BETRAYAL ON THE BOWERY

Belli follows up Deception by Gaslight (2020), her exciting Gilded Gotham debut, with another perilous adventure.

Reporter Genevieve Stewart first met wealthy Daniel McCaffery while investigating the jewel thief known as Robin Hood. All that safely behind them, they’re at the docks seeing off his friend Rupert, a titled Englishman, and his bride, Esmie, on a honeymoon trip when one of Esmie’s former suitors appears, acting crazed, and drops dead in the newlyweds’ cabin. Forced to stay in New York, Rupert is targeted by the police, but Daniel, who grew up with the gangs of the notorious Five Points before he came into money, finds a sinister and dangerous connection with a Lower East Side bar and possibly one of his own enemies. Genevieve, who loves Daniel even though she turned down his proposal, is determined to stay by his side as he investigates another case of a wealthy young man jumping to his death—an incident eerily similar to the death on the ship. After a sugar baron begs Daniel to find his missing daughter, who seems to have run off with an unsuitable man, the couple realize that many of these society youths have made trips to a deserted mansion rumored to be haunted by demons. When Daniel and Genevieve venture into the place, they find a cache of weapons. Lucky to escape with their lives, they vow to continue their hunt.

Strong characters bolster an excellent mystery brimming with danger, romance, and historical tidbits.