'Molly Murphy can't seem to fit in anywhere. Not with the new immigrants pouring in from the Old World an dcertainly not with the society folks she enives from afar. After bungling a job as a lady's companion, Molly decides to become an assistant to the notorious private investigator, Paddy Riley. Unfortunately, Paddy's possible underworld dealings have left him deader than a doornail and Molly in possession of his detective agency.
Using the tricks of the trade she learned from her employer, Molly sets out to find the wily killer responsible for the death of Riley. Unsure whether the culprit is connected to the crooked police force or a shady client, Molly keeps her sleuthing from Daniel Sullivan, the handsome policeman who has stolen her heart. Using only her wits and her newfound talents to ferret out the truth, Molly confronts her darkest fears in search of a murderer intent on stopping her investigation...by seeing her dead.'

Second in the Molly Murphy series, and I'm enjoying following Molly's adventures as she seeks to make a life for herself in New York at the beginning of the 20th Century. She's still sharing lodging with the father and two children whose wife/mother asked Molly to escort her children to NYC after being barred from leaving Ireland herself because she has TB. The father, who is employed on digging/navvying on the NY subway system, has been badly injured in a cave in and is lying in bed whilst being tended to by his hideous sister-in-law, and Molly has to deal with the rude and insidous Nuala as well as two upset small children, as well as try and find a job that doesn't mean treat her like an idiot. So far - so interesting! Though Molly has found out that her beau, the semi-dashing Captain Daniel Sullivan, has failed to mention his engagement to another woman, and Molly is heartbroken over his perfidy. Can it all be a horrible misunderstanding?
Halfway through at time of logging and enjoying it so far.

I do like Molly, I mean, she gets herself into some right messes and situations, but somehow she comes out fighting and I appreciate that quality in her. Early in this 2nd installment, Molly finds out that her 'understanding' with the dashing Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, has been under false pretenses on his part - he has a fiance. Poor Molly, heartbroken, gathers her dignity about her and decides to turn down a job he set up for her and become a trainee private detective working with Paddy Riley. But before she can do much more than the filing and basic tea making, Molly finds Paddy dead and his office ransacked. Who could have killed Paddy? It turns out the list is a long one, but the motives behind each suspect are convoluted.
As well as tracing a murderer, Molly is all but thrown out of her comfy lodgings by the family of the children she escorted over the Atlantic (see the first novel) after their father is injured whilst navvying on the NY subway. Moving in with a bohemian couple of ladies, Molly's social circle, and her world, open up beyond her previously limited experience, and she finds the strength to make the most of her new opportunities.
Life is never going to be simple for Miss Murphy, but it appears it'll always be interesting!
PC.