When a murder hits close to home, Frank finds himself in an unusual position--the prime suspect in the latest installment of the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series... Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and looking to make their family official by adopting Catherine, the child whom Sarah rescued and has been raising as her daughter. The process seems fairly straightforward, but at the last minute, the newlyweds discover that Parnell Vaughn, Catherine's legal father, has a claim on the child, and his grasping fiancée is demanding a financial settlement to relinquish parental rights. Even though exchanging money for a child is illegal, Frank and Sarah's love for Catherine drives them to comply. When Frank returns with the money and finds Vaughn beaten to death, all evidence points to Frank as the culprit. A not-quite-famous actor with modest means, Vaughn seems an unlikely candidate for murder, particularly such a violent crime of passion. But Frank soon uncovers real-life intrigue as dramatic as any that appears on stage. Sarah and Frank enlist those closest to them to help hunt for Vaughn's killer as Frank's own life--and the future of their family--hang in the balance. Praise for the Edgar® and Agatha award-nominated Gaslight mysteries "Tantalizing."--Catherine Coulter, #1  New York Times  bestselling author  "[Thompson's] Gaslight series is a consistent winner."-- Booklist "Thompson vividly re-creates the gaslit world of old New York."-- Publishers Weekly "Victoria Thompson shines...Anne Perry and Caleb Carr fans, rejoice!"--Tamar Myers, national bestselling author of the  Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries "A fascinating window into a bygone era."-- Kirkus Reviews "Gangs of New York, eat your heart out--this book is the real thing."-- Mystery Scene "Enthralling...Fascinating characters with a story to tell."-- Fresh Fiction Victoria Thompson is the Edgar® and Agatha award-nominated author of the Gaslight mysteries--including Murder in the Bowery, Murder in Morningside Heights, Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue , and Murder on Amsterdam Avenue --as well as numerous historical novels. She lives in the Chicago area with her family. 1 What do you mean, we can't adopt Catherine?" Sarah asked the attorney. "Michael Hicks gave her a look that told her he shared her frustration. "I'm sorry-" "I thought Mr. Wilbanks settled all of this in his will," Sarah's husband said. Frank Malloy reached over and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. They'd come to Michael's office today expecting good news. Plainly, they were going to be disappointed. "I thought David had settled everything, too," Michael said. "And I know he certainly intended to as well. My father-in-law was a very careful man, but you see, I didn't draw up his final will. Estates are not my area of expertise, and it would be unethical for me to prepare a will for a family member in any case, so I referred him to a colleague of mine, Bill Jonson." "Are you saying this colleague made a mistake?" Malloy was angry now but trying not to take it out on poor Michael. Sarah understood completely. "Not a mistake." Michael was being very diplomatic. "My father-in-law was careful but also very private. He didn't believe he needed to tell Mr. Jonson all the sordid details about Catherine's birth." "Which ones did he leave out?" Malloy asked. Michael winced. "I, uh, I've asked Mr. Jonson to join us, if you don't mind, so he can explain it all to you." He got up and went to his office door to admit a man who had obviously been waiting for this summons. Michael introduced Mr. Jonson, who was a distinguished-looking man of middle age wearing a conservatively cut, tailor-made suit and immaculate shirtfront. When they were all seated again, Michael said, "Bill, I have informed Mr. and Mrs. Malloy that they cannot adopt Catherine, but I haven't explained exactly why yet. I thought you could do that better than I." "Of course." Mr. Jonson gave them his best reassuring smile. "You see, Mr. Wilbanks told me that Catherine was the illegitimate child he had with his mistress, an actress named Emma Hardy. However, he didn't think it necessary to explain that Emma Hardy also happened to be married to a Mr. Parnell Vaughn at the time of their affair. He probably thought it was none of my business." "But what difference does that make?" Sarah asked. "Even Mr. Vaughn admitted he couldn't possibly be Catherine's father because he and Emma were separated when she met Mr. Wilbanks." "Which is why Mr. Wilbanks didn't think it necessary to mention Mr. Vaughn at all," Jonson said. "Unfortunately, the law is rather unforgiving when it comes to matters of paternity." "What does that mean?" Malloy asked. "It means that the law considers a woman's husband to be the father of her children, regardless of any evidence to the contrary." "But that's ridiculous," Sarah tried. "In some cases, yes, but it is nevertheless