The Gods Of Gotham
The
GODS
of
GOTHAM
ALSO BY LYNDSAY FAYE
Dust and Shadow
The
of
L
YNDSAY
F
AYE
A
MY
E
INHORN
B
OOKS
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
New York
AMY EINHORN BOOKS
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Publishers Since 1838
Published by the Penguin Group
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Copyright © 2012 by Lyndsay Faye
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Faye, Lyndsay.
The gods of Gotham / Lyndsay Faye.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56107-2
1. Irish Americans—New York (State)—New York—Fiction. 2. Police—New York (State)—New York—Fiction. 3. Serial murder investigation—Fiction. 4. New York (N.Y.)—History—1775–1865—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3606.A96G63 2012 2011047675
813’.6—dc23
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
BOOK DESIGN BY AMANDA DEWEY
ENDPAPER MAP BY DAVID CAIN
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
For my family,
who taught me that when you are
knocked considerably sideways, you get up and keep going,
or you get up and go in a slightly different direction
In the summer of 1845, following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last formed a Police Department.
The potato, a crop that can be trusted to yield reliable nutrition from barren, limited space, had long been the base staple of the Irish tenant farmer. In the spring of 1844, the
Gardener’s Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette
reported anxiously that an infestation “belonging to the mould tribe” was laying waste to potato crops. There was, the
Chronicle
told its readers, no definite cause or cure.
These twin events would change the city of New York forever.
*
A
AUTUM.
A church.
B
BAT.
A prostitute who walks the streets only at night.
BENE.
Good; first-rate.
BLOKE.
A man.
BURNERS.
Rogues who cheat countrymen with false cards or dice.
BUSTLED.
Confused; perplexed; puzzled.
BUTTERED.
Whipped.
C
CAP.
To join in. “I will cap in with him.”
CHAFFEY.
Boisterous; happy; jolly.
CHINK.
Money.
CRANKY-HUTCH.
An insane asylum.
CUPSHOT.
Drunk.
D
DEAD RABBIT.
A very athletic, rowdy fellow.
DIARY.
To remember.
DIMBER.
Handsome; pretty.
DUSTY.
Dangerous.
E
EASY.
Killed.
ERGOTAT.
Sick.
ELFEN.
Walk light; on tiptoe.
EYE.
Nonsense; humbug.
F
FAM GRASP.
To shake hands.
FIB.
To beat.
FRENCH CREAM.
Brandy.
FUNK.
To frighten.
G
GINGERLY.
Cautiously.
H
HASH.
To vomit.
HEMP.
To choke.
HEN.
A woman.
HICKSAM.
A countryman; a fool.
HOCUS.
To stupefy.
HUSH.
Murder.
I
INSIDER.
One who knows.
J
JABBER.
To talk in an unknown language.
JACK DANDY.
A little impertinent fellow.
K
KEN.
A house.
KINCHIN.
A young child.
KITTLE.
To tickle; to please.
L
LADY BIRD.
A kept mistress.
LION.
Be saucy; frighten; bluff.
LUSH.
Drink.
M
MAB.
A harlot.
MAZZARD.
The face.
MOLLEY.
A miss; an effeminate fellow; a sodomite.
MOUSE.
Be quiet; be still.
N
NATURAL.
Not fastidious; a liberal, clever fellow.
NED.
A ten-dollar gold piece.
NISH.
Keep quiet; be still.
NODDLE.
An empty-pated fellow.
NOSE.
A spy; one who informs.
O