This image is the cover for the book Bughouse Affair, The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries

Bughouse Affair, The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries

First in a series of lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco featuring a former Pinkerton operative and an ex-Secret Service agent.

Private detectives Sabina Carpenter and 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 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.

“Those who enjoy historical mysteries are in for a particular treat with this delightful story featuring two intrepid detectives who solve their cases using different but equally effective methods.” —Booklist

“The easy and amusing read flows beautifully . . . A treat for Rhys Bowen and Laurie R. King readers.” —Library Journal

“Fans of Steve Hockensmith’s Holmes on the Range historicals will welcome this Carpenter and Quincannon novel . . . A doubly impossible crime only adds to the enjoyable plot.” —Publishers Weekly

Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini

MARCIA MULLER is the New York Times–bestselling creator of private investigator Sharon McCone. The author of more than thirty-five novels, Muller received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award in 2005. She lives in northern California with her husband, the crime novelist Bill Pronzini.

BILL PRONZINI's novel Snowbound received the Grand Prix de la Littérature Policière as the best crime novel published in France in 1988. A Wasteland of Strangers was nominated for best crime novel of 1997 by both the Mystery Writers of America and the International Crime Writers Association. In addition to six Edgar Award nominations and one win for A Wasteland of Strangers, Pronzini has received three Shamus Awards, two for best novel and the Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the author of the Nameless Detective novels, the longest-running private investigator series currently in print, which includes the award-winning entries Hoodwink and Boobytrap. He lives in northern California with his wife, the crime novelist Marcia Muller.

Tom Doherty Associates