Mr. Good-Evening

Gray’s crafty third historical whodunit featuring Calvin Hook (after Vile Spirits) gives the Canadian police inspector his most intricate puzzle yet. In 1929, prominent stockbroker Ralph Tucker is found stabbed to death in his Vancouver, B.C., office. The police arrest his 20-year-old secretary, Doris Decker, and accuse her of goring Tucker with one of her spiked high heels, which was caked in blood and discovered near the corpse. Tucker’s death becomes an international sensation, with Decker nicknamed “the Fatal Flapper” by the press, but Hook—who’s known within the Vancouver PD as a contrarian—wonders whether his colleagues have rushed to judgment. His doubts grow after a conversation with his friend, radio journalist Ed McCurdy, who notes that the supposed murder weapon was well beyond Decker’s budget, and that the office she’d worked in had plenty of other, more reasonable weaponry on hand. Hook and McCurdy’s subsequent investigation draws their attention to a cult called the Aquarians of De Courcy Island, who believe the end of civilization is near, and who may have had their reasons for disposing of Tucker. Evocative period detail and a solid roster of red herrings enrich the familiar setup. This satisfies. (Oct.)