annieb123's Review of Murder Off the Page

by Con Lehane

A note from bartender Brian McNulty, Raymond Ambler’s friend, confidant, and sometimes adviser, sets the librarian sleuth off on a murder investigation, one that he pursues reluctantly until a second murder upends the world as he knows it. The second victim is a lady friend of McNulty’s - and the prime suspect is McNulty himself.

As Ambler pursues his investigation, he discovers that the murdered woman had a double life. Her intermittent visits to the city - a whirlwind of reckless drinking and illicit liaisons with men she met in the cocktail lounges - had their counterpart in suburban Fairfield County Connecticut where, as Dr. Sandra Dean, she practiced dermatology and lived in a gated community with a doting husband and and a young daughter.

While Ambler looks into the past of Dr. Sandra Dean to understand the murder of Shannon Darling in the present, NYPD homicide detective Mike Cosgrove investigates the men in Shannon Darling’s life. She might have been murdered because she frustrated the wrong man. It could have been a jealous wife. In fact, any number of people might have murdered Shannon Darling. Or, as Ambler suspects, did someone murder Dr. Sandra Dean?

Yet, no matter which way he turns, McNulty emerges as a suspect. Ambler’s dilemma seems insurmountable: Should he keep searching for the truth behind the murders if the deeper he probes, the more evidence he finds that points to the morally rumpled bartender as a murderer?

Originally published on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder Off the Page is the third of the 42nd St. Library mysteries by Con Lehane. Released 19th Nov 2019 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

The main protagonist isn't young, tough, or wisecracking. He's a mild mannered librarian with a melancholy background, entangled in a tense custody truce over his grandson with one of the boy's other grandparents. I loved that he wasn't a superhero. The characters are well written, with well plotted motivations and, in some cases, agendas. There's a lot going on: an estranged daughter from a fragile/neglect background whom he meets in the course of his job as a library curator, murder, a "lost weekend" type subplot involving a secondary character (McNulty the bartender) from the other books, a lesser known author whose papers have been donated to the library, and more. Despite so many subplots, the author handled the complex storyline well, and I never felt lost or confused. The murders are bloodless and off-scene. The denouement is tense and action filled and mostly satisfying.

One of the main characters in this book (McNulty) is also the protagonist in his own series of 3 books, making this book a tie-in/crossover. Though I haven't read the tie-in books, this book works well as a standalone. I had read the previous book in this (42nd St. Library) series, but it had been a while; so I effectively read it by itself.

The language in this book is rough (R rated), there's is potentially triggering discussion of sexual background and abuse/abandonment.

Four stars, entertaining, well written, and satisfying.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Murder Off the Page

by Con Lehane

Reviewed by annieb123 on Nov 19, 2019

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