The Bughouse Affair - Marcia Muller

First in a series of lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco featuring a former Pinkerton operative and an ex-Secret Service agent.

Private detectives Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon undertake what initially appear to be two unrelated investigations. Sabina's case involves the hunt for a ruthless lady "dip" who uses fiendish means to relieve her victims of their valuables at Chutes Amusement Park and other crowded places. Quincannon, meanwhile, is after a slippery housebreaker who targets the homes of wealthy residents, following a trail that leads him from the infamous Barbary Coast to an oyster pirate's lair to a Tenderloin parlor house known as the Fiddle Dee Dee.

The two cases eventually connect in surprising fashion, but not before two murders and assorted other felonies complicate matters even further. And not before the two sleuths are hindered, assisted, and exasperated by the bughouse Sherlock Holmes.

Fans of Marcia Muller's bestselling Sharon McCone novels and Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective series will applaud this and future exploits from the annals of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.

"Those who enjoy historical mysteries are in for a particular treat with this delightful story featuring two intrepid detectives who solve their cases using different but equally effective methods." —Booklist

"The easy and amusing read flows beautifully . . . A treat for Rhys Bowen and Laurie R. King readers." —Library Journal

"Fans of Steve Hockensmith's Holmes on the Range historicals will welcome this Carpenter and Quincannon novel . . . A doubly impossible crime only adds to the enjoyable plot." —Publishers Weekly