Hall of mirrors

Lesbian amateur sleuths Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson face down a serial killer in Copenhaver's enjoyable sequel to The Savage Kind. The action kicks off when Nightingale and Watson's friend and literary hero, mystery writer Roger Raymond, is found dead in the ruins of his burned-out Washington, D.C., home during the 1950s Lavender Scare. Police quickly dismiss the death as another homosexual suicide--the body was discovered with its head in the kitchen oven--but inconsistencies at the scene lead Nightingale and Watson to speculate that the dead man may not have been Raymond at all. They team up with Raymond's lover and writing partner, Lionel Kane, to investigate, and their inquiry points toward one of their old enemies: Adrian Bodgan, a homophobic government spy and serial killer who has friends in high places. Might Nightingale and Watson's previous efforts to oust Bodgan have provoked him to lash out against Raymond? Copenhaver keeps things moving at a relentless pace as he introduces multiple narrators and a plethora of plot twists. Fans of the first book will enjoy the deepening of Nightingale and Watson's romantic relationship, and queer history aficionados will find the depiction of the period's antigay political paranoia fascinating. This series deserves a long life. Agent: Annie Bomke, Annie Bomke Literary. (June)

In 1954, Lionel Kane watches his life go up in flames as his apartment burns. The police claim that Lionel's writing partner and lover, Roger Raymond, died by suicide in the fire. As a white man, Roger was the face of the writing team's popular books, written under the pen name Ray Kane, because Lionel who is Black, would not have been accepted as an author. Roger was fired from his job in the State Department, a victim of the government's witch hunt for gay people. As Lionel clings to the hope that Roger didn't die, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson fear they might have sent him to his death. Their obsession with a spy and suspected serial killer, Adrian Bogdan, led them to their favorite author, Ray Kane. Together with Roger, they set a trap for Bogdan, but kept it a secret from Lionel. Now there's an unidentified corpse as a result of the fire. Roger Raymond or Adrian Bogdan? VERDICT The second in the Nightingale trilogy, following The Savage Kind, is a mystery, but the historical elements add complexity as the author explores issues of passing as straight or white, concealing an identity at a time of physical and emotional violence toward LGBTQIA+ and Black people.--Lesa Holstine