Book Review: ‘The Ghost Of Christmas Past’ Is The Next Exciting Molly Murphy Book

Molly Murphy is back for her 17th adventure from author Rhys Bowen (who also writes a few other series of books including The Royal Spyness). This time Molly gets involved in a missing girl mystery from 10 years ago while on holiday during Christmas with her family and friends.

Molly is still suffering from and earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 and moving back to New York and miscarriage in her third month. And her husband Daniel has been away on a job and is facing an uncertain future as a Police Captain when he returns to NY. Also she learns that the the 13 year old girl she has been helping take care of Bridie (who is like a daughter to her) has heard from her absent father and he’s got some money now and moving to Ireland and taking her with him.

And it’s Christmas time and her close neighbors are going away. It will just be her, Daniel and her son Liam. Until they get an invite from Daniel’s mother, who has been sick but better who is staying with her friends and invited for the holiday to a mansion in Hudson. She doesn’t really want to go but they do. Things seem a bit tense there but not bad.

She hears a about how her hosts little girl went missing 10 years ago and being a mostly retired detective she starts to investigate along with Daniel. And things don’t add up. When a mysterious girl arrives and claims she’s the girl, it sets off a chain of events that leads to a surprising twist and could cost people their lives.

My firs time reading one of the Molly Murphy books and I really enjoyed it. She’s a fun, feisty woman for her time period (when women are suppose to be submissive and obey their husbands). The story has some fund twists you don’t see coming and a good sense of family and love.

You can pick up the book in stores now in hardcover and the paperback release is on Tuesday, October 16.