The Nightingale Affair

Inspector Charles Field makes a welcome return in Mason’s stellar second historical whodunit (following 2019’s The Darwin Affair). In 1867, Field is working as a private investigator in London when his latest case reawakens a past one. Tory MP William Hythe-Cooper has hired Field to prove his wife, Susan, is having an affair with Jeremy Sims, a political rival. After Field spots Sims fleeing the flat he reserved for his and Susan’s trysts, the inspector finds Susan’s strangled corpse in the flat with a piece of red fabric stuffed in her mouth. This was also the trademark of a serial killer known as the Beast of the Crimea who targeted nurses working under Florence Nightingale in the 1850s; Field was dispatched to Crimea to catch him, which he thought he’d done. The new crime leads Field to wonder whether he’s dealing with a copycat or the original killer. The action alternates between past and present, each switch masterfully heightening the tension. Mason’s superb plotting and well-drawn lead bode well for future installments. Agent: Gail Hoghman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents. (May)