cover image The Attic on Queen Street

The Attic on Queen Street

Karen White. Berkley, $27 (400p) ISBN 978-0-451-47525-1

Bestseller White’s bustling seventh and final Tradd Street mystery (after 2019’s The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street) finds psychic realtor Melanie Trenholm determined to win back her estranged husband, Jack, “a bestselling author of true crime mysteries.” Melanie admits Jack has cause to be disaffected, as she broke her promise “to share everything with him. To be a team in all things.” Meanwhile, slimy plagiarist Marc Longo, who once stole a book idea from Jack, searches for lost chunks of the Hope Diamond hidden in the Trenholms’ Charleston, S.C., mansion, in an effort to disrupt the household. In addition, Melanie must deal with the insistent but frustratingly inarticulate spirits that haunt the place, as well as solve the cold case murder of her best friend’s sister. No surprise, Melanie and Jack eventually realize that they can face any challenge, supernatural or mundane, if they get back together. White neatly and efficiently ties up all the plotlines, but new readers will struggle to recognize just who all the people and ghosts are and why they matter. Longtime fans will be satisfied. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Nov.)