The Devil's Card — Mary Maher

One May morning in 1889, the inky, already-bustling offices of the Chicago Tribune are electrified by the story of the year: the disappearance of prominent Irish doctor P. H. Cronin - and the appearance of a ghoulish, bloody trunk that may have held his corpse.
From the haunting true story of Dr. Cronin's murder, Mary Maher has woven a fascinating, grittily authentic mystery. Through the eyes of Tom Martin, a young, inexperienced reporter, she enters old Irish Chicago, its air heavy with ethnic friction. As Tom struggles with his own identity as an Irish-American, his work on the Cronin case with old hand Dick Huntley compels him to penetrate the Irish underworld, until he finds himself within fearsome range of the Clan na Gael, a secret society with wide - and deadly - influence.
Weaving a clever and original whodunit with social drama and romance, Mary Maher - herself a native of Chicago now living in Ireland - has crafted a captivating narrative, and a singular debut.