THE APOSTROPHE THIEF

Veteran Paul's beleaguered detective Sergeant Marion Larch, of New York's Ninth Precinct (You Have the Right to Remain Silent, etc.) is fed up with her lazy, loutish partner Foley and with her devious, self-serving Captain di Falco. Meanwhile, circumstances bring Marion to the Midtown South precinct to look into a burglary at the Broadhurst theater, where her actress friend Kelly Ingram is starring in The Apostrophe Thief. An odd assortment of objects has been taken—from costumes to scripts—the most valuable of which is a bejeweled jacket once owned by Sarah Bernhardt. Marion finds herself clue hunting in the strange, constricted world of collectibles—among besotted fans and not-too-ethical dealers. One of them—Ernie Nordstrom—is found murdered when Marion finally catches up to him. She's convinced that thief and killer are the same, and that it's someone in the theater's production, cast or crew. Motive is the largest puzzle of all, but once Marion latches onto it, all is over—with satisfying prospects for our heroine's future. Steadily engrossing procedural—with interesting sidelights on police politics, backstage theater, and collecting lore.