The Butcher of Berner Street

Reeve’s outstanding third Victorian mystery featuring journalist Leo Stanhope, who was born in a woman’s body but identifies as male (after 2019’s The Anarchists’ Club), opens at a “penny gaff” (a sporting establishment) in Whitechapel, where, according to an unsigned note sent to Leo’s newspaper, there’s going to be a “cold-hearted murder” that night. Following a wrestling match, the lights go out, revealing the body of club owner Oswald Drake hanging from a rope, apparently dead. But Drake reveals that he’s faking, and that he sent the message to Stanhope just to publicize his business. The episode proves more significant when, two days later, Drake is murdered by someone who injected something into his neck and hanged him. Leo investigates after being advised of the death by an anonymous telegram, but their initial conclusions may put the wrong person in the dock. They delve into Drake’s background and learn that several people had reasons to kill him. Reeve never makes the amateur sleuthing less than plausible and enables readers to sympathize with his lead’s efforts to keep their gender identity a secret. This series just keeps getting better. (Dec.)