Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini’s next historical mystery The Paradise Affair, perfect for fans of Peaky Blinders and The Alienist. The latest Carpenter & Quincannon mystery: “Attractive characters, a finely tuned plot, and fascinating snippets of California history. Who could ask for more?”–Publishers Weekly on The Stolen Gold Affair Quincannon’s pursuit of two con … Stolen Gold Affair
Quincannon’s pursuit of two con men who have absconded to Hawaii with a considerable sum of his employer’s assets dovetails nicely with Sabina’s vision of a second honeymoon.
But neither is wont to stay out of trouble, and Sabina inadvertently becomes involved in a locked room/dying message murder in Honolulu.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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The Paradise Affair by Bill Pronzoni is the latest in the Carpenter and Quincannon mystery series which takes place at the turn of the twentieth century, and takes place in San Francisco. This time the perps lead the two to Hawaii, ostensibly for their second honeymoon. While on the ship, they meet a couple that immediately become friends and invite them to stay in their guesthouse for the duration. Quicannon is skeptical but his lovely wife accepts and so off they go. Quincannon goes into town immediately to hire a local investigator to assist in locating the two criminals he is chasing with results the next day. When he visits the house they have rented, he discovers the body of one of them: an overdose. In his pocket there is a map. Whether an accident or murder, he has no idea, but sets off the find the other one, convinced more than ever that they are planning something big. His search takes him out of town. For how long he is uncertain. Never one to lie about, Sabina enjoys Hawaii until one night, hearing a ruckus next door, she discovers the man of the house has been killed…the door locked from the inside. She, of course, is able to solve the mystery and accuse the murderer. John, through many trials, manages to solve his crime as well, although the other criminal is dead, too. He does retrieve his client’s wealth, which had been stolen. He was anxious to return to Sabina and to San Francisco.
I love this series. The two, Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon, seem an unlikely pair, but they get on famously. They were good as partner in the business and they are better now that they are married. They have just the right amount of skepticism and the perfect amount of faith in one another. Their adventures are entertaining, as was John’s to capture his prey. They are clever and persistent. They always finish the job, one way or another. Their interactions are entertaining and will make the reader smile. It was also fun to view Hawaii at this time in history. This is a terrific series. One I always look forward to reading.
I was invited to read a free ARC of The Paradise Affair by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #theparadiseaffair
historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, Hawaii, private-investigators, murder, murder-investigation, swindles****
Not an unbiased review as I really like the work of Bill Pronzini. This is one of an interrelated series but, other than the recent wedding between John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter of their investigative agency, there is nothing to make it a problem for a reader to just hop in with any of the series. Quincannon is avidly on the trail of a pair of hucksters from California who absconded with a pile of stock certificates and bearer bonds and have moved on to pull another scheme in Hawaii. Once there, the Sabina falls into a case on her own so there are actually two interesting mysteries being solved. The sleuthing is always good, the twists and red herrings exciting, and the characters fun.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books via NetGalley.