The Queen of Bedlam (2007)

Matthew Corbett, the hero of Robert McCammon's saga of colonial witch hunts, Speaks the Nightbird, returns to track a serial killer in 18th-century New York. The Masker, as the murderer is dubbed (serial killers have apparently always enjoyed nicknames), preys on powerful businessmen like Eben Ausley, the pedophile who runs the orphanage where Matthew grew up. The eponymous ''queen'' is a mental patient who may hold the key to the case. Though slightly overstuffed with period details and plot twists, The Queen of Bedlam is a good book for a winter storm. B+