Stefanie Pintoff

Having relocated to less-violent Westchester County after the tragic loss of his fiancée, detective Simon Ziele takes the case of a brutally murdered young woman and follows leads to a local criminologist's violent subject; an investigation during which Simon wonders if someone is imitating the suspect's methods.

In the Shadow of Gotham

A group of strangers are taken hostage inside Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and all of Manhattan is poised to react. When it becomes clear that the centuries-old cathedral itself is in peril, Eve Rossi and her team of ex-cons are tasked with identifying the mastermind behind this dastardly plot.

Hostage Taker

The careers of New York City detective Simon Ziele and his former partner Captain Declan Mulvaney went in remarkably different directions after the tragic death of Ziele's fiancée in the 1904 General Slocum ferry disaster. Although both men were earmarked for much bigger things, Ziele moved to Dobson, a small town north of the city, to escape the violence, and Mulvaney buried himself even deeper, agreeing to head up the precinct in the most crime-ridden area in the city. Yet with all of the detectives and resources at Mulvaney's disposal, a particularly puzzling crime compels him to look for someone he can trust absolutely. When a chorus girl is found dead on a Broadway stage dressed in the leading lady's costume, there are no signs of violence, no cuts, no bruises—no marks at all. If pressed, the coroner would call it a suicide, but then that would make her the second girl to turn up dead in such a manner in the last few weeks. And the news of a possible serial killer would be potentially disastrous to the burgeoning theater world, not to mention the citizens of New York. Following on the heels of Stefanie Pintoff's acclaimed and award-winning debut, A Curtain Falls is a moody and evocative tale that follows Ziele and his partners as they scour the dark streets of early-twentieth-century New York in search of a true fiend.

A Novel

A Curtain Falls

The murder of Judge Hugo Jackson is out of Detective Simon Ziele’s jurisdiction in more ways than one. For one, it’s high-profile enough to command the attention of the notorious new police commissioner, since Judge Jackson was presiding over the sensational trial of Al Drayson. Drayson, an anarchist, set off a bomb at a Carnegie family wedding, but instead of killing millionaires, it killed passersby, including a child. The dramatic trial has captured the full attention of 1906 New York City. Furthermore, Simon’s assigned precinct on Manhattan’s West Side includes the gritty Tenderloin but not the tonier Gramercy Park, which is where the judge is found in his locked town house with his throat slashed on the night before the jury is set to deliberate. But his widow insists on calling her husband’s old classmate criminologist, Alistair Sinclair, who in turn enlists Ziele’s help. Together they must steer Sinclair’s unorthodox methods past a police force that is so focused on rounding up Drayson’s supporters that they’ve all but rejected any other possibilities. Once again, Stefanie Pintoff’s combination of vital characters and a fascinating case set amongst the sometimes brutal and sometimes glittering history of turn-of-the-century New York makes for totally compelling reading in Secret of the White Rose, the third novel in her Edgar Award–winning series.

Secret of the White Rose

A curtain falls

The murder of Judge Hugo Jackson is out of Detective Simon Ziele's jurisdiction in more ways than one. For one, it's high-profile enough to command the attention of the notorious new police commissioner, since Judge Jackson was presiding over the sensational trial of Al Drayson. Drayson, an anarchist, set off a bomb at a Carnegie family wedding, but instead of killing millionaires, it killed passersby, including a child. The dramatic trial has captured the full attention of 1906 New York City. Furthermore, Simon's assigned precinct on Manhattan's West Side includes the gritty Tenderloin but not the tonier Gramercy Park, which is where the judge is found in his locked town house with his throat slashed on the night before the jury is set to deliberate. But his widow insists on calling her husband's old classmate criminologist, Alistair Sinclair, who in turn enlists Ziele's help. Together they must steer Sinclair's unorthodox methods past a police force that is so focused on rounding up Drayson's supporters that they've all but rejected any other possibilities. Once again, Stefanie Pintoff's combination of vital characters and a fascinating case set amongst the sometimes brutal and sometimes glittering history of turn-of-the-century New York makes for totally compelling reading in Secret of the White Rose, the third novel in her Edgar Award–winning series.

Edgar Award–winning author Stefanie Pintoff shoots to thrill in her gripping new novel of suspense. The night before the Thanksgiving Day Parade, a crowd gathers on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to watch the giant balloons fill with helium and rise toward the sky. Then the festive ritual takes a terrifying turn—a gunshot rings out, police commissioner Logan Donovan falls, and panic erupts. When the chaos clears, another crime is revealed: Donovan’s daughter, Allie, has been kidnapped. Soon the abductor will make his shocking demands. Within hours, Special Agent Eve Rossi and her handpicked team of quick-thinking, swift-moving, hard-striking former convicts know a lot about the kidnapper. He’s somewhere close by, holding Allie along with a captive boy. He hates Logan Donovan enough to destroy him. And he will kill. But there’s more Eve and her team don’t know—about a weapon planted inside the parade, about Commissioner Donovan’s hidden life, and about the secrets his daughter keeps. As people line the streets, bands and marchers prepare, and the massive parade steps off into New York’s echoing canyons, a desperate race begins to keep the city from being torn asunder by a brutal act of violence. But even as her squad deploys for action, Eve grapples with a harrowing question: Whom should she fear more—a vengeful man threatening innocent lives, or a charming, arrogant cop fighting to save his daughter, who may be trying to cover up his crimes? Praise for Stefanie Pintoff’s Hostage Taker “The perfect blend: an urban thriller as modern as tomorrow’s New York Times, driven by a two-hundred-year-old idea, with a main character to die for . . . I hope we see plenty more of Eve Rossi and her team.”—Lee Child “A high-voltage game of parry and thrust.”—New York Daily News “Pintoff skillfully ratchets up the tension and throws more than one curveball into this twisty, exciting read.”—Booklist (starred review) “Strong writing, a well-paced plot, and intriguing characters make this one of the best thrillers of the year. Fans of Lisa Gardner will find much to like here.”—Library Journal (starred review) “A high-velocity roller coaster of a thriller.”—Jeffery Deaver “A brilliant thriller . . . Stefanie Pintoff is one of the best crime writers at work today.”—Michael Koryta

Stefanie Pintoff

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