Blood Brothers

It’s not easy for a pretty young woman to get past both the entrenched sexism of the early 1960s and the hidebound British newspaper industry, as shown in Hall’s action-filled fourth mystery featuring photographer Kate O’Donnell (after 2013’s Dressed to Kill). Kate gets a freelance gig working with Carter Price, a national crime reporter who has heard rumors of a major heist being planned. Meanwhile, Kate’s sometime boyfriend, Det. Sgt. Harry Barnard, looks into a case involving a mutilated body found on a construction site in London’s West End. Harry is also under scrutiny because of his association with Ray Robertson, a childhood pal turned gangster. The plucky Kate won’t quit even when things get dangerous. The tension builds as the different plot lines come together, but Hall never loses control over the varying threads. She also does a terrific job of explaining the inner working of the press at a time when newspapers still mattered. (June)