42nd Street Library Mystery

Murder at the 42nd Street Library follows Ambler and his partners in crime-solving as they track down a killer, shining a light on the dark deeds and secret relationships that are hidden deep inside the famous flagship building at the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. In their search for the reasons behind the murder, Ambler and his crew uncover sinister and profoundly disturbing relationships among the scholars studying in the iconic library. Included among the players are a celebrated mystery writer who has donated his papers to the library's crime-fiction collection, that writer's long-missing daughter-a prominent New York society woman with a hidden past-and more than one of Ambler's colleagues at the library. Shocking revelations lead inexorably to the traumatic events that follow-the reading room will never be the same.

When a murder desecrates the halls of New York City's iconic 42nd Street Library, Raymond Ambler, the library's curator of crime fiction, has a personal interest in solving the crime. But his quest to solve the murder is complicated by personal entanglements involving his friend-or perhaps more-than-friend-Adele Morgan. Not only does Adele's relationship with the staffer who was murdered get in the way of Ambler's investigation but her growing interest in a darkly handsome Islamic scholar disturbs him. When the Intelligence Division of the New York Police Department takes over the case from NYPD homicide detective Mike Cosgrove-Ambler's friend and sometimes partner-in-crime-solving-Ambler suspects that the murder of the young woman and the curious intervention of NYPD's intelligence division are connected. But with the city's law-enforcement establishment determined to stop his investigation, the inquisitive and intrepid librarian faces challenges that may put his very life at risk.

A note from bartender Brian McNulty, Raymond Ambler's friend, confidant, and sometimes adviser, sets the librarian sleuth off on a murder investigation, one that he pursues reluctantly until a second murder upends the world as he knows it. The second victim is a lady friend of McNulty's-and the prime suspect is McNulty himself. As Ambler pursues his investigation, he discovers that the murdered woman had a double life. Her intermittent visits to the city-a whirlwind of reckless drinking and illicit liaisons with men she met in the cocktail lounges-had their counterpart in suburban Fairfield County Connecticut where, as Dr. Sandra Dean, she practiced dermatology and lived in a gated community with a doting husband and a young daughter. While Ambler looks into the past of Dr. Sandra Dean to understand the murder of Shannon Darling in the present, NYPD homicide detective Mike Cosgrove investigates the men in Shannon Darling's life. She might have been murdered because she frustrated the wrong man. It could have been a jealous wife. In fact, any number of people might have murdered Shannon Darling. Or, as Ambler suspects, did someone murder Dr. Sandra Dean? Yet, no matter which way he turns, McNulty emerges as a suspect. Ambler's dilemma seems insurmountable: Should he keep searching for the truth behind the murders if the deeper he probes, the more evidence he finds that points to the morally rumpled bartender as a murderer?

Hard-boiled crime writer Will Ford might be critically acclaimed, but he's every bit as drunken and disreputable as the ne'er-do-well private eye in his novels. So, when Ford offers Raymond Ambler-crime-fiction curator at New York City's prestigious 42nd Street Library, a collection of his papers, Ambler wonders if the project will be more trouble than it's worth. Still, the disgraced author is an important talent, and Ambler's never been afraid of a fight. Ambler's ready for the controversy that greets news of the acquisition. He's not ready, however, for what he finds when he finally receives the papers: a gripping unpublished short story apparently based on a real case, with an explosive author's note. If it's true, there's been a shocking coverup at the heart of the NYPD, and a cop has got away with murder. If it's true. Ford's not talking, and Ambler's good friend Mike Cosgrave, a veteran NYPD homicide detective, is beyond skeptical. But as the pair investigate, they're drawn into the sordid underbelly of 1990s New York, packed with pimps, thugs, and mobsters...and they'll be lucky to come back out alive.

An invitation from a prestigious liberal arts college to buy their mystery-novel collection comes as a welcome surprise for Raymond Ambler, crime-fiction curator at New York City's prestigious 42nd Street Library. But his pleasure quickly turns sour when the collection's curator-Ambler's friend Sam Abernathy-tells him he plans to fight the acquisition tooth and nail. The collection would make a fine addition to his holdings, but Ambler's not looking for drama. It's a shame, then, that drama's looking for him. Just a couple of weeks later, one of Abernathy's colleagues is shot dead from the library's roof, and all signs point to the crime-loving professor as the perpetrator of the violent act. Why would Abernathy kill? Was it for his collection, for college politics, or for some dark secret yet to be revealed? Ambler's not sure his old friend's a killer, but he is sure he wants justice-for both the living and the dead. Working with his son John, he launches into an investigation at the college library, and it's not long before he discovers missing manuscripts, explosive secrets and scandals amongst the faculty staff...and a cunning killer who'll stop at nothing to cover up their crimes. “The 42nd Street Library” mystery series blends traditional mystery with a hint of noir and is a great pick for fans of quintessential New York writers like Ed McBain and SJ Rozan, along with those who enjoy traditional amateur sleuths and fair-play puzzles.