The Clockmaker

The disappearance of 19-year-old Joseph Levy, returning to London by train after visiting his fiancée, drives Adams’s skillfully plotted fourth 1920s mystery featuring Scotland Yard Det. Chief Insp. Henry Johnstone (after 2018’s Kith and Kin). When the police show little interest in pursuing the matter, Joseph’s uncle, clockmaker Abraham Levy, persuades Johnstone to investigate, saying he needs someone “who will not just pretend to be concerned and go away thinking, ‘Oh, this is just a Jew boy I’m dealing with, so what concern is this of mine?’ ” Johnstone and his colleague, Det. Sgt. Mickey Hitchens, turn up a web of lies and misdirection that reaches far beyond the simple case of a missing person to the development of criminal gangs in London’s East End. An intriguing subplot concerns Johnstone’s astute sister, who’s married to a wealthy man, and her efforts to steer her husband away from looming financial disaster. Adams shines light on the darker realities of the times without being heavy-handed. (Sept.)