City of Secrets

Set in the period just before women won the right to vote in the U.S., Thompson’s solid sequel to 2017’s City of Lies pits lovable Elizabeth Miles, a grifter turned suffragist, and her attorney fiancé, Gideon Bates, against criminals who have stolen twice-widowed Priscilla Knight’s life savings and left the young woman destitute. After Elizabeth befriends Priscilla, a sister suffragist, she realizes that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of both of Priscilla’s husbands are suspicious at best. Further investigation reveals that Priscilla’s second husband was being manipulated by blackmailers who had photographs of him in a decidedly unusual compromising position with a woman. The mystery turns out to be much more perverse than Elizabeth could’ve imagined, and the stress begins to wreak havoc on her relationship with Gideon. The everyday sexism that Elizabeth and other female characters have to deal with is a sad testament to how little things have changed in the last century. Thompson successfully combines an intriguing mystery with social commentary. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Nov.)