Sammy Two Shoes

Set in 1976, DePoy’s entertaining fifth Foggy Moskowitz mystery (after 2019’s Sidewalk Saint) takes Foggy, a semireformed thief, back to New York City. Despite being the subject of an active warrant in New York, Foggy sneaks back there from Florida to hear a favorite jazz singer perform. While he’s sitting in a bar awaiting the show, he’s accosted by a friend and former partner-in-crime, Sammy Two Shoes. Sammy’s girlfriend, Phoebe Peabody, the stage manager for an all-female production of Hamlet set in a prison, needs help. Phoebe suspects that Emory Taylor, who plays Ophelia, is out to kill her, because Phoebe was about to fire the actor. Foggy regards the evidence as thin—a note left for Phoebe quoting a line from Hamlet—but agrees to visit the theater and talk to Emory. Foggy later attends the show, but after the performance Emory is found dead backstage with a pencil thrust through her neck. DePoy manages to keep things plausible as Foggy gets involved in a murder investigation. Series fans will be intrigued by the setup for the next book. Agent: Janet Reid, Janet Reid Literary. (Oct.)