Books in series
#1
The Bughouse Affair
2013
In this first of a new series of lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco, former Pinkerton operative Sabina Carpenter and her detective partner, ex-Secret Service agent 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’s 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.
#2
The Spook Lights Affair
2013
In 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light. The seemingly impossible disappearance of her body creates an even more serious problem for the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.
Sabina hadn't wanted to take the assignment, but her partner John Quincannon insisted it would serve as entrée to the city's ultra rich and powerful. That means money, and Quincannon loves the almighty dollar. Which is why he is hunting the bandit who robbed the Wells, Fargo office of $35,000.
Working their separate cases (while Sabina holds John off with one light hand), the detectives give readers a tour of The City the way it was. From the infamous Barbary Coast to the expensive Tenderloin gaming houses and brothels frequented by wealthy men, Quincannon follows a danger-laden trail to unmask the murderous perpetrators of the Wells, Fargo robbery. Meanwhile, Sabina works her wiles on friends and relatives of the vanished debutante until the pieces of her puzzle start falling into place. But it's an oddly disguised gent appearing out of nowhere who provides the final clue to both cases—the shrewd "crackbrain" who believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes.
Fans of Marcia's Muller's bestselling Sharon McCone novels and Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective series will applaud The Spook Lights Affair and future exploits from the annals of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.
#3
The Body Snatchers Affair
2015
The Body Snatchers Affair: The latest in the Carpenter and Quincannon historical mystery series set in 1890's San Francisco from Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini.
Two missing bodies and two separate investigations take Carpenter and Quincannon from the heights above San Francisco Bay to the depths of Chinatown's opium dens.
For John Quincannon, this is a first: searching a Chinatown opium den for his client's husband, missing in the middle of a brewing tong war set to ignite over the stolen corpse of Bing Ah Kee.
Meanwhile, his partner, Sabina Carpenter, unsure of the dark secrets her suitor might be concealing, searches for the corpse of a millionaire, stolen from a sealed family crypt and currently being held for ransom.
With the threat of a tong war hanging over the city (a war perhaps being spurred on by corrupt officials), Carpenter and Quincannon have no time to lose in solving their cases. Is there a connection between the two body snatchers? Or is simple greed the answer to this one?
And why is the enigmatic Englishman who calls himself Sherlock Holmes watching so carefully from the shadows?
The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:
#1 The Bughouse Affair
#2 The Spook Lights Affair
#3 The Body Snatchers Affair
#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair
#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair
#6 The Bags of Tricks Affair
#4
The Plague of Thieves Affair
2016
Can the true identity of the Sherlock Holmes imposter be revealed at last?Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are no stranger to mysteries. In the five years since they opened Carpenter and Quinncannon, Professional Detective Services, they have solved dozens, but one has eluded even them: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity, who keeps showing up with a frustrating-though admittedly useful-knack for solving difficult cases.Roland W. Fairchild, recently arrived from Chicago, claims the man is his first cousin, Charles P. Fairchild III. Now, with his father dead, Charles stands to inherit an estate of over $3 million, if Sabina can find him and if he can be proved sane. Sabina is uncertain of Roland's motives but agrees to take the case.John, meanwhile, has been hired by the owner of the Golden State brewery to investigate the "accidental" death of the head brewmaster, who drowned in a vat of his own beer. When a second murder occurs and the murderer escapes from under his nose, John sets out to find the trail of the criminals-and to ensure he keeps his reputation for catching them.But while John is certain he can catch his quarry, Sabina is less certain whether she even wants to catch hers. Holmes has been frustrating but useful and even kind. She is quite certain he is mad but quite uncertain what will happen when he is confronted with the truth. Does every mystery need to be solved?
#5
The Dangerous Ladies Affair
2017
For the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, stopping extortionists is not only grand, but excitingly lucrative.
When a pleasant afternoon s bicycling through Golden Gate Park with a friend ends with the revelation of threatening letters, followed by a gunshot in a mansion garden, Sabina Carpenter knows this is a case that demands her immediate and undivided attention.
The questions her partner John Quincannon has to unravel are not difficult: Wrixton, a wealthy banker, has met his extortionist's first demand, but the order to pay another $5,000 is too much to face. The banker s real problem is something he doesn't want to reveal. That was fine with the detective, and when he was informed that some private letters were involved and Wrixton absolutely needed them back, there was nothing more Quincannon needed in the way of background. As with so many of San Francisco s elite, the bedroom doors never seemed to stay shut.
That was the easy part; far more difficult was the matter of the dead courier, murdered most foully in a locked room within a locked room, creating a trail that will take John Quincannon through most of San Francisco s less savory places and end with a riverboat trip that is anything but a relaxing cruise.
The Dangerous Ladies Affair is the next thrilling installment in this charming historical mystery series from MWA Grand Masters Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini.
"
#6
The Bags of Tricks Affair
2018
The Bags of Tricks Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini's detective series.
A conman always has a bag of tricks, ready to fool the unsuspecting, and almost everyone is unsuspecting until they get taken. When that happens, they turn to Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, to recover their money and what's left of their dignity, and perhaps even to save their lives.
When one such case leaves Sabina Carpenter the only witness to a murder, the family of the culprit vows to stop at nothing to keep her silent. The threat leaves John Quincannon deeply concerned for Sabina's safety, but there's no rest for the wicked and so the crime-solving duo must split up to tackle two separate con games, run by two villains with deadly bags of tricks at hand.
And when Sabina's life is put in danger, John must rush to save her while grappling with the terrifying realization of exactly how much she means to him.
The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:
#1 The Bughouse Affair
#2 The Spook Lights Affair
#3 The Body Snatchers Affair
#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair
#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair
#6 The Bags of Tricks Affair
#7
The Flimflam Affair
2019
The Flimflam Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini's detective series.
Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services is a fixture in San Francisco at the dawn of a new century. While the future is unclear, Sabina and John know one thing for certain; they will protect their clients from flimflammers, thieves, and murderers, and do whatever it takes to run these dregs of society into the arms of the law.
Sometimes, that requires a subtle touch. Professor A. Vargas, self-styled medium extraordinaire, and his partner Annabelle, use guile and trickery to swindle bereaved men and women eager to contact the spirits of deceased loved ones. John and Sabina must not only unmask these charlatans, but also solve the riddle of an impossible murder in the midst of a s�ance.
Other cases involve brute force and personal danger. Such as the theft of a burglarproof safe mysteriously emptied of gold bullion. And John's pursuit of a ruthless gang of counterfeiters, whose leader appears to be a man from John's past in the Secret Service—a man thought long dead.
Adding spice to these exploits is Sabina and John's personal relationship, which is rapidly progressing to an exciting new level.
The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:
#1 The Bughouse Affair
#2 The Spook Lights Affair
#3 The Body Snatchers Affair
#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair
#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair
#6 The Bags of Tricks Affair
#7 The Flimflam Affair
#8
The Stolen Gold Affair
2020
The Stolen Gold Affair
is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini's detective series.
In response to a string of gold thefts in a Mother Lode mine, Quincannon goes undercover as a newly-hired miner to identify and capture the men responsible.
Meanwhile, Sabina finds herself not only making plans for her and Quincannon's wedding, but also investigating both an audacious real estate scam and an abusive young man's villainous secret.
The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:
#1 The Bughouse Affair
#2 The Spook Lights Affair
#3 The Body Snatchers Affair
#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair
#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair
#6 The Bags of Tricks Affair
#7 The Flimflam Affair
#8 The Stolen Gold Affair
#9
The Paradise Affair
2021
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini’s next historical mystery The Paradise Affair, perfect for fans of Peaky Blinders and The Alienist .
The latest Carpenter & Quincannon “Attractive characters, a finely tuned plot, and fascinating snippets of California history. Who could ask for more?”― Publishers Weekly on The Stolen Gold Affair
Quincannon’s pursuit of two con men who have absconded to Hawaii with a considerable sum of his employer’s assets dovetails nicely with Sabina’s vision of a second honeymoon.
But neither is wont to stay out of trouble, and Sabina inadvertently becomes involved in a locked room/dying message murder in Honolulu.
Authors
Marcia Muller
Author · 61 books
A native of the Detroit area, Marcia Muller grew up in a house full of books and self-published three copies of her first novel at age twelve, a tale about her dog complete with primitive illustrations. The "reviews" were generally positive. In the early 1970s, having moved to California, Muller found herself unemployable and began experimenting with mystery novels. In the ensuing thirty-some years, Muller has authored over 35 novels—three of them in collaboration with husband Bill Pronzini—seven short-story collections, and numerous nonfiction articles. Together she and Pronzini have edited a dozen anthologies and a nonfiction book on the mystery genre. Muller received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 1993. In 2005 Muller was named a Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America, the organization's highest award. Pronzini was named Grand Master in 2008, making them the only living couple to share the award (the other being Margaret Millar and Ross Macdonald). The Mulzinis, as friends call them, live in Sonoma County, California, in yet another house full of books.
Bill Pronzini
Author · 104 books
Mystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink Married to author Marcia Muller. Pseudonyms: Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Jack Foxx William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Alex Saxon
