cover image The Formula for Murder

The Formula for Murder

Carol McCleary. Forge, $24.95 (360p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2869-4

Set in 1890, McCleary’s exciting third mystery featuring crime reporter Nellie Bly (after 2011’s The Illusion of Murder) finds Nellie in London to bury her protégé, cub reporter Hailey McGuire, an apparent suicide. Nellie can’t help wondering what big story Hailey was working on. Who cleaned out her desk and searched her room? And who is now stalking and threatening Nellie? Relentless prying leads Nellie to a high-end society spa in Bath, where miraculous rejuvenations with peat moss are claimed by the controversial owner, Dr. Anthony Lacroix, who suddenly disappears. Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and H.G. Wells lend able assistance in the search for Dr. Lacroix and his hidden laboratory. Nellie and company must contend with periodic murders and eerie occurrences on the moors of Dartmoor, where they’re pursued by wild creatures, both animal and human. For all the action, the book’s main draw remains Nellie—brash, confrontational, decisive, and even romantic. Agent: Harvey Klinger, Harvey Klinger Inc. (July)