Murder in the Manuscript Room: A 42nd Street Library Mystery

Early in Lehane’s intricate sequel to 2016’s Murder at the 42nd Street Library, crime fiction librarian Ray Ambler meets writer and former undercover cop Paul Higgins, who’s donating his papers to the NYPL. If Higgins has information related to the murder of union leader Richard Wright in Brooklyn in the 1980s, he’s not telling Ray. Ray has an interest because a good friend of his has been imprisoned for years for killing Wright, but now claims he’s innocent. Meanwhile, the discovery of the body of library research assistant Leila Stone in Ray’s office leads to the arrest of Middle Eastern scholar Gobi Tabrizi, whose research Leila secretly examined. Ray and his fellow librarian and prospective girlfriend, Adele Morgan, believe that officials are casting Gobi as a convenient culprit. Ray’s homicide detective friend, Mike Cosgrove, is later puzzled by high-level interference in the Leila investigation and heads off in pursuit of Higgins, who has disappeared. Lehane provides food for thought by comparing past FBI transgressions with present-day Homeland Security activities. Agent: Alice Martell, Martell Agency. (Nov.)