(Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson, trilogy characters from Hall of Mirrors, sit on stools on a neutral stage, Judy in a slim black dress and Philippa in a pink sweater set and slacks. Philippa holds a stack of index cards.)

—So, he’s given us question cards, Judy.
—John can be such a pain in the neck. Seriously. Always demanding we perform for him: “Run down the street! Climb the fire escape! Solve another crime! Creep into a vicious killer’s lair!” *Rolls eyes*
—Oh, it’s not that bad, is it?
—If you say so, Philippa. But he does push it sometimes.
—*Waves her away* Okay, okay, let’s answer the first question …
—Wait, who’s asking these questions?
—Fans, I think.
—John just probably wrote them himself. Such an egoist. Can’t help himself.

—*Sighs, a little exasperated* Anyway, here’s the first question: “If you were an animal, what animal would you be?”
—That’s a stupid question.
—Juuudy.
—Fine. A dog, but not a big stupid dog, like a golden retriever. More like a French bulldog with twitchy black ears.
—Like your dog, Roosevelt.
—Exactly.
—Since you’re a dog, I’ll be a—
—A cat! *Laughs*
—Gosh, Judy. Given that you try to bomb cats with bricks—
—Oh, don’t believe everything I tell you, Philippa. Haven’t you learned that much in the past six years?
—*Chooses another card* Here we go …
—Wait, what kind of animal are you?
—A bird of some sort.
—A nightingale, like my surname? We could both be nightingales and peep, peep in the darkness.
—Sure, I’d like that, to be just like you, Judy. *gives her a sly look* Now, doesn’t that make you happy?
—Hmmm.

—Question two: What is your first memory?
—Gee, he went from stupid to a scalpel in the heart. *Crestfallen* I’m not sure. I remember flashes of my time at the orphanage, but the memory that stays with me is when I’m in a basement, surrounded by cats, and they’re clawing at me. It was awful. Just awful.
—I don’t know what my first memory is, but I know what it should’ve been: my mother’s face, hovering over me, smiling, her laughter in my ears.
—This is depressing! *Waves her hand* Philippa, next question?

—What is your favorite novel?
—Finally, a decent question: Loves Last Move by the glorious Ray Kane.
—Oh, I like his new one, The Broken Thread. It’s based on a true story, you know.
—*squints at Phillippa.* Do you think John—I mean, “the fans”—want us to choose a real novel, not ones he made up in his books?
—Maybe? *shrugs*
—Mine would be Wuthering Heights. *grasps her chest melodramatically* Oh Cathy, “be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!”
—*laughs* I’m amazed you can still quote from it.
—Always! So, what’s your favorite?
—*mulls it over* Rebecca. Oh, how I’d love to write like Daphne DeMauier.
—Did you know that she had affairs with women?
—*uncomfortable pause* No, should that matter?
—Of course not! *smiles knowingly* I just wanted to see how you would react.
—Did I pass your little test, Judy?
—I’m not the one who set up this interview, am I?
—Hmmm. *chooses another card, reads it silently, then hands it to Judy.*

—*reads it and laughs* Now, John, what a question to ask: “Have I ever committed murder?” Indeed.
—Golly, how are we supposed to answer that?!
—We don’t. *rips question card in two* We’ll let the readers decide.
—I don’t know about you, Judy, but I’m tired of John’s cute questions.
—Let’s go. I’m panting for a gimlet anyway.

Hall of Mirrors, A Nightingale Trilogy Mystery Book #2
Genre: Historical Mystery
Release: June 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

When a popular mystery novelist dies suspiciously, his writing partner must untangle the author’s connection to a serial killer in award-winning John Copenhaver’s new novel set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC.

In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal.

A month earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious and troubled heroines from The Savage Kind—attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from his day job at the State Department, another victim of the Lavender Scare, an anti-gay crusade led by figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, claiming homosexuals are security risks. Little do Judy and Philippa know, but their obsessive manhunt of the past several years has fueled the flames of his dismissal.

They have been tracking their old enemy Adrian Bogdan, a spy and vicious serial killer protected by powerful forces in the government. He’s on the rampage again, and the police are ignoring his crimes. Frustrated, they send their research to the media and their favorite mystery writer anonymously, hoping to inspire someone, somehow, to publish on the crimes—anything to draw Bogdan out. But has their persistence brought deadly forces to the writing team behind their most beloved books?

In the wake of Roger’s death, Lionel searches for clues, but Judy and Philippa threaten his quest, concealing dark secrets of their own. As the crimes of the past and present converge, danger mounts, and the characters race to uncover the truth, even if it means bending their moral boundaries to stop a killer.

About the author
John Copenhaver’s historical crime novel, Dodging and Burning, won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, and his second novel, The Savage Kind, won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. He is a founding member of Queer Crime Writers and an at-large board member of Mystery Writers of America. He also cohosts on the House of Mystery radio show. He’s a faculty mentor in the University of Nebraska’s low-residency MFA program and teaches at VCU in Richmond, VA, where he lives with his husband, artist Jeffery Paul.