Dead in the Frame

Starred review from October 1, 2024

In Spotswood's latest 1940s-set Pentecost and Parker mystery (following Murder Crossed Her Mind), Willowjean "Will" Parker is racing against the clock to solve the apparent murder of millionaire--and Pentecost nemesis--Jessup Quincannon. Will's boss, Lillian Pentecost, has been accused of the crime and is awaiting trial in the infamous House of Detention in New York City. Adding to the strain, a blackmailer ups the stakes in the case, and an additional baffling murder of a Chinese toymaker only adds to Will's workload. As the clock ticks, and the justice system seeks to make an example of a great woman detective, Will is pulled in multiple directions and has her sleuthing skills put to the test. VERDICT A solid Pentecost and Parker installment, Spotswood's newest title takes on another closed-door mystery to great effect. He balances the tension, the red herrings, and the clues well, and fans of the series will be in for a treat. Mystery readers in general would do well to place this series on their TBR lists to enjoy the twists and turns that make these titles a joy to read.--Laura Hiatt

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 2, 2024
The lively fifth installment in Spotswood’s historical mystery series (after Murder Crossed Her Mind) finds bisexual sleuth Willowjean “Will” Parker trying to clear her boss, Lillian Pentecost, of a phony murder charge in 1940s New York City. After returning from an idyllic vacation with her girlfriend, Parker finds Pentecost being led from her home in handcuffs. The senior detective has been charged with killing wealthy eccentric Jessup Quincannon, a collector of memorabilia connected with infamous murders. Quincannon died during one of his notorious Black Museum soirées, where his crime-obsessed acquaintances gather to discuss the art of murder; Pentecost was invited to the event and feared the topic of conversation would be the brutal murder of her own mother. Motive and opportunity point to Pentecost as Quincannon’s killer, and she’s sent to the New York City Women’s House of Detention to await trial. Will, meanwhile, is certain of her mentor’s innocence, and pokes around some of Manhattan’s most unsavory upper-crust circles to prove it. As always, Spotswood pairs voicey narration (especially in Will’s chapters) with a briskly satisfying fair-play whodunit. Series fans will be satisfied. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Agency & Assoc. (Feb.)Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly referred to protagonist Will Parker as a lesbian.

December 1, 2024
All the detective work that would normally fall to Lillian Pentecost has to be done by her sidekick, Willowjean Parker, for the worst of all possible reasons. Returning in October 1947 from three weeks in the Catskills with her lover, pulp fiction writer Holly Quick, Will learns that Lillian's been arrested for the murder of Jessup Quincannon, a philanthropist/collector known as "a connoisseur of crime and murder," whose latest Black Museum Club soiree was muted by the discovery of his corpse moments after Lillian arrived, then fled the scene. If the cops needed any further encouragement to pull her in, it would've been supplied by the news that her gun fired the bullet that killed her host. While Lillian, who has multiple sclerosis, gets repeatedly pranked by some unknown party at the Women's House of Detention, Will goes on offense, doing whatever she can to sow doubt by implicating the other guests that night, who include, among others, "the embezzling lawyer; the money-hungry preacher's wife; the spurned lover; and the gunman on the run." Her hopes rise when she's visited by someone who admits he planted the evidence that incriminates Lillian and will straighten it all out if she'll only solve the murder of his wife, which the police maintain was suicide. But they're dashed again when the blackmailing client is killed himself before either he or Will can deliver. As usual, Spotswood is more interested in piling on the complications than in resolving them, and the denouement is just one darned thing after another. But (spoiler alert) the jury takes only 11 minutes to acquit Lillian; they don't even hem and haw long enough for the free lunch. A lively period frolic whose hardboiled femmes tackle a Golden Age puzzle.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 1, 2024
Jessup Quincannon, "connoisseur of crime and murder," has been shot dead at his home while hosting a reception to show off the latest macabre addition to his Black Museum. The party included an odd assortment of guests ranging from clerics to criminals, but the police have fingered Lillian Pentecost for the crime. She has been jailed in New York City's notorious Women's House of Detention despite her multiple sclerosis, and is harassed by a nasty male guard with a personal grudge. Her associate, Willowjean Parker, narrates the story, taking the reader on one wild ride as she frantically transverses the 1947 metropolitan area in search of the truth that will free her boss before she meets an untimely end in that hellhole. A few poignant journal entries from the incarcerated Lillian are interspersed. With the help of several divergent characters fans will recognize from previous books in Spotswood's Pentecost and Parker series, Will manages to pull off an eleventh-hour courtroom resolution of the crime. The satisfying wrap-up includes the promise of a follow-up investigation that Lillian feels compelled to undertake. Kudos to Spotswood for highlighting the realities of both cis and transgender women in the justice system.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.