Let the dead keep their secrets

In Simpson's latest Gilded Age mystery, Claire Buchanan, an opera singer performing with the Met, hires Prudence Mackenzie and ex-Pinkerton agent Geoffrey Hunter to investigate the suspicious deaths of her twin sister, Catherine, and Catherine's newborn daughter. Claire is certain that her brother-in-law, Aaron Sorensen, murdered Catherine to obtain her sizable inheritance. Sorensen's behavior is undeniably suspicious; he's remarried scandalously soon, and his new wife, another heiress, is already in the late stages of pregnancy. Prudence and Geoffrey believe that Claire has identified a murderous pattern, especially after they spot alterations to the eyes of Catherine's postmortem portrait (a memento often commissioned by wealthy Gilded Age New Yorkers). Could the photographer have been masking evidence of suffocation? Virtually fearless, Prudence dives undercover as a grieving socialite, a spinster's companion, and a lonely heiress to unravel Sorensen's deadly con. Gritty period details, including the involvement of famed tenement photographer Jacob Riis, draw this thriller closer to Caleb Carr's The Alienist than to Anne Perry's Monk series, but fans of both will enjoy Simpson's unusual historical mystery.--Christine Tran Copyright 2018 Booklist

In Simpson's suspenseful, atmospheric third Gilded Age mystery (after Lies That Comfort and Betray), New York opera singer Claire Buchanan, whose twin sister, Catherine, died in childbirth eight months earlier, calls on the services of Prudence MacKenzie and her investigative partner, Geoffrey Hunter. Death of both mother and child during birth was not unusual in 1889, but Claire believes that her twin's death was not natural. Catherine's husband, Aaron Sorensen, who inherited her wealth, is an unsuccessful gambler who married another heiress with indecent haste after her death, and his new wife is eight months pregnant. Geoffrey sets out to learn all he can about Aaron's past, while Prudence, fearing that Aaron's second wife and her child are also in danger, formulates a perilous plan to expose the gambler's murder-for-inheritance scheme. Simpson's New York is gritty and dark, and she convincingly portrays the era's fascinating macabre spiritualist beliefs, class and gender stereotypes, and racial prejudices. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary Agency. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.