The Spook Lights Affair, Marcia Muller
The Spook Lights Affair, Marcia Muller
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

The Spook Lights Affair
A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery

Author: Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini

Narrator: Meredith Mitchell, Mark Peckham

Unabridged: 6 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/03/2013


Synopsis

A debutante's missing body, murder most foul, and weird spectral lights in the fog make for a thrilling gaslight-era tale of mystery and detection.In 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light. The seemingly impossible disappearance of her body creates an even more serious problem for the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.Sabina didn't want to take the case, but her partner John Quincannon insisted it would serve as entr├®e to the city's ultra rich and powerful. That means money, and Quincannon loves the almighty dollar—which is why he is hunting the bandit who robbed the Wells Fargo office of $35,000.Working their separate cases—while Sabina holds John off with one light hand—the detectives give readers a tour of the city the way it was. From the infamous Barbary Coast to the expensive tenderloin gaming houses and brothels frequented by wealthy men, Quincannon follows a danger-laden trail to unmask the murderous perpetrators of the robbery. Meanwhile, Sabina works her wiles on friends and relatives of the vanished debutante until the pieces of her puzzle start falling into place. But it's an oddly disguised gent appearing out of nowhere who provides the final clue to both cases—the shrewd "crackbrain" who believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes.

About Marcia Muller

Marcia Muller is a New York Times bestselling author and creator of the critically acclaimed series starring private investigator Sharon McCone. She has also written many short stories. She has won six Anthony Awards, a Shamus Award, and is also the recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, their highest accolade.

About Bill Pronzini

Bill Pronzini has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Hammer Award from the Private Eye Writers of America.

About Meredith Mitchell

Meredith Mitchell is an actress who has performed in such films as Mona Lisa Smile and The Reunion, on stage with Shakespeare & Company and the New Repertory Theatre, and on television on Good Morning America. She received her BA in psychology from Emory University and her MFA in acting from Brandeis University.

About Mark Peckham

Mark Peckham is an actor and director based in Rhode Island. In addition to working with Trinity Rep, Virginia Stage Co., and many Boston-area theaters, he was the voice of Joseph Smith in the award-winning PBS documentary American Prophet with Gregory Peck.


Reviews

Goodreads review by William

Following in the footsteps of The Bug House Affair; Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon tie together two apparently unrelated mysteries in the greater San Francisco environs of the turn of the last century. Although the cases are fictional, much of the story involves real people and places, so that......more

Set in San Francisco in 1895, the Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services finds itself involved in two separate cases that in the end become one and the same. While the storyline may prove simple and predictable, the descriptive passages of California living at the turn of the cent......more


Quotes

“Muller and Pronzini’s latest entry in their mystery series featuring Carpenter and Quincannon excels at evoking the time period of 1895 San Francisco…Social hierarchy plays a key role in both how the characters interpret the clues, and how the other characters treat the two detectives. An appearance by a detective who could be Sherlock Holmes adds to the puzzle.” RT Book Reviews

“An intriguing mystery and a threat to San Francisco PI Sabina Carpenter’s career drive Muller and Pronzini’s engaging second late-nineteenth-century historical.” Publishers Weekly

“Mystery Writers of America Grand Masters Muller and Pronzini return to San Francisco in 1865 with new cases for John Concannon and Sabina Carpenter…Historical mystery readers will enjoy this well-researched story from a pair of always reliable genre veterans.” Booklist