A married detective duo's latest inquiry takes them to every stratum of society, from the very top to the very dregs. Sarah Malloy, a midwife from a society family, has married Frank, a former police officer who inherited a great deal of money but works as a private detective to stave off boredom. Sarah has helped arrange a marriage between Jack Robinson and pregnant society lady Jocelyn, whose parents sent her to Sarah's clinic after she was raped in hopes of hiding the birth. Jack, who dabbles in illegal activities, hires Frank to look into the murder of Jocelyn's rapist, Hayden Norcross, the worthless scion of a wealthy family of investment bankers, before the police start looking too closely at Jack himself. Since the assault, Hayden had been forced to marry Violet Andriessen, whom he had also raped and treated abominably, creating suspects in her brother and father, although her parents seem more concerned about society's judgment than the legal system's. While Frank mingles with the upper class with his well-connected father-in-law, Sarah and her mother pick up gossip that indicates that Hayden was even more depraved than they knew. Hayden's mother, desperate for a grandchild, takes Violet under her wing while the two families squabble about her dowry, which her bridegroom spent. After Hayden's father becomes the next victim, Sarah, Frank and their crime-solving helpers must use their every skill to untangle a skein of lies and deceit. The charms and horrors of early-20th-century New York on full display. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Set in 1900, Edgar finalist Thompson's subpar 24th Gaslight mystery (after 2020's Murder on Pleasant Avenue) finds midwife Sarah Malloy attending to Jocelyn Robinson, who's soon to give birth after having been raped by Hayden Norcross, a Wall Street investment banker, nine months earlier. After someone fatally shoots Norcross in his office, Jocelyn's husband, Jack, an obvious suspect who was plotting a nonviolent revenge aimed at the banker's reputation, retains Sarah's PI husband, Frank, to probe the homicide and clear his name. Frank has lots of leads. Norcross was a serial rapist, and his enemies included anarchists and a partner at the bank who felt Norcross got unwarranted preferential treatment because his father was the bank's owner. Inevitably, Sarah gets drawn into the inquiry, using her profession as a way of accessing Norcross's widow, who's in denial about her own pregnancy and who was brutalized by her husband. A superficial portrayal of the period, thin characters, and a less than riveting plot aren't helped by an improbably melodramatic climax. This one's strictly for series fans. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Apr.)