A Howl of Wolves

In Flanders’s entertaining fourth mystery featuring London book editor Samantha Clair (after 2017’s A Cast of Vultures), Sam accepts the invitation of her upstairs neighbors, actors Kay and Anthony, to attend the opening night of a new production of a blood-soaked 16th-century play in which Kay’s character meets a grisly end. Sam is not enthusiastic, but wants to support her friend—especially since Kay’s adorable six-year-old son, Bim, has a small role in the play. But when the curtains part on the second act, the body of the director, Campbell Davison, is revealed hanging from the rafters. Days later, the costume designer is killed. Only when a woman claiming to be Sam kidnaps Bim does Sam muster all her forces—including her live-in love, homicide detective Jake Field—to find the killer. Sam’s delightfully acerbic British wit more than compensates for a plot that falls apart at the end. Flanders gives readers a fascinating backstage look at the theater and insight into the amusing machinations of the English publishing world. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management. (May)