Tragedy at Sarsfield Manor: A Joe Scintilla Mystery/Conspiracy of Silence: A Joe Scintilla Mystery

Packaged like one of the classic Ace "double" paperbacks, Joshi's second and third mysteries featuring 1930s PI Joe Scintilla fall short of the standard set by the first in the series, 2010's The Removal Company. Tragedy at Sarsfield Manor, the shorter and better of the two, offers an atmospheric setting for a puzzling golden age whodunit. Scintilla seeks to prove the innocence of a college friend, Charles Jameson, who was caught red-handed, literally clutching the antique dagger used to kill his aunt at the family's Maryland homestead, Sarsfield Manor. The solution will resonate with John Dickson Carr fans. In Conspiracy of Silence, an 18-year-old "blonde bombshell" hires Scintilla to clear her father of his brother's murder, which he confessed to a dozen years earlier. Conspiracy of Silence demonstrates that Scintilla's character is just not distinctive enough to carry a book that lacks a compelling plot. (Apr.)