The Nathan Shapiro Mysteries Series

Two murders lead NYC detective Nathan Shapiro out of the city and into the country in this mystery from the authors of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Lois Williams of Glenville, Connecticut, is going about her business when she’s abruptly asked to bear witness to the signing of a wealthy elderly woman’s will. She is just as quickly rushed out, and is disturbed when she learns that Abigail Montfort died less than thirty minutes after her departure.   Lois can’t get the strange incident out of her head and confides her suspicions in newspaperman Bob Oliver, who agrees that something strange is afoot. As they investigate a young woman who may have been posing as Abigail Montfort, their search takes them to New York City and into the path of Det. Nathan Shapiro.   While Shapiro doesn’t much like leaving Manhattan, a mugging death in town seems to be linked to the old woman’s death in the country. Soon, he finds himself chasing leads with the two amateur sleuths—and what they discover is a mystery that belongs on the front page . . .   Murder and Blueberry Pie is the 2nd book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

From the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series: Murder is no laughing matter, but NYC detective Nathan Shapiro has to grin and bear it (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   When the discovery of Broadway actress Jennifer Singleton’s body makes the news, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro ends up involved in a case he’s not even assigned to. Shapiro’s wife, Rose, knows the only suspect and is convinced eighteen-year-old gardener Roy Baker couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the murder.   Baker claims he was working in the garden before he stumbled upon his employer’s body and ran to find a policeman. But between his fleeing the crime scene, the money in his pocket, and the blood on his clothes, the NYPD thinks Baker is trying to lead them up the garden path.   Rose stubbornly insists that despite the evidence, Baker is just a shrinking violet—not a killer—and convinces Shapiro to dig deeper into the story. Now, armed with only his wife’s hunch, Shapiro has to weed out the guilty from the innocent and determine who would want the prominent actress pushing up daisies.   Die Laughing is the 5th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

From the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series: When a columnist is shot, NYC detective Nathan Shapiro must find out who wanted to bury the lead (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Über-conservative political columnist Roger Claye has been killed with a bullet to the head in his own office at the far-right rag, the Sentinel. As Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and Det. Anthony “Tony” Cook get the scoop on their victim, they aren’t surprised to learn that he rubbed plenty of people the wrong way with his extreme views and racist diatribes.   Although it’s possible the murder was not politically motivated, it seems much more likely someone hated Claye’s opinions enough to want him dead. If that’s the case, it’s up to Shapiro and Cook to figure out who decided to silence the bigot with extreme prejudice.   A Streak of Light is the 9th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A clever killer leads New York City detective Nathan Shapiro on a twisted chase in this mystery from the authors of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Manhattan banker John Hayward is newly engaged and feeling on top of the world—until the NYPD arrive on his doorstep and ask him point blank why he killed a certain Miss Nora Evans.   Hayward has never even heard of Miss Evans, but the investigators are convinced she was his secret paramour. Incriminating evidence has been found, including a rent check for Miss Evans’s apartment forged with his signature, meaning the incident isn’t a case of mistaken identity—it’s a frame job.   Out on bail, Hayward intends to uncover the truth by himself and is shocked when his fiancée, Barbara Phillips, claims she believes him and insists on coming along. As the couple conducts their own investigation, Det. Nathan Shapiro is never far behind. His intuition tells him there’s more to this case than meets the eye . . . and he soon finds out just how right he is.   The Faceless Adversary is the 1st book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

It’s curtains for a vain actor in this Nathan Shapiro whodunit—the final book written by the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Called upon to investigate the suspicious death of actor Clive Branson, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and his right-hand man, Det. Anthony “Tony” Cook, are confronted with something strange: a dead man in makeup. It seems the thespian was keen on hiding his real age, and made himself up to appear much younger. Now, that’s the mortician’s job.   The cast and crew of Branson’s current Broadway production, Summer Solstice, are all shocked by the actor’s sudden death. Or so they seem. But when it’s revealed that barbiturates were used to take Branson out, Shapiro and Cook start auditioning suspects—because one of them is putting on a most-convincing performance to hide the fact that beneath a mask of innocence lurks a cold-hearted killer.   The Old Die Young is the 10th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

The apparent suicide of an artist looks sketchy to NYC detective Nathan Shapiro in this mystery by the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Painter Shackleford Jones died of a bullet to the head, behind the ear to be exact. The homicide captain brushes it off as suicide, but the medical examiner draws a different conclusion: The angle’s all wrong. Now it’s up to Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro to get some perspective on who might have wanted to take the up-and-coming artist out of the picture.   In the high stakes world of expensive avant-garde art, Shapiro feels out of his depth. But with Det. Anthony Cook at his side, he interviews those closest to Jones, and soon both detectives start to believe the incident in the artist’s Greenwich Village studio was murder after all.   Someone wanted Shackleford dead. Maybe it was for the money or maybe an even more sinister reason. Whatever the case, Shapiro will follow the clues until he can paint the killer into a corner.   Murder for Art’s Sake is the 4th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

From the authors of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries: NYC detective Nathan Shapiro must solve the case of a dead co-ed and an absent teacher (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Englishman Reginald Grant readily admits that the differences between British and American culture sometimes elude him. Unfortunately, a gruesome discovery soon forces the respected poet and visiting professor to deal with an institution he has little knowledge of: the New York City Police Department.   After answering questions about the young woman he found stabbed to death in the back of a cab, Grant leaves the station and considers his part in the unfortunate affair over. But when two men who claim to be with the police want to ask him a few more questions—and promptly take him hostage—Grant discovers his troubles are just beginning . . .   Det. Nathan Shapiro thought the poet seemed truthful when he claimed not to know the victim, but now it’s major news that Reginald Grant was actually the girl’s teacher—and the man himself is missing. With a blunder to make up for, Shapiro must do his best to bring everything to a justifiable end. But there’s more to this story than what’s in the headlines . . .   The Drill Is Death is the 3rd book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

NYC detective Nathan Shapiro throws the book at a novelist’s killer in this mystery by the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   A woman is found dead in the bathtub of her Greenwich Village apartment, the victim of an apparent suicide. But when the toxicology report reveals there was a large amount of barbiturates in her system—with no corresponding drugs in the apartment—the case is deemed suspicious.   The scene is mostly devoid of clues and the woman has no identification, meaning some serious sleuthing needs to be done. The NYPD think Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro is the right cop for the job, although the man himself has little faith in his own skills.   With Det. Anthony “Tony” Cook at his side, Shapiro discovers the victim was a bestselling author from Alabama who was in New York working on her latest novel. Shapiro doesn’t know much about the world of publishing, but before he’s through he’ll have to plot out a gripping conclusion to this case of literary murder.   Write Murder Down is the 7th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. Richard Lockridge (1898–1982) was one of the most popular names in mystery fiction from the 1940s through the ’70s. He is best known for the prolific detective series he wrote with his wife, Frances, including the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, and Captain Heimrich Mysteries. Upon Frances’s death in 1963, Richard continued writing, delivering new and much darker Nathan Shapiro and Captain Heimrich books. His works have been adapted for Broadway, film, television, and radio.  

From the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries: NYC detective Nathan Shapiro steps in when an ad man takes a long walk off a short ledge (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   When a wealthy executive takes a dive out of the twelfth-story window of his Madison Avenue advertising agency on a hot summer day, all signs point to an accident or suicide. But if there’s one thing Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro has learned in his time on the force, it’s that looks can be deceiving.   As Shapiro and his partner, Anthony “Tony” Cook, start their investigation, they begin to wonder if Frank Bradley may have been helped out the window. The man seems to have had few friends and plenty of enemies. Maybe another one of the mad men in the cutthroat world of big-time advertising decided to dabble in defenestration so they could make their way to the top.   If so, the detectives will have to step lively to solve this one, before their window of opportunity closes for good . . .   Or Was He Pushed? is the 8th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

In this mystery from the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series, the murder of a holy man has NYC detective Nathan Shapiro praying for a lead (The New Yorker).   Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .   Rev. Jonathan Prentis may have been a man of god, but he certainly didn’t die in a sacred manner. Anyone found dead in an East Village dive bar with an ice pick in his back is certainly no stranger to sin.   The popular preacher—better known as “the Voice”—made a name for himself saving his enthusiastic parishioners, but now it seems like someone was dead set on condemning him to meet his Maker.   Tasked with finding the killer, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and his partner, Anthony “Tony” Cook, have a host of suspects to investigate. As they question the Village Brawl’s staff and patrons, as well as the people who participated in the Revivalist prayer sessions Prentis presided over at Madison Square Garden, they realize they have their work cut out for them. It may just take a miracle to solve this case of saint turned sinner . . .   Preach No More is the 6th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.