WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 45Review_FICTION
Lovell, who writes mysteries under a
pseudonym and is a member of a mystery
book club in 1890s Bath, England, finds
herself in a real-life mystery when her
former fiancé, Ronald St. Vincent, is killed
in her home. As the police seem ready to
cast the murder as the outcome of a lovers’
quarrel, she and her friend William,
Viscount Wethington, take up sleuthing.
They follow up an anonymous note that
indicates St. Vincent was involved in the
drug trade. They also examine St. Vincent’s
shipping business and pursue suspects
such as his rejected girlfriend and his
scheming nephew and heir. The engage-
ment of a private investigator by Lady
Amy’s father and an attempt on the lives
of Lady Amy and Lord William add pre-
dictable complications. Anachronisms,
implausibilities, and uneven plotting fail
to convince. Fans of Hutton’s romances
may appreciate this. Agent: Nicole Resciniti,
Seymour Agency. (May)
Bitter Paradise:
A Dr. Zol Szabo Medical Mystery
Ross Pennie. ECW, $15.95 trade paper
(352p) ISBN 978-1-77041-465-5
Pennie’s fascinating fifth Dr. Zol Szabo
medical mystery (after 2017’s Beneath the
Wake) finds Canadian medical investigator
Szabo, an infectious disease specialist, and
his coworker and fiancée, Natasha Sharma,
facing what could be “the biggest public-
health circus... since that mad-cow
debacle.” The sudden appearance of a
virus with polio-like symptoms has the
citizens of Hamilton, Ont., terrified. The
epidemic’s first three cases came from an
elementary school: two pupils recovered,
but a teacher’s aide died. With the death
toll rising, Szabo sets out to discover the
identity and origin of the virus as well as
why it emerged in Hamilton. A subplot
concerns the murder of Marwan, a Syrian
barber, who was knifed to death in front
of Szabo’s 14-year-old son. This murder
seems tame in contrast to the dramatic
and surprising twists and turns of
Szabo’s search for answers regarding the
viral infection. Retired surgeon and
pediatrician Pennie, himself an expert on
infectious diseases, injects the narrative
with authenticity and a sense of urgency.
Michael Crichton fans will be pleased.
(May)
Cheap Heat: A Jack Dixon Novel
Daniel M. Ford. Santa Fe Writers Project,
$14.95 trade paper (248p) ISBN 978-1-
733777-71-1
In Ford’s slow-moving sequel to 2019’s
Body Broker, Delaware PI Jack Dixon’s
history as a star college wrestler lands him
a job as a bodyguard to a former teammate
turned professional wrestler performing
under the Civil War moniker U.S. Grant.
Grant has received anonymous threatening
letters, including one signed “Knights of
the South” warning him to stay out of
Virginia. Dixon immerses himself in the
world of a minor league wrestling tour,
which Ford wryly describes through the
filter of his sensitive tough-guy hero.
Dixon’s efforts to identify specific indi-
viduals who pose a threat to Grant are
weighed down by Dixon’s finicky, intro-
spective nature and details of the case he
handled in Body Broker, which saw him
grapple with a violent biker gang whose
surviving members still seek revenge.
Dixon is a sleuth in development, with a
character that’s a little too prickly to be
charming. The plot relies so heavily on the
previous book that the startlingly violent
takedown of the true villains is a bait
and switch that leaves readers a little
bewildered. Hopefully, Ford will give
Dixon more room to grow in his next
outing. (May)In the Company of Fools
Tania Bayard. Severn, $28.99 (224p)
ISBN 978-0-7278-8941-6
It’s 1386 in Bayard’s immersive third
French Medieval mystery (after 2019’s In
the Shadow of the Enemy), and the bouts of
madness of Charles VI are of growing
concern. Some members of the king’s court
suggest that they’re the result of sorcery
on the part of Valentina Visconti, Duchess
of Orléans and wife of the king’s brother.
Meanwhile, in
an atmosphere
rife with accu-
sations of
witchcraft and
evil omens, the
king’s fools find
a baby girl
wrapped in
dirty rags, her
face blackened
by grease, in theking’s garden. In this condition, the child
would be considered “a ‘gift’ from the
Devil” and destroyed. To spare the baby
this fate, the fools ask court scribe
Christine de Pizan for help. She takes the
infant home and vows to find her mother.
When a woman is found dead in the
garden the next day, Christine suspects a
connection. As she delves deeper, she
uncovers a sordid tale of revenge and
murder. Christine’s sound observations
stand in nice contrast to the prevailing
belief in magic. Fans of well-researched
historical mysteries will be rewarded.
Agent: Josh Getzler, HSG Agency. (May)★ The Streel:
A Deadwood Mystery
Mary Logue. Univ. of Minnesota, $22.95
(224p) ISBN 978-1-5179-0859-1
In 1877, 15-year-old Brigid Reardon,
the narrator of this superior series launch
from Logue (the Claire Watkins mysteries),
and her 16-year-old brother, Seamus, are
dispatched by their impoverished Irish
parents to America. Seamus seeks his for-
tune out West, while Brigid, who knows
she must go into domestic service, winds
up with the wealthy Hunt family in St.
Paul, Minn. Just as she catches the eye of
handsome heir Charlie Hunt, she receives
news of her mother’s death. After praying
to St. Brigid, she realizes she needs to be
with her only family in America and sets
out to join Seamus in Deadwood, a raw
gold-mining town in the Dakota Territory.
Soon after her arrival, Seamus is accused
of murdering a prostitute he was in love
with. After Seamus flees, it’s up to Brigid
to find the real killer. Her investigation is
hampered by male reluctance to see women
as anything except wives or whores—and
further complicated by Brigid’s uncertainty
about how smooth-talking Charlie views
her. A well-constructed plot, lilting prose,
and a heroine who’s determined to escape
constricting female roles make this an
exceptional regional historical. Readers
will look forward to Brigid’s further
adventures. (May)A Fatal Finale
Kathleen Marple Kalb. Kensington, $26
(304p) ISBN 978-1-4967-2723-7
Set in 1899 Manhattan, Kalb’s unfocused
debut and series launch introduces Ellen
O’Shaughnessy, who runs a traveling