distractions; in particular, she doesn’t expect to get involved in amateur sleuthing when a friend’s husband is murdered or when a self-centered art historian demands her help tracking down a lost Tiffany window. However, her generous sympathy combines with her professional curiosity to lead her ever deeper into the lives of people who may have uncomfortable, dangerous secrets. Stein gives an economical but vivid sense of Erica’s Brooklyn neighborhood, and the characterization is wonderful—especially the wryly self-aware narrator’s recognition of how much her own confusion is mirrored in her daughter’s behavior. That the last pages collapse into coincidence and rushed summary doesn’t quite spoil the pleasure of spending time with Erica and her acquaintances.

February 1, 2014
In the second book of Stein's (Brooklyn Bones, 2013, etc.) Erica Donato Mysteries series, a grad student and mother wrestles with a puzzle related to her history work--only to find more questions that hit closer to home. Between her responsibilities for her teenage daughter, Chris, and her work as a graduate student, youngish single mother Erica Donato has her hands full. When her research supervisor makes her an offer she can't refuse--working as an assistant to snooty, pretentious Dr. Thomas Flint in his work on the history of the Tiffany studio--Erica is excited to learn something new but also dubious that the project will ever be credited to her. That turns out to be the least of her concerns. She and co-researcher Ryan, a youngster in the field, uncover what appears to be a chain of irregularities in the design and keeping of an older Tiffany window. While this mild drama is unfolding, Chris has some upsetting news of her own: Dima, the father of her childhood friend Alex, has been murdered, his body discovered outside his home. Erica, who is close to Dima's wife, tries to guide grieving widow Natalya through police procedures as best she can, though she's hampered by the fact that Natalya's Russian background gives her a rather different idea of what the police are for. Suspecting that Dima's shady brother might have had something to do with her husband's death, Natalya urges Erica to investigate. After agreeing, Erica soon has her hands full with another investigation and another dead body. Savvy readers will see the connection between plots A and B from the start. Offers promising developments for Erica and Chris, but readers will find little to work with.

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February 1, 2014

PhD student Erica Donato thrives on her work at the Brooklyn Historical Museum, but she wasn't expecting it to lead into a murder investigation. First, a woman brings in boxes from her late mother's old Brooklyn home; the letters and sketches suggest that her family had a connection to the famous Tiffany glass studios. Then, a friend of Erica's teen daughter loses his father in a puzzling killing. Dima, the murder victim, was a well-liked man, and a friend to Erica, too. Erica is startled to learn that Dima worked nights at the historically significant Green-Wood Cemetery where the Tiffany research has led her; before long, she realizes that her museum assignment is connected to Dima's murder. VERDICT Stein's second issues-oriented series entry (after Brooklyn Bones) is an enticing introduction to Brooklyn's immigrant history. This perfect tie-in with Susan Vreeland's historical novel, Clara and Mr. Tiffany, will also appeal to Kathleen Ernst and Joan Hess ("Claire Malloy" series) readers.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2014
Assigned by her boss at the Brooklyn Historical Museum to work with the arrogant Thomas Flint, the leading expert on Tiffany artwork, Erica Donato delves into boxes of letters and sketches by Maude Cooper, a young woman Flint suspects was a Tiffany girl, one of the women in Tiffany's all-female design studio. When Erica learns her good family friend Dima was murdered, she and her teenage daughter, Chris, comfort the widow and her son, and Erica soon becomes involved in the search for Dima's killer. Is his murder connected with Erica's work project? Then a second murder occurs. Fascinating details of Tiffany and his glass windows, along with the life of a young girl from the Midwest living and working in 1904 Manhattan, frame the story. The independent Erica is an interesting character, too, especially for her era: a widow earning her PhD in history while working part-time who has difficult relationships with her teenage daughter and her somewhat overbearing father. A couple of possible love interests on the horizon add to the appeal of this engaging historical-mystery series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)