The Gods of Gotham by Lindsay Faye

by:  Lindsay Faye
published by:  Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
publish date:  March 15, 2012

Timothy Wilde hadn't wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st, on his way home from the Tombs defeated and disgusted, he is plotting his resignation when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel crashes into him; she wears only a nightdress and is covered from head to toe in blood.

Searching out the truth in the child's wild stories, Timothy soon finds himself on the trail of a brutal killer, seemingly hellbent on fanning the flames of anti-Irish immigrant sentiment and threatening chaos in a city already in the midst of social upheaval. But his fight for justice could cost him the woman he loves, his brother and ultimately his life...

I don't usually like saying one book is like another book, because if you really liked the comparison book, the one you're about it read is almost always a let down.  There have been a lot of books lately compared to Caleb Carr's The Alienist, which is one of my most favorite books and none come close.  Finally, after 18 years of searching (do you realize it's been 18 years since The Alienist came out??) there's a book that's just as interesting and well written.

The Gods of Gotham takes place in 1845.  There's a huge influx of Irish due to the potato famine.  This creates tensions between Protestants and Catholics.   It's just one more strain on a city struggling with racial and political divisions.  This is the same year that a huge fire breaks out and alters the course of Timothy Wilde's life.

Timothy loses his entire life savings along with the bar he works at in the fire.  When he wakes up from the injuries that he suffered, his politically connected brother informs him that they're now both policemen in New York's newly formed Police Department.  Timothy grudgingly takes the job to discover that he's good at it.

Gods of Gotham will more than likely make it to my Top Ten of the Year.  It was so good.  It appears as though it might be the start of a series with Timothy Wilde as a detective.  I would definitely get behind that idea!  I can't wait to read more from Lindsay Faye.