The Brooklyn North Murder

At the start of this entertaining outing from Obey (The Curse of the Braddock Brides), hedge fund manager Cam Billings dives into a lake to participate in the swimming leg of Upstate New York’s Morgansburg Annual Fun Run, but doesn’t emerge from the water. Mary Watson, a university librarian and computer programmer, begins investigating whether Cam’s disappearance is linked to his unpopular plan to transform the small town of Morgansburg into a tech hub, and whether there was foul play involved. Mary consults her AI sidekick, Doyle, programmed to learn to write a detective novel by assimilating a database of every detective story every written, who soon finds a blueprint to Cam’s disappearance in one of the worst mysteries ever written, S.S. Van Dine’s The Dragon Murder Case. Doyle’s snarky and insightful commentary helps Mary sort through the many suspects and red herrings, while Mary also navigates the minutiae of academia and budding romances with the head of campus security, Mack Byrnes, and a tech wizard, Nigel St. Hubbins. Smart literary references, including running commentary on story structure and Mary’s role as the protagonist, will delight fans of classic mysteries. In Mary and Doyle, Obey has created a crime fighting duo that readers will be eager to revisit. (Feb.)