These Crooked Things

A corpse, a coverup, and a grievously injured wife lead a playwright and a playboy detective down a crooked path to a secret society, a long-ago death, and three potential killers of a very rich bad boy.

It's November 1934. Post-Prohibition lingers like a hangover in New York City as famous gangsters fight for headlines with local criminals, Broadway shows, and society sinners.

Amid the glitz and glamour, a man lies dead on the floor of a swanky Upper East Side apartment as his injured pregnant wife hides nearby. But there's no keeping this crime quiet, as playwright and playboy pursue a crooked path to untangle multiple would-be killers, with more than enough motives to go around.

Complications abound when Graydon's aristocratic English parents invite themselves to Esmé's place for that most American holiday—Thanksgiving. Over the turkey and stuffing, Graydon's oh-so-uppercrust father itches to involve himself in the investigation (despite his prejudice against his son's fiancé as a "woman of the theatre"), and a local mobster trying to go legit wades into the thick of it, bringing vital information on the murder. Will it arrive in time to keep our detecting duo safe from a gunman's bullet? And which gunman is the real danger?

The second mystery in the Art Deco Mysteries by Ellen Byerrum