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Dead in the Frame: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery Audiobook
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A New York Times Best Mystery of 2025
The most dramatic installment yet in the Nero Award–winning Pentecost and Parker series, as Will scrambles to solve a shocking murder before Lillian takes the fall for the crime.
NEW YORK CITY, 1947: Wealthy financier and ghoulish connoisseur of crime, Jessup Quincannon, is dead, and famed detective Lillian Pentecost is under arrest for his murder. Means, motive, and a mountain of evidence leave everyone believing she’s guilty. Everyone, that is, except Willowjean “Will” Parker, who knows for a fact her boss is innocent. She just doesn’t know if she can prove it.
With Lillian locked away in the House of D—New York City’s infamous women’s prison—Will is left to root out the real killer. Was it a member of Quincannon’s murder-obsessed Black Museum Club? Maybe it was his jilted lover? Or his beautiful, certainly-sociopathic bodyguard? And what about the mob hit-man who just happened to disappear after the shots were fired?
With the city barreling toward the trial of the century, each day brings fresh headlines and hints of long-buried scandals from Lillian’s past. Will is desperate to get her boss out from behind bars before her reputation is destroyed. Because the House of D is no kind place, especially for a woman with multiple sclerosis. Or one with so many enemies. Her health failing and being targeted by someone who wants her dead, Lillian needs to survive long enough to take the stand.
With time running out on both sides of the prison walls, Will and Lillian must wager everything to uncover who put their thumb on the scales and a bullet in Quincannon’s head. Before Lady Justice brings her sword down, ending Pentecost and Parker's adventures once and for all.
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"Spotswood’s newest title takes on another closed-door mystery to great effect. He balances the tension, the red herrings, and the clues well, and fans of the series will be in for a treat. Mystery readers in general would do well to place this series on their TBR lists to enjoy the twists and turns that make these titles a joy to read."
— Library Journal, starred review
Quotes
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Razor-sharp style, tons of flair, a snappy sense of humor, and all the most satisfying elements of a really good noir novel.
— Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher -
A delight . . . it’s a pleasure to watch [Pentecost and Parker] sifting through red herrings and peeling secrets back like layers of an onion. . . Just like his mystery-writing ancestor [Rex Stout], Spotswood understands that the detective story should be sound, but spending time with unforgettable characters is paramount.
— New York Times Book Review -
My new favorite sleuthing duo are Pentecost and Parker, the spiritual sisters of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin . . . Utterly brilliant!
— Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of a Certain Age -
Stephen Spotswood hard-boils with the best of ‘em!
— Alan Bradley, bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series -
Spotswood’s newest title takes on another closed-door mystery to great effect. He balances the tension, the red herrings, and the clues well, and fans of the series will be in for a treat. Mystery readers in general would do well to place this series on their TBR lists to enjoy the twists and turns that make these titles a joy to read.
— Library Journal, starred review -
Razor-sharp style, tons of flair, a snappy sense of humor, and all the most satisfying elements of a really good noir novel.
— Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher -
A delight . . . it’s a pleasure to watch [Pentecost and Parker] sifting through red herrings and peeling secrets back like layers of an onion. . . Just like his mystery-writing ancestor [Rex Stout], Spotswood understands that the detective story should be sound, but spending time with unforgettable characters is paramount.
— New York Times Book Review -
My new favorite sleuthing duo are Pentecost and Parker, the spiritual sisters of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin . . . Utterly brilliant!
— Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of a Certain Age -
Stephen Spotswood hard-boils with the best of ‘em!
— Alan Bradley, bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series -
A lively period frolic.
— Kirkus -
One wild ride . . . The satisfying wrap-up includes the promise of a follow-up investigation that Lillian feels compelled to undertake. Kudos to Spotswood for highlighting the realities of both women and transgender women in the justice system.
— Booklist, starred review -
As always, Spotswood pairs voicey narration (especially in Will’s chapters) with a briskly satisfying fair-play whodunit. Series fans will be satisfied.
— Publishers Weekly -
Quite the corker
— Murder and Mayhem -
Hearkens back to Rex Stout’s iconic Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin series. . . Without giving away anything here, the murderer is just about the last person you would expect.
— BookPage -
Morals, mores, loves and lusts swirl in dark eddies around the entire cast.
— Lavender Magazine -
Spotswood’s fifth installment in this beloved series. . . is particularly memorable. . . I’ve always loved this series’ characters, snappy sentences and 1940s setting. “Dead in the Frame” marks a clear evolution in Spotswood’s plotting, including a bravura twist.
— The New York Times -
Spotswood explores complex plots intertwining several stories, and his wry humour doesn’t hurt . . . I'm all in for book six.
— Historical Novel Society
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About Stephen Spotswood
Stephen Spotswood is an award-winning playwright, author, journalist, and educator. He is the author of the Pentecost and Parker historical mysteries series, of which the first book, Fortune Favors the Dead, won the 2021 Nero Award for best American mystery. As a journalist, he has spent much of the last two decades writing about the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the struggles of wounded veterans. His dramatic work has been widely produced across the United States.
About Kirsten Potter
Kirsten Potter has won several awards, including more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a three-time finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. Her work has been recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and by AudioFile magazine, among many others. She graduated with highest honors from Boston University and has performed on stage and in film and television, including roles on Medium, Bones, and Judging Amy.