The Bags of Tricks Affair: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery

MWA Grand Master Pronzini’s lighthearted sixth mystery set in late-19th-century San Francisco (after 2017’s The Dangerous Ladies Affair) finds private investigators Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon working undercover at McFinn’s Gold Nugget Saloon and Gaming Parlor in Grass Valley, Calif. Their mission is to unmask a card sharp known as Lady One-Eye. That task turns deadly when the woman’s husband is murdered and Carpenter is the only reliable witness. One-Eye’s brother tells Carpenter that if she testifies at the trial, she will suffer the consequences. The intrepid detectives return to San Francisco, where they are caught up in individual cases involving pluviculture (“a fancy word for rainmaking”) and a locked-room conundrum. They also witness a kidnapping and bold escape. Along with all the derring-do, readers are treated to entertaining snippets of history, including tidbits about the Olympic Games, train travel, and wild west con men. This fast-moving novel offers plenty of fun. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary. (Mar.)