Maiden Lane

April 18, 2016
From the moment bootleggers make the grisly discovery of a half-decayed body in the Detroit River, this gritty mystery grabs the reader and never lets go. The second in Januska's Border City Blues series (Riverside Drive) is again set in chilly city of Windsor, Ont., in the winter of 1923. Bootlegger Jack McCloskey tries to get his business back on track, but his gang is distracted by the idea that a key they found hidden on the corpse they pulled from the river might unlock a fortune hidden by a crime boss who was gunned down months before. A second plot begins when Detective Campbell of the Windsor Police sees a man fall or jump to his death from a third-story window. According to witnesses, the victim was a man whose wife had been summoned during a séance with the spiritualist Madame Zahra in that third-floor room. Campbell summons his friend Dr. LaForet, the coroner, to help in determining whether it was a suicide or murder. As the two stories converge, McCloskey and Campbell collaborate to solve the mysteries and stop a rival gang's violence. This is an exciting, stylishly written piece of Prohibition-era historical crime fiction with an occult element and an array of memorable characters.

May 1, 2015
The second Border City Blues novel (following the excellent Riverside Drive, 2013) is set in 1923. The border citiesDetroit and Windsor, Ontarioare suffering through a nasty winter. Prohibition is the law of the land in the U.S., and there's a brisk trade in illegal booze running through the border cities. Bootlegger Jack McCloskey is having some troubles with a rival gang, and he winds up working side-by-side with, of all people, Detective Campbell of the Windsor police. Campbell, a character who has appeared in the author's short stories, is a welcome addition to the series, a street-smart and intelligent cop who understands that sometimes you have to work with people on the other side of the law when your interests and their interests line up. The book amply demonstrates that Riverside Drive was no fluke. Fans of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire need to check this one out right away.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)