Death in Blue Folders

 Death in Blue Folders (1985) by Margaret Maron

Clayton Gladwell was a successful lawyer with some very prominent clients--from Justin Trent, a millionaire whose grandson had disappeared several years ago, to the family of Elena Dorato, 1940s and '50s film star fell off an ocean liner, to Penelope Naughton ("Naughty Penny"), one of the Algonquin Round Table who wrote wildly popular frothy novels by day and helped the put the roar in the Roaring Twenties by night, to Dr. Bhattacherja, a well-known radiologist whose niece had immigration troubles, to Howard Tachs, a local art gallery owner. He kept his special clients info in special blue folders that even his confidential secretary was allowed to see.

When he received a health report telling him he didn't have long to live, he decided to retire and enjoy what time he had left. So he set up final appointments with his blue folder clients--to settle accounts and return their information. But someone decides that Gladwell has even less time left than anticipated...and he's found shot to death, papers scattered everywhere, and the blue folders are on fire. Fortunately, the fire was discovered fairly quickly, so some of the material is preserved.

It doesn't take Lieutenant Sigrid Harald long to realize that Gladwell's blue folders represent clients who were also his blackmail victims. It seems likely that one of his victims didn't think retirement would put a stop to Gladwell's blackmailing ways and decided they had just had enough. But which one? Then others connected to Gladwell are found dead and a pattern begins to emerge....

Harald is a no-nonsense, straight-forward policewoman and Maron writes a solid, straight-forward police procedural. The suspects and clues are handled without fuss and fanfare, but the mystery is interesting because Maron has created interesting characters that make you want to keep reading about them. In fact, you want to know more than what's necessary for the mystery itself. Solid mystery, great characters. ★★★

First line: By nine o'clock that Thursday night, there was little outward indication that murder had occurred six floors above the busy midtown Manhattan avenue.

Last line: "I don't think so," said [redacted], and pulled the trigger.
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Deaths = 7 (three shot; one car accident; one drug overdose; two natural)