A Beer at a Bawdy House

After their debut in A Ticket to Die For, the Chicago-based husband-and-wife team of Dugan, who's a lawyer, and Kirsten, who's a PI, are back for another case, and a corker it is. Bishop Peter Keegan has been receiving disturbing messages and strange phone calls from a stranger threatening to reveal a painfully embarrassing incident in the clergyman's past, one that could cost him his position if it were made public. The bishop suspects that the person behind this campaign of terror is none other than his half-brother, Walter Keegan, who's the acting chief of detectives of the Organized Crime Division in the CPD. Kirsten has reasons to be leery of working on a case involving Walter Keegan, for she blames him for the death of her father, a Chicago cop. But despite this ominous history, or perhaps because of it, Kirsten takes the case. The question is, what does anyone have to gain from harassing the bishop? What can he possibly have that someone wants? With the help of Dugan, Kirsten digs into the case, finding it even more convoluted than she expected. The trail seems to lead to an antigovernment extremist group with its own peculiar agenda, but just when everything seems cut-and-dried, up comes a stunning twist. Judging from this book and its predecessor, the Edgar-nominated author has created a second compelling and enjoyable series (he also writes the Malachy Foley mysteries), with well-drawn characters, serpentine plots and atmospheric settings. Agent, Jane Jordan Browne. (Jan.)