One day in January 1947, a kidnapper snatches a baby from its pram in Central Park. He demands a ransom of $10,000 and warns the parents against contacting the police: "We have people everywhere."
It becomes a case for Lillian Pentecost, "the greatest detective in New York City," and her sidekick, Willowjean "Will" Parker. When the kidnapper collects the cash from the drop location, Will steps out of a nearby phone booth and trails him and floors him, before bundling him into a cab where her boss sits waiting. The man won't talk but Lillian is one step ahead with a deal — and a double-cross — which ensures the baby's safe return and the kidnapper's swift arrest.
Stephen Spotswood hooks us with this slick and exciting opener to his third novel featuring his crime-fighting duo. The first chapter turns out to be a mere teaser. "Secrets Typed in Blood" gets properly underway when Holly Quick, a writer for the pulp magazine Strange Crimes, turns up at the door of Pentecost and Parker Investigations. "Somebody is stealing my murders," she tells the pair.
The criminal at large is not a plagiarizing writer but a copycat killer. Three recent murders — a shooting, a stabbing and what appears to be a death caused by claws — resemble those from the "twisty, blood-and-guts, psycho-thriller revenge tales" that Holly wrote under the pen name Horace Bellow.
Lillian and Will are tasked with tracking down the culprit. Their progress is hampered by Holly's stipulation that they don't involve the authorities. It is complicated further by another case running parallel which requires Will to go undercover at a law firm to get a lead on elusive crime supremo Olivia Waterhouse.
Will dislikes masquerading as a secretary ("I just hate pencil skirts. I can never fit a holster under the things") but nevertheless throws herself into the role. However, her energies are diverted back to the main case when a gumshoe Lillian hires is found dead in their yard. According to Lillian, it is up to Will to catch their killer before he strikes again.
Spotswood's third Pentecost and Parker adventure is a constant delight. The author keeps us guessing as his sleuths cast their net wide. They interview Holly's therapist and editors, trawl through the "Creep File" of dubious correspondence sent to Horace, and engage the help of forgers, pathologists and safe-crackers. Things take a macabre turn when they attend the "murder salon" and Black Museum of a bloodthirsty philanthropist; they take a happier turn when Holly reveals her true feelings to Will.
Spotswood allows his heroines to shine. Lillian, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, is shown in moments of strength and weakness. Will, her "leg-woman" and "occasional browbeater," proves a force to be reckoned with. The dialogue crackles, the mysteries intrigue and there is an abundance of wit and grit. This is a rollicking ride with a class double-act.
Malcolm Forbes has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Economist and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Secrets Typed in Blood
By: Stephen Spotswood.
Publisher: Doubleday, 384 pages, $27.
