Thompson, Victoria (Victoria E. Thompson)

PERSONAL:

Married; children.

ADDRESSES:

Home—PA. Agent—Nancy Yost, Lowenstein-Yost Associates, Inc., 121 W. 27th St., Ste. 601, New York, NY 10001. E-mail—vestinpa@aol.com.

CAREER:

Romance and mystery author. Seminar leader and frequent speaker at writers' conferences; previously taught at Pennsylvania State University; Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, teacher in the master's program for writing popular fiction.

MEMBER:

Novelists Inc. (founding member and past president), PennWriters (cofounder and past president), Romance Writers of America (former board member), New Jersey Romance Writers (cofounder and first president).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nomination, Edgar Allan Poe Award, for Murder on St. Mark's Place.

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Texas Treasure, Zebra (New York, NY), 1985.

Texas Vixen, Kensington (New York, NY), 1986.

Texas Triumph, Kensington (New York, NY), 1987.

Texas Blonde, Kensington (New York, NY), 1987.

Angel Heart, Zebra (New York, NY), 1988.

Rogue's Lady, Avon (New York, NY), 1988.

Beloved Outcast, Pageant/Random House (New York, NY), 1989.

Bold Texas Embrace, Kensington (New York, NY), 1989.

Fortune's Lady, Avon (New York, NY), 1990.

Wild Texas Promise, Kensington (New York, NY), 1990.

Playing with Fire, Avon (New York, NY), 1990.

Sweet Texas Surrender, Kensington (New York, NY), 1991.

Blazing Texas Nights, Zebra (New York, NY), 1992.

Wild Texas Wind, Kensington (New York, NY), 1992.

Winds of Promise, Kensington (New York, NY), 1993.

Winds of Destiny, Kensington (New York, NY), 1994.

Winds of Fortune, Kensington (New York, NY), 1995.

Cry Wolf, Zebra (New York, NY), 1995.

Wings of Morning, Zebra (New York, NY), 1996.

From This Day Forward, Zebra (New York, NY), 1997.

Also author of To Love and Honor, 1995.

GASLIGHT MYSTERIES SERIES

Murder on Astor Place, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 1999.

Murder on St. Mark's Place, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2000.

Murder on Gramercy Park, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2001.

Murder on Washington Square, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2002.

Murder on Mulberry Bend, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2003.

Murder on Marble Row, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2004.

Murder on Lenox Hill, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2005.

Murder in Little Italy, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2006.

Murder in Chinatown, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2007.

Murder on Bank Street, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

The author of many historical romances and mysteries, Victoria Thompson has written about a professional wolfer in the Old West and a woman who survives a rape and a forced marriage in U.S. Civil War-era Texas, among many other stories. More recently she has focused on late-nineteenth-century New York City, the setting for her successful "Gaslight Mysteries" series, which began in 1999 with Murder on Astor Place, a novel dubbed "one of the most spellbinding debuts I've ever come across" by Romantic Times Online contributor Toby Bromberg.

Murder on Astor Place introduces readers to Sarah Brandt, a widow from a wealthy and prominent family who renounces her heritage to become a midwife for the poor. While working in a Lower East Side boarding-house, Sarah encounters a pregnant sixteen-year-old girl who bears a striking resemblance to an old friend from the very upper-class VanDamm family. When she returns a few days later to check on her patient, Sarah discovers that the young mother-to-be has been murdered and was, in fact, the sister of her old friend. With honest cop Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, Sarah is soon back in the Fifth Avenue mansions of her youth, determined to find the murderer despite the interference of the VanDamm patriarch and a corrupt police department. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that "Thompson vividly recreates the gas-lit world of old New York, concluding her mystery with revelations that will shock even [contemporary] readers."

Murder on St. Mark's Place again finds Sarah Brandt teaming up with Detective Frank Malloy, despite their different approaches and a mutual antagonism that masks their attraction to each other. When Sarah is summoned by the newly arrived Otto family one night, she assumes that Agnes Otto has gone into labor. Instead, she finds Agnes in despair because her sister Gerda has been murdered and the police show no interest in finding an immigrant's killer. Again, the trail leads from the slums to the mansions, and to a very prominent family with a dark secret. "Although the sexual tension is not as taut … lovers of history, mystery, and romances are not going to be disappointed," concluded Bromberg in Romantic Times Online.

In Murder on Gramercy Park, Detective Malloy jump-starts the action when he is called in to investigate the suicide of a physician named Doctor Blackwell. Arriving on the scene, he finds Mrs. Blackwell in labor, and despite his reluctance he sends for Sarah to deliver the baby. Soon he determines that the suicide is actually a murder, and given the doctor's shady business dealings and unusual healing techniques applied to attractive women, a multitude of suspects soon present themselves. But when a mysterious illness grips the Blackwell baby, Sarah and Frank find themselves on the trail of a scandalous secret filled with greed and treachery.

Scandal again lies at the heart of Murder on Washington Square, but this time Sarah is struggling to save a young man's reputation from the ravenous tabloid press. When her neighbor Nathan approaches her for advice, she discovers that he has a pregnant mistress. Unfortunately, a few days later, the young woman's body is found under Washington Square's dreaded hanging tree. Frank Malloy is assigned to the case, and "there are several clever but fleeting scenes" of the couple toying with the idea of becoming closer, noted Kliatt reviewer Maureen K. Griffin. While the press has already convicted young Nelson, Brandt and Malloy discover that the victim was not all she seemed. With the help of a dogged reporter and some nosy neighbors, they begin to uncover the young lady's secrets and start to suspect that the victim was the victimizer. Sarah and Frank again team up to solve the murder of a young girl at the Prodigal Son Mission, a home for "wayward girls," in Murder on Mulberry Bend.

Murder on Marble Row starts with a bang, literally, when someone blows up the office of Gregory Van Dyke, with the unfortunate businessman inside it. Assigned to the case, Malloy comes up against a wall of snobbery, greedy relatives, and children who have a variety of reasons for resenting dear old dad. As a Kirkus Reviews contributor put it, the "Irish-American cop is allowed into [the] drawing room, though nobody offers him a seat." Sarah has somewhat more success using her social connections to wheedle information from Van Dyke's circle of friends and family and business partners. The result is another "entertaining mix of history and mystery," according to Booklist reviewer Barbara Bibel.

In Murder on Lenox Hill, the Linton family suspects that their learning-disabled daughter might be pregnant, and so asks Sarah to come and examine her. Grace is just seventeen and never goes out on her own, and Sarah finds herself intent upon discovering who is responsible for her condition and how they gained access to her, helped by Detective Malloy. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews found the book to be "a convincing tale of depravity and death among the upper classes of old New York." Barbara Bibel, again reviewing for Booklist, noted that "the developing relationship between Sarah and Frank … adds a new dimension to the series."

Murder in Chinatown addresses the issues and commonalities between Chinese and Irish immigrants in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite rampant racism at the time, poverty often forced intermarriage between the cultures. Sarah is tending an Irish girl, the wife of a Chinese merchant, when the girl's friend appears to plead for assistance to avoid a match of her own to another wealthy Chinese. When the girl disappears and later turns up dead, Sarah appeals to Frank Malloy to help find her killer. In a Booklist review, Bibel praised the book for its cultural details and dubbed its heroine "a strong, caring female protagonist who is not afraid to help those in need." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews called the book "a suspenseful tale of casual racism and corrupt police."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2004, Barbara Bibel, review of Murder on Marble Row, p. 1524; June 1, 2005, Barbara Bibel, review of Murder on Lenox Hill, p. 1762; June 1, 2007, Barbara Bibel, review of Murder in Chinatown, p. 46.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2004, review of Murder on Marble Row, p. 367; April 15, 2005, review of Murder on Lenox Hill, p. 455; May 1, 2007, review of Murder in Chinatown.

Kliatt, July, 2002, Maureen K. Griffin, review of Murder on Washington Square, p. 25; July, 2003, Barbara Jo McKee, review of Murder on Mulberry Bend, p. 27.

Library Journal, May 1, 2004, Rex E. Klett, review of Murder on Marble Row, p. 143.

Publishers Weekly, April 5, 1999, review of Murder on Astor Place, p. 238; May 3, 2004, review of Murder on Marble Row, p. 175.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (April, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Murder on Washington Square.

MurderExpress.net,http://www.murderexpress.net/ (January 17, 2008), review of Murder on Astor Place.

Romantic Times Online,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (January 17, 2008), Gerry Benninger, review of Cry Wolf; Sheri McNeill, review of Wings of Morning; Anne Black, review of From This Day Forward; Toby Bromberg, review of Murder on Astor Place; Toby Bromberg, review of Murder on St. Mark's Place.

Victoria Thompson Home Page,http://www.victoriathompson.com (January 17, 2008).