New York Nocturne: The Return of Miss Lizzie -- Walter Satterthwait

In 1924  16-year-old Amanda Burton's parents go off on a tour around the world and send her to spend the summer with her uncle, the charming John Burton.  They have a magical week, at the end of which Burton is brutally murdered in his apartment with Amanda sleeping not far away.  The cops arrest Amanda and toss her in the jug, where she's treated brutally until she's rescued by ace attorney Morrie Lipkind, sent by . . . Lizbeth Borden, with whom Amanda earlier had a fine adventure in Satterthwait's Miss Lizzie.  Naturally it's necessary for Lizbeth and Amanda to solve the crime before the cops come after Amada again, and so they do, assisted by Dorothy Parker, a P.I. named Carl Leibowitz, and a mysterious (and very dangerous) man named Cutter.

Before the mystery is solved, we're treated to a wonderful tour of New York City in 1924, from fine restaurants to the Cotton Club to dens of iniquity, and we meet some wonderful characters, including Arnold Rothstein, who sits down for a poker game with Miss Lizzie.

If you've read Satterthwait's work before, you know you're in for a treat.  Excellent writing, beautiful descriptions, superb characterizations, and fine plotting.  It's all here.  If you've never read Satterthwait before, do yourself a favor and grab this book.  You can thank me later.