Review of “The Fatal Flame” by Lyndsay Faye

This is the concluding volume of three in a historical police detective series that began with The Gods of Gotham and continued with Seven For A Secret. The Fatal Flame picks up two years after the second book, and continues to follow the career of now 30-year-old Timothy Wilde, a member of the recently formed “copper stars,” or New York City Policemen.

Timothy received facial burns three years earlier in the Fire of 1845, and moreover, his parents died in a conflagration. Thus he has a rather understandable fear of fire. Nevertheless, he is called upon – in his capacity as detective – to help figure out who is setting fires to slums owned by Alderman Robert Symmes, a man who also owns some garment-making factories. Symmes maintains to the police that he has received threats of arson from a garment worker who is also a feminist rabble-rouser, Sally Woods. He believes the threats stem from a desire for revenge because of the strike-breaking tactics employed by Symmes.

But of course, nothing is as it seems in the convoluted political and social networks of mid-19th Century New York, where impoverished immigrants flood the shores looking for work, the populace is torn in two over the slavery issue, jobs and food are in short supply, corrupt Tammany Hall pulls the strings, and the rancor felt by everyone keeps the city on the verge of violent eruption.

As if Timothy doesn’t have enough to worry about, his older brother Val has decided to run against Symmes in the upcoming election, a decision which seems both dangerous and foolish to Timothy. In addition, the powerful proprietress of a prostitution house, Silkie Marsh, knows Tim arranged sanctuary for one of her “star-gazers” or prostitutes, the now 13-year-old Bird Daly. Tim’s personal life is complicated as well; his old love Mercy Underhill has returned to New York City and seems a few sandwiches short of a picnic, and Elena Boehm, his landlord and sometime lover, is looking for a commitment.

Discussion: As with previous books, the characters are distinctive and appealing. Tim always tries to play fair, even with one of his pansexual brother’s lovers, James Playfair, a nice guy against whom almost everyone has prejudices.

While Tim is more outwardly heroic, the real hero to me is Val, who is singularly his own man and tortured by guilt, but also courageous, caring, steadfast, and generous, although he tries hard to hide his more positive qualities.

As with the earlier books, each chapter is preceded by actual excerpts of writings from that period which are germane to the action, adding a great deal of insight into what the atmosphere was like at the time.

Evaluation: This historical crime novel is as entertaining a way as any to learn about antebellum American history, particularly in the urban North. The characters are memorable, and it is sad to discover the series won’t continue after this third volume.

Rating: 3.5/5

Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a member of the Penguin Group, a Penguin Random House Company, 2015