London Calling: A Mirabelle Bevan Mystery

Set in 1952, Sheridan’s satisfying second Mirabelle Bevan mystery (after 2016’s Brighton Belle) opens with the disappearance of debutante Rose Bellamy Gore, who was last seen at a London jazz club in the company of saxophonist Lindon Claremont. Lindon, a childhood friend of Vesta Churchill, Mirabelle’s partner in the debt collection agency that the pair run in Brighton, calls at their office the day after Rose goes missing for advice. He agrees he should cooperate with the police, who regard him with extra suspicion because he’s black. Lindon returns to London, where he subsequently dies in police custody, an apparent suicide. Tough and glamorous Mirabelle, who worked for British intelligence during WWII, travels with Vesta to London, where she calls on police acquaintances and former war colleagues for clues; she also visits some jazz clubs. The story grows progressively darker as Sheridan delves into issues of race and class—not to mention loyalty and abuse of power—in this extraordinarily rich historical. Agent: Jenny Brown, Jenny Brown Associates (U.K.). (Apr.)