SLASH OF EMERALD

In McDonough's desultory sequel to Murder by Lamplight, Dr. Julia Lewis, who runs a clinic in the seedy London neighborhood of Whitechapel, is drawn into a sprawling murder investigation in 1867. An accident at a skating pond brings Julia into contact with the Allington family: artist Mary; her brother, Charles; and his wife, Louisa. When model and dressmaker's assistant Franny Riley is found raped and murdered, Scotland Yard calls on Julia to perform the autopsy, after which she discovers that Charles knew Franny. Then Charles appears to die by suicide after ingesting arsenic-spiked paint, but Mary suspects murder. As Julia tries to get to the bottom of these events, the body count rises. The plot incorporates a potpourri of Victorian vice, including gambling, art forgery, blackmail, prostitution, and drug addiction, to overstimulating effect. Meanwhile, predictable misunderstandings fail to add stakes to a tepid romance subplot between Julia and a Scotland Yarder. Historical fans will enjoy McDonough's well-placed tidbits about early subterranean railways and the Royal Academy, but some of the discussions of the era's gender roles land with a thud. This falls short of its promising predecessor. Agent: Jim Donovan, Jim Donovan Literary. (Mar.)