Murder on Madison Square: A Gaslight Mystery

It’s 1900 in Thompson’s solid 25th Gaslight mystery (after 2021’s Murder on Wall Street), and Ethel Bing, who wants to divorce her husband, Alvin, part-owner of an electric automobile manufacturer, asks New York City private eye Frank Malloy to get evidence of her spouse’s infidelity by luring him into a compromising situation to be photographed. Frank declines the unethical request. A few days later, Frank runs into Ethel and Alvin at an auto show at Madison Square Garden, where Alvin touts one of his vehicles as easy for anyone to drive. That observation takes on added relevance after someone fatally runs him over, making Ethel the prime suspect. She again turns to the detective for help, and this time Frank agrees. He and his wife and investigative partner, Sarah, have several possibilities to consider, including possible murder motives of Alvin’s business partner and Alvin’s first wife, previously thought dead. Thompson does a good job showing how the automobile had begun to change people’s lives in the service of a nicely surprising plot. This is one of the series’ better entries. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Apr.)