A POISONOUS SILENCE

After having been shot while trying to catch a killer, Dr. Gilbert Lawless is back at the Philadelphia Morgue, where he and his partner, Dr. Marco Salvatore, are called to assist Det. Finnegan Pyle in his investigation into the death of Homer O’Hara. Pyle is there because O’Hara worked for gangster Tommy Fletcher, and Gil, Finn, and Tommy were childhood friends. But Gil has a different life now. He married a society woman who was shunned by her family for wedding an Irishman. Her death left him to care for their daughter even though he has shell shock from his service in World War I. When he stops for ice cream at Reading Terminal Market, a man dies at his feet. Like O’Hara, the man was poisoned with cyanide. Meanwhile, socialite Edie Shippen has set herself up as a private detective. Her assistant is Gil’s sister, Lizzie, and her first client is a woman who accuses Lily O’Hara of murdering her husband. Although Gil and Edie love each other, Gil refuses to tell her anything. But Edie has ways of getting information. Edie and Gil attend a fancy party where Gil meets Edie’s friend Ava Sylvester, an actress currently playing Juliet opposite Duncan Carroll, who looks very much like Gil. Edie and Lizzie are visiting Norwood Studios when Duncan also dies from poison. A reluctant Gil takes his place to finish up the remaining scenes. Because Pyle suspects Ava, a reckless Edie goes all out to find the truth.

May 6, 2025 - 05:18
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A POISONOUS SILENCE
Book Cover

After having been shot while trying to catch a killer, Dr. Gilbert Lawless is back at the Philadelphia Morgue, where he and his partner, Dr. Marco Salvatore, are called to assist Det. Finnegan Pyle in his investigation into the death of Homer O’Hara. Pyle is there because O’Hara worked for gangster Tommy Fletcher, and Gil, Finn, and Tommy were childhood friends. But Gil has a different life now. He married a society woman who was shunned by her family for wedding an Irishman. Her death left him to care for their daughter even though he has shell shock from his service in World War I. When he stops for ice cream at Reading Terminal Market, a man dies at his feet. Like O’Hara, the man was poisoned with cyanide. Meanwhile, socialite Edie Shippen has set herself up as a private detective. Her assistant is Gil’s sister, Lizzie, and her first client is a woman who accuses Lily O’Hara of murdering her husband. Although Gil and Edie love each other, Gil refuses to tell her anything. But Edie has ways of getting information. Edie and Gil attend a fancy party where Gil meets Edie’s friend Ava Sylvester, an actress currently playing Juliet opposite Duncan Carroll, who looks very much like Gil. Edie and Lizzie are visiting Norwood Studios when Duncan also dies from poison. A reluctant Gil takes his place to finish up the remaining scenes. Because Pyle suspects Ava, a reckless Edie goes all out to find the truth.