PLAY OF SHADOWS

A quartet of sleuths pursues a Machiavellian killer who calls himself the Minotaur.

After attending a bookstore reading of Edith Hamilton's Mythology, a budding serial killer who calls himself the Minotaur follows two audience members to begin a campaign of carnage. His first victim, attorney Samuel Fishbourne, is found sliced nearly in half near a wall marked with black-and-white artwork; shortly before he died, he’d left a cryptic letter full of hieroglyphs on the doorstep of brilliant Dr. Evan Wilding, professor of semiotics, linguistics, and paleography at the University of Chicago. Evan’s archeologist brother, River, who happens to be visiting, assists in the ensuing investigation. Nickless’ ambitious third Evan Wilding mystery folds Greek mythology and the deciphering of puzzling clues into a lively plot. Fishbourne’s daughter, Ursula, is taken captive by the Minotaur, and her short chapters alternate with those from several other perspectives. Deciphering the message that Fishbourne left for Evan—“Solve the riddle before the sacrifice is made”—is only the first step in finding the Minotaur. As the case reveals its complexity, Evan and River team up with Det. Addie Bisset, Evan’s best friend and unrequited love, and Diana Alanis, his research assistant. The camaraderie of the four investigators gives the story a buoyant energy complemented by the interesting details Nickless tucks into her depictions of characters across the board. Evan’s hawk, Ginny, and his pooch, Perro, are stalwart sidekicks.

A brisk and clever whodunit with chills and verve.