Write Murder Down

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.