The Janus Affair — Edward Cline

It is April, 1929. Cyrus Skeen is recovering from his startling escapade in New York City, where he journeyed in March to attend to some of his father's business. There he met a captivating opera singer for whom he developed an affection almost bordering on love. But he loves Dilys much more. The singer introduces him to a concept, “metaphysical importance.” Dilys is that to him. Dilys is interviewing models for her new studio. One of them is the irrepressible Valda Redfern. But no sooner does Skeen return than he is asked by Ernö Janus, the head of a San Francisco advertising agency, Guinevere Publicity, to investigate the death of his brother, a noted commercial illustrator, Miklós Janus, at the hands of an unknown hit-and-run driver. In the course of his enquiries, he encounters another femme fatale, Enid Coe, Miklós's favorite model for the agency's award-winning advertisements. He also meets Miklós's principal competitor for recognition and fame, Kenneth Bratton. He must also ward off the advances of the flirtatious Margit Kovács. In this fifteenth installment of the Skeen Mysteries, the detective digs deeper into Guinevere's secrets and rivalries, causing sparks to fly that end in a conflagration of death and mayhem.