The Red Scare Murders

by Con Lehane

This wry, big-hearted, noir brings 1950s New York to life from the tenements of Hell’s Kitchen to the mansions of Riverdale, from Sing Sing to City Hall, with a gripping murder mystery laying bare the explosive conflicts between its big wheels, its working stiffs, its gangsters, and its dreamers.

July 1950: Mick Mulligan has just hung out his shingle as a private investigator in New York’s sweaty Hell’s Kitchen. A former Hollywood cartoonist whose life fell apart when he was blacklisted during a communist witch hunt, Mick is broke, divorced, and in need of a paying gig to make his child support payments. But maybe not this gig. First off, it’s impossible. Worse, it’s liable to get him killed.

Last year, universally reviled cab company owner Irwin Johnson was murdered. One of his drivers, an African American Communist Party member named Harold Williams, was arrested, tried, and found guilty, despite scant evidence. Now his execution date is two weeks away. No one has come out to fight the miscarriage of justice—not the liberals, not the unions, not the Communists. New York City labor leader Duke Rogowski asks Mick to make one last effort on Harold’s behalf—can he find fresh evidence that might buy Harold a stay of execution?

Lots of people might have wanted Irwin Johnson dead—anyone from his cuckolded wife to his jilted mistresses’ jealous husbands to the mafiosi he was stealing business from or one of the workers he exploited—but no one has any reason to help Mick exonerate Harold Williams, and some of Irwin’s former associates are happy to take a blunt object to the head of anyone asking awkward questions. Yet Mick can’t abandon a potentially innocent man to the electric chair, and he agrees go to bat for a Negro Communist no one else wants anything to do with. Can he pull off a miracle?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Noir, Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Audiobook

400 pages, Hardcover

Published December 16, 2025

About the author

aka Cornelius Lehane.

Con Lehane grew up in the suburbs of New York City and currently writes from just outside of Washington, DC. Once a college professor, union organizer, bartender, and editor at the National Education Association, he now writes full time and teaches at The Writer's Center. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction writing from Columbia University School of the Arts. Death at the Old Hotel is his third novel in the Bartender Brian McNulty mystery series. His newest offering, the first book in a new series, is due from Minotaur-Thomas Dunne Books in 2014.

Series:
* Brian McNulty Mystery

Reviews

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're one of those people (like me) who enjoys mysteries with a bit of an extra element, you'll enjoy The Red Scare Murders. The extra element in this case is the anti-communist fervor of the early 1950s McCarthy era.

Our detective, Mick Mulligan, used to be an animator at Disney studios. He wasn't important enough to have his name appear on the credits at a film's end, but he liked his work, it came with a good salary, and he could dream of future, greater accomplishments. But then, when asked to name names, he refused and quickly found himself out of work, divorced, and with extremely limited time and contact with his daughter.

So he moved to New York City to become a private detective. Why not? Mulligan finds himself working for the city's fledgling taxi cab union. One of the bosses has been murdered—shot in the chest. One of that boss's drivers, a Black man, Harold Williams, has been framed for the crime. Once the jury hears Williams is a communist organizer there's no need for additional evidence; this is the kind of man many want off the streets—or dead.

It was no surprise when Williams was sentenced to be executed by electric chair. Now, the execution is two weeks away and the union wants to do something for Williams—though nothing that would draw the wrong sort of attention. Mulligan's job is to exculpate Williams before the execution date rolls around.

There are plenty of folks who'd want that cab company boss dead, but no solid evidence against any of them. At the same time that Mulligan is attempting to narrow the list of possible suspects, he also finds himself in contact with both union organizers and gangsters, who see an opportunity in the drive for unionization. Mulligan finds himself threatened, walking picket lines, dating the sister of one of the union men, and visiting the boss's now-very-wealthy wife. That's a lot to pack in, especially when the clock is ticking on an execution.

My one complaint about this title is just that it moved rather slowly. Each of the fourteen days is described in great detail—morning, afternoon, evening, late night. But the longer I kept reading, the more I wanted to keep reading. Those fourteen days felt shorter and shorter as the novel progressed.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Con Lehane, and Soho Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

A great fan of Con Lehane's series work, I was eager to get my hands on an ARC of this standalone thriller. Set at the height of the Red Scare in America, communism and murder make strange bedfellows. Mick Mulligan is a hardworking private detective who has been handed quite the case in the summer of 1950. A cab company owner was murdered, while one of his drivers, a Black communist no less, was changed and convicted of the crime. Mulligan is tasked with proving his innocence before the death penalty date. There may have been many who wanted the cab owner dead, but no one is forthcoming during this tense time in American history. Con Lehane brings it to life in this noir thriller.

Mick Mulligan is a new private detective in New York City during the summer of 1950. The country is in an uproar over communists, something that Mulligan knows all too well, when he was removed from a job for purportedly being a Party member. Now, with a pile of child support bills, he has to make ends meet.

Mulligan gets a call asking him to help on an impossible case. Cab company owner Irwin Johnson was killed and the suspect is none other than Harold Williams, a cabbie working for Johnson. Williams is Black and a Communist Party member, but vows that he is innocent. He’s convicted and is set to be executed in two weeks. Mulligan must find proof of Williams’ innocence and quick!

While may have wanted Irwin Johnson dead, no one is coming forward to help the convinced cabbie, as Williams awaits his execution. Mulligan may be a new PI, but he has some mad skills and uncovers truths, though will it be enough in time? Lehane pens a noir detective piece that is unlike any of his other work I’ve read!

While I usually love detective pieces, both modern and those of a more noir variety, I could not get hooked by this standalone thriller. Con Lehane clearly presents his piece, but I could not latch on long enough to feel impacted. The narrative clips along, using history and some great asides, but does not have the captivating power I would have hoped to find in a novel of this nature. Characters were present, but I did not find myself hungering to learn more While the plot is present, it merely appeared and left me seeking more from an author I usually enjoy a great deal. Perhaps the noir genre was just not for me this time around.

Kudos, Mr. Lehane, for a valiant effort!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

PI Mick Mulligan is hired by Duke Rogowski, labour leader, to investigate a near hopeless case: Black taxi driver Harold Williams is awaiting execution, and Mulligan must prove his innocence within 15 days.

Harold was employed by a company whose owner Irwin Johnson was harsh to workers, but was particularly nasty to Harold because Irwin was a racist a*hole. Harold was also a member of the African American Communist Party, another mark against him.

When Johnson turned up murdered, someone informed police Harold had incriminating items in his taxi’s trunk. Police felt they had found their man and the DA and judge indicted Harold, based on racism, scant evidence, and the fear in many about the communist party, conflating the work the party was doing advocating for workers’ rights and better working conditions as letting Russia in.

Mulligan begins asking questions, and finds no one liked Johnson, and many had reasons to want him dead. Mulligan also discovers some of the taxi drivers were trying to unionize, which Irwin Johnson was of course against. And somebody is violently opposed to Mulligan’s attempts to exonerate Harold, with someone attacking the blacklisted former cartoonist, divorced father, and now new P.I.

I found the various people involved in this case a little hard to keep track of, between members of the taxi company and members of the communist party. The murderer was easy to figure out, with Mulligan only twigging to the identity late in the story.

I listened to this story, which was well-paced. Dan John Miller does a good job voicing Mulligan, but I was never able to distinguish completely between all the male cast--I'm not sure Miller could have done much about that as I think that was more due to the writing than his voicework. While this is a standalone, this feels like the start of a series, and I'd be interested in reading more of Mulligan's cases, as I find the time period ad political situation fascinating.

Thank you to Netgalley and to RBMedia for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Desirae · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Red Scare Murders by Con Lehane is a novel that wears its influences on its sleeve, but in the very best way imaginable. It’s a love letter to noir—not the pale, neon-washed “neo-noir” of so many modern thrillers, but the grimy, cigarette-smoke-soaked, morally uncertain detective stories that defined pulp fiction and classic Hollywood cinema in the 1930s and ’40s. For anyone thirsting for that particular vibe—rain-slicked streets, femme fatales with hidden agendas, and a pervasive sense of dread just beneath the surface of everyday life—Lehane’s book is a rare treat.

Where The Red Scare Murders truly excels is in tone. From the first page to the last, Lehane captures a mood that most contemporary writers can only approximate. It’s a world of sharp shadows and long nights, where the truth feels slippery and everyone seems to be hiding something. The prose has a clipped, jazz-rhythmic quality to it—reminiscent of the cadence you’d hear in a Humphrey Bogart monologue or the narration of Double Indemnity. That alone makes this novel an experience worth having.

Set against the backdrop of early Cold War America, The Red Scare Murders opens with private investigator Mick Mulligan, a man whose past is as tangled as the city streets he prowls. Once a promising animator at Walt Disney Studios (yes, that Disney), Mulligan’s career derailed under mysterious circumstances connected to his flirtations with radical politics. Now, he ekes out a living chasing down small-time cases, nursing a drink, and replaying the ghosts of his better days.

The central case begins when a femme fatale named Evelyn Drake hires him to find her missing brother—an ex-union organizer who vanished without a trace after receiving threatening notes signed only as “The Watchers.” What starts as a missing-person investigation soon spirals into something far more sinister. Bodies turn up. Red cards, coded letters, and dead-end leads paint a picture of widespread conspiracy, one that touches politicians, police commissioners, Hollywood moguls, and Soviet sympathizers alike.

Lehane layers his narrative so that every clue seems to open three new questions. There are betrayals within labor halls, mysterious deaths in jazz clubs, and that constant whisper of paranoia that makes every character seem potentially dangerous. The story unfolds at a deliberate pace, with chapters that alternate between tense dialogue and atmospheric description. By the time Mulligan finds himself staring down both crosses and revolvers, the pervasive feeling of noir fatalism has fully taken hold.

Noir Vibes and Classic Cinematic Echoes
One of the book’s strongest assets is how effectively it evokes the mood of classic film noir. Lehane doesn’t just borrow trappings—he channels the soul of the genre.

Consider The Maltese Falcon (1941), directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. Like Spade, Mulligan is a man navigating a maze of lies and half-truths, constantly questioning whom he can trust. Both detectives are haunted by their own failures and entangled with women whose loyalties are anything but clear. In The Red Scare Murders, Evelyn Drake often feels like a cousin to Brigid O’Shaughnessy—a figure whose beauty masks an agenda that could be deadly.

Likewise, the 1941 film Johnny Eager, with Robert Taylor as a charismatic gangster trying to go straight, resonates in Lehane’s portrayal of shades of morality. Johnny Eager isn’t a good man, but he’s captivating in his contradictions. Lehane aspires to that density of character and atmosphere—where right and wrong blur and the hero’s own past might be his undoing.

Lehane also seems inspired by the visual language of noir: rain-drenched alleyways, flickering streetlamps, and smoke curling through lamplit bars where secrets stick to the walls. His dialogue often sounds like it could be played over a moody soundtrack—snaps, hisses, and riffs more felt than spoken. Readers with affection for The Big Sleep, Out of the Past, or Laura will find themselves nodding in appreciation at how these echoes enrich the novel’s emotional texture.

Character: Mick Mulligan
If there’s a weakness in The Red Scare Murders, it lies in the execution of its central character—Mick Mulligan. On paper, Mulligan ticks many boxes of the classic noir detective: a troubled past, cynical worldview, and a moral compass that seems to spin loosely at best. But in practice, he lacks the magnetic pull those qualities usually create.

In iconic noir, morally gray detectives often possess a certain allure—a nihilistic charm, a willingness to embrace danger while sparing an unexpected humanity for the right cause. Sam Spade is tough, witty, unflappable; Philip Marlowe is principled in his own crooked way; even Johnny Eager dazzles because of his contradictions. Mulligan, by contrast, is more muted. His introspection sometimes slips into passivity; his internal monologues, while atmospheric, don’t always reveal enough of the emotional stakes he carries.

He drinks, he reflects, he stares out at rain, but we never fully feel why he keeps going beyond duty to a client. His Disney backstory is fascinating and rich with potential, yet Lehane doesn’t quite use it to build the kind of inner conflict that could elevate Mulligan from an intriguing concept to a truly unforgettable protagonist.

Final Thoughts
The Red Scare Murders is, above all, a mood piece of genuine noir craftsmanship. Its atmospheric strength and homage to classic cinema make it a standout in a genre too often filtered through modern sheen. The pacing, plotting, and world-building are superb; its dialogue crackles; its shadows feel alive.

Yet the heart of a great noir is its detective—the flawed, compelling conduit through which we experience moral twilight. Mulligan falls just short of that benchmark. A more feral edge, a more compelling inner conflict, might have made him a contemporary equal to the greats.

Still, if you crave that old-school noir ambiance stitched together with historical intrigue and stellar writing, The Red Scare Murders delivers in spades. It’s a rare novel that doesn’t just reference noir but feels it—down to its last cigarette ember.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A PI battles gangsters, Communists, and witch-hunters in 1950 New York

Mick Mulligan “went to meetings with Communists and ate lunch with Communists. He agreed with Communists on certain things.” And that got him fired from his job as a cartoonist and animator at the Disney studio. Which won him a place on the Hollywood blacklist. Which in turn brought him back to New York City, where he hung out a shingle as a private investigator.

Welcome to the Big Apple, 1950, in the shadow of the Red Scare. And to the civil war underway in the city’s taxi industry, where gangsters battled Communists as well as the bosses in the organizing effort to build a citywide taxi-drivers’ union. Which somehow seems to explain why Duke Rogowski, president of the United Taxi and Limousine Drivers, is offering Mick a job. So begins the gripping story of The Red Scare Murders by mystery author Con Lehane.

A job to prove a Black man who’s a Communist isn’t a murderer

It turns out that Duke wants Mick to find the evidence that one of the drivers, Harold Williams, had not murdered his wealthy boss, Irwin Johnson. Harold sat on death row for the crime and would go to the chair in two weeks. The catch? More than a year had passed since the murder. But there was reason to doubt the verdict. Harold was Black and a Communist. And both facts might have weighed on the jurors’ minds. In any case, Mick can’t turn down the job. He’s broke. The money Duke is offering will pay the rent. Little does he know what he’s getting into.

Multiple suspects emerge as drivers threaten the city with gridlock

Given all the conflicting forces engaged as Duke moves forward with plans for a strike, it’s all too easy to imagine that Harold is innocent. Multiple suspects galore emerge for Irwin Johnson’s murder. Some of the other drivers, whom Johnson had cheated in business dealings. His wife, who inherited his fortune. His ex-girlfriends, whom he’d dumped without a thought. The gangsters, of course, who never shied away from violence.

And, yes, even the Communists, whose support for Harold had wavered as the Party poured its resources into defending itself at trial against charges that it had violated the Smith Act of 1940, or Alien Registration Act. The Act, made it a federal crime to advocate, abet, or teach the duty or necessity of overthrowing the U.S. government by force or violence. And somehow Mick has to sort through all these possibilities hounded, beaten, and sent to the hospital by gangsters who insist the Communists framed Harold.

Lehane writes convincingly about the Communist Party of that era and the ferocity of the witch-hunt. He understands the ideology and accurately describes its losing battle with anti-Communist hysteria. The Red Scare Murders is a worthy portrait of the fraught early years of the McCarthy era.

The historical facts

Con Lehane emphasizes the battle between Communists and gangsters for control of the New York taxi-drivers’ union. No doubt something similar was underway. Both the Communist Party and the Mob had made significant inroads into the transportation industry at the time. But there were larger issues at stake in the labor turmoil that unfolded in New York’s taxi industry in mid-century.

In 1949, Local 50 of the fast-expanding United Mine Workers led close to 10,000 New York City taxi drivers out on strike. They demanded recognition for their union and raises to as high as $11 an hour (about $150 in 2026). Nearly 90% of cabs sat idle, causing significant traffic disruption. But the strikers failed to secure their demands as the owners refused to negotiate and Mayor William O’Dwyer maintained neutrality. The strike collapsed. Sixty-six people were arrested for minor infractions, but there were no outbreaks of major violence.

By 1950, over 12,000 taxis were in operation in NYC. Drivers again struck against the major fleet operators. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) led the action, and its women’s auxiliary played a large role providing food and support for strikers. At its peak, hundreds of drivers halted traffic, notably in Midtown Manhattan.

But again the strike failed. Fleet owners consistently refused to recognize the United Mine Workers (UMW) or the Transport Workers Union (TWU) as the legitimate bargaining agents for drivers. Taxicab operators successfully used strikebreakers to return a significant number of cabs to the streets within days, effectively breaking the union’s leverage.

About the author

Con Lehane is the author of ten mystery novels. Over the years, he has been a college professor, union organizer, labor journalist, and has tended bar at two-dozen or so drinking establishments. He teaches fiction writing and mystery writing at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Lehane lives in Washington, DC.

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to RB Media and Netgalley for this eARC in audio format.

The Red Scare Murders by Con Lehane is a richly atmospheric audiobook that blends noir grit with historical resonance, and it is vividly brought to life by Dan John Miller’s narration.

Set in 1950s New York, the novel introduces Mick Mulligan, a former Hollywood cartoonist turned private investigator after being blacklisted during the communist witch hunts. The backdrop of the Red Scare infuses the mystery with political paranoia and social tension, making the murder investigation more than just a puzzle—it becomes a lens on fractured loyalties and the cost of suspicion. Lehane’s narrative moves fluidly from Hell’s Kitchen tenements to Riverdale mansions, Sing Sing prison, and City Hall, capturing the city’s contrasts with cinematic detail.

Mick Mulligan is a compelling protagonist: flawed, weary, yet resilient. His outsider status—divorced, broke, and stigmatized by blacklisting—makes him sympathetic and unpredictable.
The storyline gives him a chance to become a reluctant hero, if he can only do the impossible, and free an innocent black man who is sentenced to die in two weeks from prison.

The suspects and allies Mulligan encounters reflect the era’s social divides: gangsters, politicians, working-class dreamers, and powerful elites. Each character feels grounded in the time period, their motives shaped by fear, ambition, and survival.

Dan John Miller’s narration is a standout. His voice carries a gritty warmth that suits noir storytelling, balancing sardonic humor with tension. He differentiates characters with subtle shifts in tone, never overplaying but always keeping the dialogue clear. His pacing mirrors the slow-burn suspense of the plot, allowing listeners to absorb the atmosphere while staying hooked on the unfolding mystery.

The audiobook explores political paranoia, corruption, and the fragility of reputation. The murder mystery is intertwined with broader questions: Who gets silenced during times of fear? How does power manipulate justice? Lehane uses noir conventions to highlight the human cost of ideological battles, making the story feel both historically grounded and eerily relevant.

At over ten hours, this audiobook rewards immersive listening. It’s not a rapid-fire thriller but a layered, character-driven noir that thrives on mood and moral ambiguity. The combination of Lehane’s prose and Miller’s narration creates a textured experience—one that feels like stepping into a smoky bar where secrets linger in every corner.

The Red Scare Murders is a big-hearted noir with sharp edges, elevated by Dan John Miller’s performance. It’s ideal for listeners who enjoy mysteries steeped in history, atmosphere, and ethical complexity rather than just plot mechanics.

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It begins with a comparison to the Salem Witch trials that occurred centuries earlier and now make for a worthy event to place beside the Red Scare that is the age of McCarthy and the war against the spread of communism. This is the year 1950 and the setting for THE RED SCARE MURDERS by author Con Lehane.

This novel is told in pure noir fashion with a Private Eye named Mick Mulligan who has an office in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, and an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. He is not doing that well financially and only became a Private Investigator after a failed career as a Hollywood cartoonist.

Lehane places readers directly in the heart of 1950 America and the dialogue and scenes featuring Mick Mulligan could have jumped out of a Ross MacDonald novel. Anti-communism was the furor that raged through the nation, spearheaded by J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy, and Mick is about to find himself thrust into the middle of this in NYC when a new case is presented to him. His friend Duke stakes him to a week of expenses with the task of looking into a negro man named Harold Williams who was on death row facing execution for the alleged murder of a man named Irwin Johnson who owned the cab company where he worked. Behind this were the rumors of Harold’s involvement as a Communist sympathizer and organizer, something he has always denied.

This is not the safest thing for Mick to stick his nose in, but he needs the money and also has a sense of justice that is superiour to most other Private Eyes working the beat. Mick starts speaking with everyone connected in some way to Harold, from his co-workers to his mother, and wife. He learns that outside of Harold’s father once being part of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, there was no sign of any Communist activity. If this was indeed the case, then Mick needed to do what he could to uncover the true murderer of Irwin Johnson before Harold’s execution. The question was who and why would someone set up Harold in this way? A question that will not have an easy, or safe answer for Mick Mulligan.

When Mick meets with Harold at Sing Sing prison in upstate New York, he slowly gains his confidence and realizes that he was indeed an innocent man facing death. After meeting with Harold’s young son, Mick was more engaged than ever in seeing that he gets his freedom. Of course, the people actually behind the murder and framing of Harold Williams are not to be trifled with, and Mick Mulligan quickly finds himself in harm’s way more than once as he races against the clock to save his client before they both face different forms of execution at the hands of an unjust conspiracy.

THE RED SCARE MURDERS is a slow burn of a novel that draws the reader into a story that plays out like classic crime noir where you can taste the grit flying off of the pages. With Mick Mulligan, author Con Lehane has created a tough guy Private Eye with a heart who is a pleasure to spend time with and a character I hope to see again.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter

[Bookreporter.com Historical Fiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE RED SCARE MURDERS is told in pure noir fashion and introduces readers to Mick Mulligan, a private eye who has an office in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, and an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. Mick had been a successful Hollywood cartoonist, but he had to reinvent himself as a PI after being blacklisted during a communist witch hunt.

Con Lehane places readers directly at the heart of 1950 America, and the dialogue and scenes featuring Mick could have jumped out of a Ross Macdonald novel. Anti-communism was the furor that raged through the nation, spearheaded by J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy. Mick is about to find himself thrust into the middle of all of this when a new case is presented to him.

New York City labor leader Duke Rogowski stakes him to a week of expenses with the task of looking into Harold Williams, a Black man who is on death row for the murder of Irwin Johnson, the owner of the cab company where he worked. There have been rumors that Harold is a Communist sympathizer and organizer, which he has always denied.

This is a dangerous assignment, but Mick needs the money and has a sense of justice that is superior to most other private eyes working the beat. Mick starts speaking with everyone connected to Harold in some way, from his coworkers to his mother and his wife. He learns that outside of Harold’s father once being part of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, there has been no sign of any Communist activity. If this is true, then Mick must do whatever he can to unmask Irwin’s real killer before Harold’s execution. Who would set up Harold in this way, and why? The answer will not be an easy or a safe one for him.

When Mick visits Harold at Sing Sing, he slowly gains his confidence and realizes that the man is indeed innocent. After meeting with Harold’s young son, Mick is more engaged than ever in seeing that he gets his freedom. Of course, the people who are responsible for the murder and framing Harold are not to be trifled with. Mick finds himself in harm’s way more than once as he races against the clock to save his client before they both face a different form of execution at the hands of an unjust conspiracy.

THE RED SCARE MURDERS is a slow burn of a novel that draws readers into a story that plays out like classic crime noir, where you can taste the grit flying off the pages. With Mick Mulligan, Con Lehane has created a tough guy private eye with a heart who is a pleasure to spend time with and I hope we see again.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE RED SCARE MURDERS is told in pure noir fashion and introduces readers to Mick Mulligan, a private eye who has an office in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, and an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. Mick had been a successful Hollywood cartoonist, but he had to reinvent himself as a PI after being blacklisted during a communist witch hunt.

Con Lehane places readers directly at the heart of 1950 America, and the dialogue and scenes featuring Mick could have jumped out of a Ross Macdonald novel. Anti-communism was the furor that raged through the nation, spearheaded by J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy. Mick is about to find himself thrust into the middle of all of this when a new case is presented to him.

New York City labor leader Duke Rogowski stakes him to a week of expenses with the task of looking into Harold Williams, a Black man who is on death row for the murder of Irwin Johnson, the owner of the cab company where he worked. There have been rumors that Harold is a Communist sympathizer and organizer, which he has always denied.

This is a dangerous assignment, but Mick needs the money and has a sense of justice that is superior to most other private eyes working the beat. Mick starts speaking with everyone connected to Harold in some way, from his coworkers to his mother and his wife. He learns that outside of Harold’s father once being part of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, there has been no sign of any Communist activity. If this is true, then Mick must do whatever he can to unmask Irwin’s real killer before Harold’s execution. Who would set up Harold in this way, and why? The answer will not be an easy or a safe one for him.

When Mick visits Harold at Sing Sing, he slowly gains his confidence and realizes that the man is indeed innocent. After meeting with Harold’s young son, Mick is more engaged than ever in seeing that he gets his freedom. Of course, the people who are responsible for the murder and framing Harold are not to be trifled with. Mick finds himself in harm’s way more than once as he races against the clock to save his client before they both face a different form of execution at the hands of an unjust conspiracy.

THE RED SCARE MURDERS is a slow burn of a novel that draws readers into a story that plays out like classic crime noir, where you can taste the grit flying off the pages. With Mick Mulligan, Con Lehane has created a tough guy private eye with a heart who is a pleasure to spend time with and I hope we see again.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[Leane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Historical Mystery Noir had excellent procedural detail as blackballed former Disney cartoonist turned PI, Mick Mulligan, tells his story from the day he gets his assignment to find evidence to stop the death row execution of an African-American, Communist, Pro-Union Activist cab driver. The narrative arc covers July 1950, short chapter by chapter, as Day One to Day Fifteen from July 21, 1950 to August 4th as Mick delves deeply into people and areas that organized crime, and the anti-union crowd, as well as some in the union and Communist party would rather he ignore. This is a well-layered plot with some obvious and surprising twists with a satisfactory, though bittersweet, ending. Lehane does his homework and integrates the social, cultural, economic, and political realities of the time period exceptionally well. This a gritty, realistic look at race and ethnic relations, the Red Scare, and the inequities of political and economic power. NYC details from Mick’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood to the grungy cab companies to mansions of Riverdale to Sing Sing prison to City Hall help to create the Tone that slides from despair, frustration, fear, and some romance (ST: Sexual Tension). Secondary CHs give this mystery even more depth from the imprisoned Harold Williams to the various cabbies who assist or harass Mick, the beguiling Ellen, and the urbane lawyer, Gil Silver. This book was a painless way to learn about the formation of unions, the myths and truths of the hunt for Communists by the US Government, and also be entertained by a good historical crime story. I enjoyed how the author weaves Mick’s drawing into the story and CH arc. RED FLAGS: Vulgar language; Violence; Political Bullying; Misogyny. Readalikes may be Kate Quinn’s The Briar Club set in DC and Sarah-Jane Stratford’s Red Letter Days for more in the Red Scare theme, or Noir crime novels by Laird Barron, Reed Farrel Coleman, and James Ellroy.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

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.

[Willy Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You know what a witch hunt is? It’s when a big lie declaring someone anathema to the prevailing orthodoxy gets a head of steam…,” explains narrator Mick Mulligan. It’s July 1950, and the country is in the grips of anti-communist “Red Scare” fever. Blacklisted from his job as a Disney cartoonist, Mick is back in New York, divorced, broke, and starting as a private detective to pay child support. But his first case may prove impossible to solve. A year and half earlier, Irwin Johnson, a despised cab company owner, was shot to death in his garage office. Evidence pointed to Black cab driver and Communist Party member Harold Williams, who had led a wildcat strike against Johnson’s company a month before the murder. Tried and convicted, Harold sits in Sing Sing prison, awaiting execution on August 4. Now, labor leader Duke Rogowski wants Mick to find new evidence to exonerate Harold. The problem is that Mick only has 15 days. In the best hardboiled noir tradition, our gumshoe doggedly pursues clues and reluctant witnesses like sexy femme fatale widow Eva Johnson (think Lana Turner) while fending off Mob goons named Moose. If Lehane’s (Murder at the College Library) red-herring plot twists don’t always make sense, his gritty portrait of 1950s New York rings true. While there is only one actual murder, the novel vividly depicts the McCarthyism that destroyed so many lives. A treat for noir and historical mystery fans. (reviewed in First Clues newsletter https://mailchi.mp/firstcluereviews/b...)

[Coca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the audio version of the book, narrated by Dan John Miller.

3.5/5

In 1949 the political landscape was a mess. Everyone was accusing everyone else of being a "commie" and the Civil Rights movement was on the rise. Enter Mick Mulligan, former Disney Cartoonist turned Private Investigator after he was labeled a communist (he really didn't care). He's a little hard up for work, so he can't turn down the job when he's hired to find enough evidence to try to overturn a death row conviction, 2 weeks before the scheduled date.

This was just "ok" for me. Mick is an interesting enough character, and Irish Catholic living and working in Hell's Kitchen. He's a working guy with working guy values and comes across as an genuine character, but there could have been more depth to him.

The plot was a little tough for me to follow with so many moving elements. The law enforcement agencies trying to out the communists, the communists themselves, the mob, the unionists, and all of the side players.

It wasn't a bad book, I think it was just kind of over my head a little.

[SullenSapphic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is July 1950 in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Mick Mulligan, a Private Investigator, has been hired by labor leader Duke Rogowski to investigate the murder of Irwin Johnson, the owner of the taxi company. He believes Harold Williams, the man on death row for the murder, is innocent and that there is evidence out there proving him so. Mick has to fight love, lies, and deceit to get to the truth. Does he find it and will it be in time?

I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the Author in return for my honest review. First off, I want to say if anyone is a fan of the old time radio shows, this audiobook kind of made me feel like I was listening to a long episode of “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.” The writing and narration of the audiobook really captures that noir-esqe feel. I also like the time period used for this story. The 1950s was a very tense time and communism was being used as a scare tactic that held the American people by the throat. The author really captures the tenseness of the time period.

So, if you really enjoy a noir detective novel, this would be a great read / listen for you.

TWs:
🚕 Racism
🚕 Racial Slurs
🚕 Death Penalty
🚕 Physical Harm
🚕 Crime

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Red Scare Murders”, as you may have guessed from the title, is a period piece murder. This is at the height of McCarthyism and looking for communists behind every corner. Added to it, this novel deals with racism of the 1950s. Kudos to the author for not doing the lazy thing and portraying racism as mostly taking place in the South.

If you like old school noir, you will enjoy the writing style. However, the execution is not always top notch. There were several times that it was lackluster or just didn’t feel like it flowed.

There were several times that I had to gather myself to focus on the audiobook. It was easy to lose track of what was happening. This wasn’t the fault of the narrator. Dan John Miller does a good job with the noir style and the different voices. It really stood out to me because I have listened to several audiobooks that are being released on the same day. By far, this was the only one that I had trouble focusing on.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Viccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's July 15, 1950, and Mick Mulligan has been hired to find out who killed Irwin Johnson. The man who was convicted of the crime is scheduled to die in the electric chair in two weeks. Mick is a newly minted P.I. who was driven out of Hollywood by the Red Scare; he refused to name names for HUAC and was blacklisted. He lost his career, his wife and his daughter. Now, he works in New York and the Communist group trying to organize the taxi drivers into a union have hired him to try and clear the man convicted of the murder. There is a lot going on. Strikes and mayhem rule the streets. The taxi drivers go out on strike and the taxi companies hire scabs to try and break the strike. Mick is caught between his loyalty to the Party, his new job and a very pretty girl who appears to be falling in love with him. This was an interesting look at life in NYC during that scary time known as the Red Scare. Hoover and the FBI are intent on ruining anyone's life that they think might be involved in Communism. It is a little tedious in places.

[Paloma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Red Scare Murders comes with mystery, murder, and tension during the McCarthy Era.

Mick Mulligan has had some bad luck. First he gets fired as a studio animator, he gets divorced and decides to move to New York. Here he becomes a private detective. A taxi cab owner is shot and a black man, Harold Williams, is framed for the murder. Williams is set to be executed in two weeks time. It is up to Mulligan to find the real culprit and bring them to justice.

I really enjoyed learning about the anti-communist fever of the McCarthy Era. The book's pacing is slow but it makes you want to learn and read more. The plot is intriguing and wrapped in drama. The main character seems to always know where trouble is and where to find it. It was a great read for me!
Thank you Netgalley and Soho Press/Soho Crime for this eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

[Plover · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good story with an interesting setting. Not great, but worth the time. A few drawbacks:

-The book dragged in places because too much time was spent explaining the McCarthy era witch hunts. Much of this information might have been better placed in an Afterward.

-There are a lot of characters, and I sometimes had to stop and think, "Wait. Who is this?" This wasn't a huge problem, but certainly noticeable.

-I guessed the killer's identity and the basics of the reason for the killing a third of the way in, and never had reason to question the guess (sometimes, foreshadowing can go too far).

-The ending is simultaneously dragged out, then rushed. The former was annoying because by that time the killer's identity had become painfully obvious.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good mystery set in 1950 New York City.
If you enjoy 1940s/1950s detective stories, you should enjoy this one.
This is set during the Red Scare, when people had their lives ruined because they were suspected of being communist.
Mick is a former Hollywood cartoonist, blacklisted and now struggling to make it as a P.I. in NYC.
He takes on a impossible case.....a man is scheduled for death in two weeks, unless Mick can prove he's innocent.
This was a great read.
Highly recommended.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

American noir, set in NYC. Clever story that twists together attitudes about Black people from the 1960s combined with anti communist attitudes from McCarthyism and tops it off with a murder. This story dragged from time to time and the political diatribes became wearying but overall a good story. I enjoy Con Lehane’s books and this is not a disappointment.

[Christy E · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up to 4. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the audiobook arc version. First, the narration was fantastic and perfect for the time period and storyline. I enjoyed the themes of the book related to the Red Scare, unions, mobsters and the craziness of life at that time. There were a couple of times where the story dragged a bit, but the narration made up for it.

[Sandy Goguen-Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is 1950's during the McCarthy era when people were being black listed and the authorities wanted names.

Sometimes it was a little drawn out with a few too many characters. I occasionally had to stop and think which one is this.

That being said it was a good mystery novel and I wanted to find out who done it.

[Jennifer Cunnington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old school murder mystery story that reminded me of an LA Confidential type movie. A longer read that took me a bit to get into and stayed true to its genre. Tons of detail from a PI perspective and lots of suspects to go through to help save a lucky man from taking the fall. I won this book and appreciate the read!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me of One Shot Harry by Gary Phillips. Well told post- war noir tale of taxi drivers, unions, Communist Party members and the mob. All sorted out by a black listed Hollywood animator who wouldn’t name names.

[Jeff Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting subject for a murder mystery that was very well done. The time frame was perfect for the story and the cast of characters was easy to keep track of. Good ending that you could see coming but still played out suspensefully.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars to be honest. Decent 50s NY noir.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Barondestructo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid noir. 3.5/5

[Ananya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the historical elements and the writing style grew on me

[Shelby (bookshelfworthy) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d :(