Fortune Favours the Dead

Trade Paperback

A dazzling murder mystery set in 1940s New York

The 'razor-sharp' first book in the charming, fast-paced Pentecost and Parker mystery series. Book Two, Murder Under Her Skin, coming December 2021!

Meet your new favourite duo, audacious and iconic, and perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, Agatha Christie and M. C. Beaton.

It's 1945 and Lillian Pentecost is the most successful private detective in New York City, but she needs help. Enter Willowjean Parker, a circus runaway - and the perfect assistant. Quick-witted and street-smart, she's a jack-of-all-trades with a unique skill-set. She can pick locks blindfolded, wrestle men twice her size, and throw knives with deadly precision - all of which come in handy working for Ms P.

When wealthy young widow Abigail Collins is murdered Pentecost and Parker are hired by the family to track down the culprit. On Halloween night, there was a costume party at the Collins' mansion, where a fortune teller performed a seance which greatly disturbed Abigail. Several hours later her body was discovered bludgeoned to death in her late husband's office. Problem is, the door to the office was locked from the inside. There was no-one else in the room, and the murder weapon was beside the victim; the fortune teller's crystal ball.

It looks like an impossible crime, but Pentecost and Parker know there is no such thing...

A 2020 Radio 2 Book Club pick.

Praise for Fortune Favours the Dead:

'Razor-sharp, tons of flair and a snappy sense of humour' Tana French

'Bullets, blood, bodies, and belly-laughs: all the ingredients of a classic mystery novel. Stephen Spotswood hard-boils with the best of 'em!' Alan Bradley, bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series

'Fortune Favours the Dead takes gritty 40s noir, shakes it up, gives it a charming twist, and serves it up with unforgettable style. My new favourite sleuthing duo.' Deanna Raybourn, author of the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries

'Spotswood's stellar debut puts a modern spin on classic hard-boiled fiction. . . a novel to remember.' Publishers Weekly

'This novel not only offers fun, offbeat characters and an exceptional flavour of the time, it's utterly charming too.' Woman's Weekly

'This hugely enjoyable debut is a deft melange of Agatha Christie-style locked-room murder mystery and 1940s Chandler-esque pulp crime fiction with a feisty narrator' Irish Independent Review

'A highly accomplished, auspicious first entry in what we must hope will be a long-running series' The Irish Times