A Study in Secrets

Avid people-watchers will be intrigued by the generous, thoughtful Mr. Michael, as he’s known, who sits at the window of his mansion watching people in the unnamed New York City park opposite. He’s especially curious about a young woman who visits the park very early in the morning and seems lost and lonely. But how can he really say what’s going on with her? As the perspective shifts, we find her also spending time at a nearby diner, her breakfast paid for every morning by a mysterious, absent benefactor. Shifting back to the old man’s perch, readers view two arguing parkgoers from afar, then in turn get a glimpse of their lives outside the park—at the same diner, in fact. In Kate Atkinson style, and leveraging his past as a prolific thriller author (Chief inspector Andreas Kaldis series), Siger pulls these characters into the same maelstrom of greed and danger and into one another’s wild orbit, with Mr. Michael pulling all the strings. This series debut introduces several memorable characters in the rich man’s household and succeeds wonderfully in creating an elderly protagonist who will gain loyal fans with readers who like their series leads tough but kind.