"Book conservator turned reluctant sleuth Tory Van Dyne once again joins forces with the (possible) ghost of Agatha Christie to solve a murder much too close to home in this spectral sequel.
It's been six months since Tory Van Dyne first encountered a woman in the Agatha Christie Room of the Mystery Guild Library claiming to be the author herself on holiday from the Great Beyond. Mrs. Christie has long since disappeared back to … wherever she came from. And Tory has returned to her safe, sane, sensible-and let's face it, boring-life.
Until, that is, a rare edition of Christie's The Murder in the Mews is somehow stolen from under the noses of two dozen library patrons, including a famous--and exceedingly vain-- Hercule Poirot impersonator, gathered in the Christie Room to celebrate the library's 50th anniversary. And, to make matters much, much worse, a guest is found bizarrely murdered in the library's back alley.
Thankfully Mrs. Christie reappears just in time to guide Tory and her fellow sleuths-snarky librarian Adrian Gooding, computer whiz-kid Mairead Butler, flighty cousin Nic and the hot detective himself, Sebastian Mendez-Cruz-as they work to solve a seemingly impossible crime. But nothing is impossible with Mrs. Christie on the case…"
"'Fans of classic detective fiction are in for a treat.' -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Book conservator Tory Van Dyne and a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie on holiday from the Great Beyond join forces to catch a killer in this spirited mystery from Amanda Chapman.
A 2026 Edgars Lillian Jackson Braun Award Nominee
Tory Van Dyne is the most down-to-earth member of a decidedly eccentric old-money New York family. For one thing, as book conservator at Manhattan's Mystery Guild Library, she actually has a job. Plus, she's left up-town society behind for a quiet life downtown. So she's not thrilled when she discovers a woman in the library's Christie Room who calmly introduces herself as Agatha Christie, politely requests a cocktail, and announces she's there to help solve a murder- that has not yet happened.
But as soon as Tory determines that this is just a fairly nutty Christie fangirl, her socialite/actress cousin Nicola gets caught up in the suspicious death of her less-than-lovable talent agent. Nic, as always, looks to Tory for help. Tory, in turn, looks to Mrs. Christie. The woman, whoever or whatever she is, clearly knows her stuff when it comes to crime.
Aided by an unlikely band of fellow sleuths -including a snarky librarian, an eleven-year-old computer whiz, and an NYPD detective with terrible taste in suits-Tory and the woman claiming to be her very much deceased literary idol begin to unravel the twists and turns of a murderer's devious mind. Because, in the immortal words of Miss Jane Marple, "murder is never simple.""
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