Books
A Perfect Manhattan Murder

by Tracy Kiely
Midnight Ink, May 2017, $14.99

In another amusing take-off on the Thin Man series, A Perfect Manhattan Murder features Nic and her husband, Nigel Martini, as witty, drink-loving amateur sleuths in a Broadway murder mystery sure to leave you shaken (with laughter), if not stirred.

While attending an A-list party to celebrate the successful opening of a new play written by one of Nic’s old schoolgirl friends, Harper, they meet Harper’s less-than-sociable husband, Dan, as well as members of the cast and other Broadway luminaries. When Dan is found murdered the following morning, ex-cop Nic and Nigel decide they’d better take an active interest as the police begin to look at Harper as a possible suspect. Fortunately, Nic’s ex-partner, Marcy Garcia, is one of the detectives assigned to the case and welcomes Nic’s participation.

Together with their huge bull mastiff, Skippy, and fortified by martinis, the Martinis conduct a parallel investigation using their friendship with Harper as an entrée to her friends and cast. Little by little, they begin to unravel the complex relationships among the group and turn up discrepancies in the various alibis of some of the potential murderers of a man universally disliked by everyone. A last-minute change to one of the play’s scenes helps to finally unmask the real killer.

This is a fast-moving novel, the third in a series, and enjoyable as much for the witty dialogue and the bumptious activities of an enormous dog as for the successful investigation of a puzzling murder.

Joseph Scarpato, Jr.
Teri Duerr
5778
Kiely
May 2017
a-perfect-manhattan-murder
14.99
Midnight Ink