CROOKED IN HIS WAYS

A demure femme fatale lies at the center of a tantalizing mystery set in pre–Civil War New York.

December 1856. Noted financier Albert Beauchamp gleefully anticipates his assignation with the alluring Helen Vogel, 21, the wife of much older Adolphus Vogel. When Beauchamp answers the door, a determined killer stabs him to death. Six months later, Beauchamp’s waterlogged body is found in a crate in New Orleans, where it’s been mysteriously shipped. Untangling the mystery of his murder falls to the investigative odd couple of DI Jasper Lightner and Hieronymus Law, the former a dogged by-the-book British detective with a pronounced stutter, the latter an American maverick detective more comfortable on the mean streets than in the police station. An examination of the mutilated corpse points to a killer with a taste for vengeance. Goodwin presents a labyrinthine plot and a cross-section of quirky suspects. Witness interviews and the discovery of a little black book make it clear that the late Beauchamp was an expert blackmailer. Helen Vogel’s visit to Jasper involves tears, a confession of abuse at the hands of her husband, and a shocking revelation about a secret lover. Is this yet more evidence of Beauchamp’s blackmail? A disappearance adds more unwieldy pieces to an already daunting puzzle. Despite this complexity, Goodwin keeps interest high by shifting the choice of the likeliest suspect among the characters. An especially entertaining subplot involves Jasper’s efforts to turn John, a rough street urchin, into a member of his household staff.

Goodwin’s pace befits the period, and his vivid depiction of Old New York includes some fascinating details.