A Crime of Fashion

Inspired by one of the first real-life female columnists at the New Yorker, this enticing historical mystery follows Freddie Archer as she solves crimes while reporting on the glamorous world of the rich and famous in 1920s Manhattan.

New York, 1925: As Manhattan’s sharpest fashion and nightlife columnist, Freddie Archer’s been to places that would make most men blush. But the speakeasies and jazz clubs she writes about are nothing compared to what she gets up to in her spare time.

When a family friend goes missing—a judge with a Tammany Hall pedigree and friends in low places—his disappearance seems as crooked as a poorly hemmed evening gown. Her friends and family warn her off. So does Brandt Adams, her bootlegger beau. And one very handsome federal agent wants Freddie to steer clear for reasons of his own. But Freddie follows the loose threads, straight into the company of folks like Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano, the sort of men whose acquaintance leads a girl to sleep with one eye open.

From the Zeigfield Follies to one of Louis Armstrong’s impossible solos to the hush of couture salon, Freddie peels back each rug and inspects what lurks beneath.

And what she finds? A secret worth killing for.