Rounded up from 2.5 stars. I loved the concept of a turn-of-the-century New York midwife, moving through a fast-paced world of corruption and change. Sarah is an independent heroine, flouting traditional roles by supporting herself and pursuing a "trade" about which she is passionate. She becomes involved in a murder investigation accidentally, as all cozy heroines do, but she and her world are not quite cozy. The characters are more complex, the murder is nastier, and the Big Family Secrets are darker than most cozy readers prefer, which is why I liked it. I knocked stars off because I solved most of the mystery one third through the book, and reading on after that was pretty tedious. I'll give the series another chance, mainly to see how things develop with Sarah and her family, and with Sarah and Malloy.