Mysterious Tales of Old St. Paul: Three Cases Featuring Shadwell Rafferty

Millett’s gripping 10th historical featuring saloon owner/PI Sadwell Rafferty (after Rafferty’s Last Case) binds three novellas into a single volume that ranks among the series’ best. In “Death in the News,” a newspaper publisher asks Rafferty to identify the vandal responsible for defacing the front of his building. The stakes are raised to dangerous heights when the publisher is murdered. “The Birdman of Summit Avenue” finds Rafferty investigating millionaire Ambrose Harriman, who houses a menagerie of birds in his estate and stands accused of slaughtering a spate of local cats, including the pet of a powerful railroad baron. The final entry, “The Gold King,” finds Rafferty convening with a mysterious man who arrives at a hotel in search of ancient treasure, though his true motives are murky at best. Each novella effortlessly balances fair-play deduction and page-turning action—there’s not a weak link in the bunch. After a bumpy previous installment, this gets the series back on track. (Oct.)