Cut from Whole Cloth
(2025)(The fifth book in the O'Malley Investigations Mystery series)
A Story by Daniel Pelfrey
In 1920s Chicago, the most dangerous lies are the ones dressed in silk.
While Chicago freezes under the gray skies of November, the city’s high society is already preparing for the spring season. For Kit Ashworth, a former debutante turned secretary-sleuth, a trip to an exclusive dressmaker should be a nostalgic comfort. But when a panicked fitting reveals a counterfeit Gilded Age gown and a corpse hidden among bolts of imported velvet, the illusion of glamour unravels instantly.
To the police, it looks like a robbery gone wrong. To Kit, it looks like a fabrication.
Paddy O’Malley knows the streets, but he doesn’t know satin from silk. He does, however, recognize the heavy hand of a protection racket when he sees it. Together, the partners follow a trail that leads from the glittering showrooms of the Magnificent Mile to the shadowed sweatshops of the Garment District. They uncover a scheme far more lucrative—and deadly—than simple knock-off fashion.
Someone is crafting more than just dresses; they are manufacturing entirely new identities for the city’s criminal elite.
As the lines between the catwalk and the crime blotter blur, Kit and Paddy find themselves targeted by an enemy who treats murder as just another cost of doing business. In a city where appearance is everything, stripping away the truth might be the last thing they ever do.
Jazz Age atmosphere meets hard-boiled detection in Cut from Whole Cloth, the fifth entry in the O'Malley Investigations series. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen, and the glittering, dangerous world of Boardwalk Empire.
Genre: Historical Mystery
While Chicago freezes under the gray skies of November, the city’s high society is already preparing for the spring season. For Kit Ashworth, a former debutante turned secretary-sleuth, a trip to an exclusive dressmaker should be a nostalgic comfort. But when a panicked fitting reveals a counterfeit Gilded Age gown and a corpse hidden among bolts of imported velvet, the illusion of glamour unravels instantly.
To the police, it looks like a robbery gone wrong. To Kit, it looks like a fabrication.
Paddy O’Malley knows the streets, but he doesn’t know satin from silk. He does, however, recognize the heavy hand of a protection racket when he sees it. Together, the partners follow a trail that leads from the glittering showrooms of the Magnificent Mile to the shadowed sweatshops of the Garment District. They uncover a scheme far more lucrative—and deadly—than simple knock-off fashion.
Someone is crafting more than just dresses; they are manufacturing entirely new identities for the city’s criminal elite.
As the lines between the catwalk and the crime blotter blur, Kit and Paddy find themselves targeted by an enemy who treats murder as just another cost of doing business. In a city where appearance is everything, stripping away the truth might be the last thing they ever do.
Jazz Age atmosphere meets hard-boiled detection in Cut from Whole Cloth, the fifth entry in the O'Malley Investigations series. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen, and the glittering, dangerous world of Boardwalk Empire.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Used availability for Daniel Pelfrey's Cut from Whole Cloth