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It's the turn of the century and New York is in the throes of an election: Tammany Hall against the Hearst organization. It's not a pretty sight. Detective Simon Ziele has moved to a small suburb of the city because he can no longer handle the violence. His father is long gone, his mother recently dead, and his fiancée died in the dreadful Slocum disaster. His boss, Joe Healy, is not happy to have Ziele around; Ziele could be training for Healy's job and retirement is not quite at the top of Healy's list right now. So Ziele could really use some small-town crime. But that's not going to happen. Ziele is called to the Wingate house, where a young woman has been brutally murdered. Sarah Wingate is a mathematician, a quiet but determined feminist, not the kind of woman one would expect to come to a bad end. Ziele begins the investigation, an investigation that also includes a missing housemaid. Very early on, he is offered help from a noted criminologist, Alistair Sinclair, who believes that one of his subjects is the murderer. Michael Fromley has a troubled past, and his murderous fantasies are clearly reflected in the manner of Sarah Wingate's death. Ziele is very interested in Sinclair's theories, but is too good a policeman to rely solely upon those theories. He is quite willing, however, to use some of the newer and just as untried methods of police work, such as fingerprints. Healy does come around to Ziele's methods, and their relationship improves. Pintoff won the 2008 St. Martin's Minotaur/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel contest with this book. It's a damn good book. I knew early on (before page 100) who the killer was, but it was an intuitive thing, based on one phrase, and I was not quite correct. I spent the rest of the book trying to figure out if I really was right, looking for the red herrings and the diversions. Reading the book with that perspective demonstrated Pintoff's grasp of the craft, her plotting skills, and her ability to develop good characters. I'm really hoping the second book comes out quickly.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, May 2009
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