Murder in the Reading Room

Raymond Ambler, crime-fiction curator at New York City’s prestigious 42nd Street Library, doesn’t consider it a big deal when he misses a call from visiting professor Robin Cartwright... until she turns up dead in a hotel room.

Who killed the quiet academic, and why? Ambler feels duty-bound to find the culprit, and not just because the police half-suspect him of the crime. It wasn’t just Professor Cartwright’s phone call he missed, but any sign that she was in danger.

Robin was researching accidental deaths she believed were murders—could her work have led to her death? Soon Ambler is knee-deep in suspects, including a shady ex-husband, a slippery pastor, and several of his own colleagues.

But the clock is ticking. If he doesn’t catch a ruthless killer soon, it won’t just be his own life in danger, but also the lives of his partner and newborn child.

New York crime-fiction librarian — and reluctant amateur sleuth — Ray Ambler investigates a puzzling murder that’s too close to home for comfort.