I enjoyed the first two of the Erica Donato Mysteries by Triss Stein. I think of it as the Brooklyn mystery series. When I saw on NetGalley that a third in this series was available for review, I immediately put in my request. Fortunately, the request was approved quickly. So thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

For those not familiar with the series, Erica is a Brooklyn girl. She was widowed young with a child to raise, went back to school, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in urban history. She lives a rather hectic life balancing the demands of graduate school and single motherhood. This is further complicated by her involvement in a mystery from time to time.

My reviews of the first two books are here ( Brooklyn Bones and Brooklyn Graves).

If the series interests you but you have not read any books I would suggest reading them in order. In chronological order the books are “Brooklyn Bones”, “Brooklyn Graves”, and “Brooklyn Secrets”

Erica begins looking into changes in Brownsville over time as part of her Ph.D. research. Although she goes into Brownsville looking into change over time, she quickly becomes involved in a a crime in the present. She is also trying to find out how and why someone disappeared in 1930’s Brownsville and whether this has anything to do with a Brownsville gang of criminals called Murder Inc. The story moves between past and present as Erica tries to understand parts of each.

I enjoyed this book but I enjoyed the first two more. This book will not be released until December. So if you think you might like this Brooklyn mystery series, feel free to start at the beginning.