The Red Scare Murders

 

The Red Scare Murders is a solid PI noir mystery by Con Lehane. Released 16th Dec 2025 by Soho Press on their Crime imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out from the same publisher in Nov 2026. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. 

Fans of PI noir will likely love this gritty action driven, well constructed mystery set in 1950s NYC featuring the requisite dangerous dames, violent criminals, bent politicians, and moral but cynical PI just trying to stay alive and in one piece, more or less. 

The racism and threat of violence from organized crime -and- the government (in the midst of panicking over the communist threat everywhere due to the government's obsession with the "red scare") ramp up the tension in the book which is full of atmosphere and brooding melancholy. It's not always an -easy- read, but it is competently constructed and well plotted.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 35 minutes and is capably read by Dan John Miller. He does the gritty PI noir voice very well, and the various other accents are credible as well. He has a middle baritone, heavy on the whiskey burr, and manages a range of characters of both sexes and widely varying ages without tripping. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read. 

Four stars, well written, engaging, complex, and satisfying. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.