Blackstone and the Wolf of Wall Street

Spencer (the pen name of Alan Rustage) gets everything right in his excellent eighth historical featuring Scotland Yard's Insp. Sam Blackstone. As 1900 draws to a close, the inspector is still in New York City, where he traveled to handle an extradition in 2009's Blackstone and the New World. When thugs kidnap reclusive millionaire William "Big Bill" Holt from his Coney Island home, where he's lived in an isolated, underground room for seven years, and hold him for ransom, powerful men in state government who don't trust the regular police put Blackstone on the case. With Holt's two sons having only three days to come up with the ransom, the pressure is on the English inspector. Spencer brilliantly plants clues throughout for the astute reader to spot. A plausible and resourceful hero complements a sophisticated plot, whose twists will remind golden age fans of John Dickson Carr's classic puzzlers. (Oct.)