Goodwin’s debut novel, a sure hit for fans of Will Thomas and C. The dark shadows grow longer as Jasper and Hy close in on the truth–and a killer lies in wait for his ultimate prey.īook 1 in The Lightner & Law series, ABSENCE OF MERCY, is a gritty, dark, noirish historical mystery set in 1857 New York City.Ī string of grisly murders in Pre-Civil War New York propels an unlikely pair of detectives into a deadly tinderbox in S. And the shadowy figure who knows their dirtiest secrets re-emerges with a devious new plan that goes far beyond simple blackmail. But, as they discover, each had a good reason to hate him.īeauchamp’s last will and testament–stashed away in a safety deposit box, along with a king’s ransom in jewels–yields few clues, but Jasper and Hy discover something even more valuable: a little black book filled with names, dates, and a cache of damning details.įollowing a trail of leads that reaches back to the early 1840s, the detectives uncover a sordid litany of high society scandals that still threatens the city’s moneyed establishment. On the surface, Beauchamp had a lot of friends. NYC inspectors Jasper Lightner and his partner, Hieronymus Law, are called in to investigate–but the further they dig into the wealthy financier’s background, the dirtier the story gets. When he reappears more than a year later, he’s in several pieces, packed in salt in a shipping crate in New Orleans. They are NOT cozy mysteries, either.īook 2 in The Lightner & Law Series is out in the world!Īlbert Beauchamp disappeared just before Christmas in 1856.

These mysteries are NOT romances, so they are completely different than my other books. I also write historical mystery under the name S.M.

Carol potenza