MONTMORENCY AND THE ASSASSINS

And three’s a charm. Thief-turned-gentlemen Montmorency joins new and old cohorts from his first two adventures in uncovering a political plot by Italian anarchist conspirators that begins with rescuing a stolen collection of natural history specimens. It’s been 20 years since he abandoned his alter ego of sewer-stinking, scrappy Scarper for the life of a refined, aristocratic gent. It’s the end of the 19th century; war is looming; a flu epidemic is invading; and the political underworld is wreaking havoc and violence. Their international pursuit takes them to London, Scotland, Italy and Paterson, N.J., while the intrigue entwines X-ray machines, ice-cream shops, Thomas Edison, assassination, composer Puccini and several romances. Tidbits from the first two installments pop up to refresh details for the reader, and fans will race through one plot twist after another. From the ominous cover of two men dueling to the madcap ending, Updale neatly ties up the drawstring on her bag of tricks, but hopefully not enough to preclude a fourth. (Historical fiction. 10-15)