Crook Tales for Two — Ellen Byerrum

It's 1934. PROHIBITION IS OVER!Champagne corks are popping and guns are blazing!When Broadway's hot new female playwright crosses paths with a handsome (and mysterious) private eye, there will be drama (and comedy too.)It occurred to me that if I hadn't tried to do a good deed and return the gold watch Mr. Scavullo left at the lunch counter, a strange man wouldn't be holding me at gunpoint. That was the problem with good deeds. Unintended consequences.Comedy, mystery, and romance intertwine in a frothy mix in CROOK TALES FOR TWO, a caper set in New York City in 1934 with an Art Deco verve. Prohibition is over and those with money pop the bubbly, dance the nights away, and attend the latest plays.Mere days before her first Broadway opening, playwright Esmé de LaForet discovers what happens when good deeds go awry: murder, mobsters, reporters, dangerous dames from high and low society, and nerve-wracking opening nights. Esmé has enough on her plate. She doesn't need the complications that come when she tries to return a lost watch to its owner, a man she's seen at church. There's a lot about this Scavullo guy she doesn't know. She follows him with the watch and sees him duck into an empty school, so she does the same. That's when shots ring out and she seeks safety in a supply closet, only to be discovered by a stranger--with a pistol in his hand. He claims to be one of the good guys, but he's dressed like a flashy mobster.Scavullo's murder kicks off their first meeting with a bang, and Esmé finds herself playing cat-and-mouse with this secretive stranger, private investigator Graydon Chase, while coping with gold-digging debutantes, mothers and butlers, lurking mobsters, and a major dose of romantic chemistry. This detecting duo dig, clash, crash, and match wits, while juggling temperamental-yet-dramatic actors, unpredictable gangsters, and a deadly virus sweeping the city. Oh, and with Esme's life at risk from an unknown killer, she might also be trying to dodge a case of love.CROOK TALES FOR TWO is an effervescent, fun and delightful read with a stylish Nick-and-Nora vibe.