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DEATH AT THE OLD HOTEL by Con Lehane Thomas Dunne Books, June 2007 240 pages $24.95 ISBN: 031232300X Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Brian McNulty comes from a strong union background (his father is a Communist), so when a wildcat strike breaks out at the Savoy Hotel, he’s in the thick of things. It seems simple enough. There was a slight mix-up between an idiot of a hotel manager and one of the barmaids. She is a bit of a ditz but one of the best working the bar. He is a jerk.

In the middle of a busy time, he’s hovering over her, which makes her nervous. She drops her tray of drinks, he goes instinctively to help her but 'accidentally' grabs her breast. Without thinking, and most women won’t be surprised at this reaction, she slaps him a good one upside the head. He fires her. The staff see all this, and walk out when he won’t retract the firing. The union wants the barmaid rehired. The management refuses. Then MacAlister, the manager, is killed.

There are plenty of suspects. It’s unlikely, given her character, that Mary the barmaid killed him. It’s quite possible that Barney, the bartender working with Brian, could have. There’s plenty of motive, not all of which Brian is privy too early on. There’s Betsy Tierney’s husband, the cop, who has reason to be jealous of Brian and therefore reason to set him up. There are people in the union not happy with MacAlister. There also seem to be people, connected people, who may or may not have cause to be upset with Mr MacAlister.

Lehane writes with understated talent about the convoluted world of union politics in New York City. He writes with quiet affection about his characters, with all their flaws and foibles. McNulty is one of those men found so often in mystery fiction: he has a moral code which precludes him from staying on the sidelines, especially when he thinks wrong has been done. DEATH IN THE OLD HOTEL is a small gem of a book by a master craftsman. The drink recipes at the end are a nice little bonus.

Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, August 2007

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