by Scott Simon
First published 2015
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Crown vanishes from a Manhattan jewelry firm under impossible circumstances. Security footage captures the theft, but the trusted guard who witnessed it has disappeared and is likely dead. The crown must return to London for its scheduled public exhibition, or the royal family faces a media catastrophe. Piper Sutton becomes the primary suspect. The wealthy young jewelry executive manages the firm's most exclusive accounts, but she harbors a secret compulsion to steal despite her fortune. Private investigator Jedidiah takes the case. His autism gives him an extraordinary ability to notice details others miss, though he battles his own obsessive tendencies. Jedidiah's search draws him into a web of unlikely allies and dangerous enemies. A childhood friend with questionable methods joins his investigation. A Russian taxi driver craves excitement and offers help. A man claiming to be an Egyptian prince pursues his own dark agenda. The investigation spans from Chinatown's narrow streets to Newport's mansion district, from Fifth Avenue luxury towers to a deteriorating Coney Island strip club. As evidence accumulates against Piper, Jedidiah confronts a troubling possibility. She may hold the answer to his deepest fixation.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Chinatown, Coney Island, London, Manhattan, Newport
Period: 21st-Century
268 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform