The Big Payoff [Paperback]

Janice Trecker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 1999

Set at the time of the North Sea oil boom, The Big Payoff marks the debut of Anna Peters, the witty, cynical character Booklist called "among the most complex, fully drawn female leads in crime fiction" and whom the New York Times lauded for her "sweetly unscrupulous deals".In The Big Payoff, Peters is employed in the research department of New World Oil Company, a position that suits this now reformed blackmailer. Happy with her lover, Harry, Anna has abandoned the seductive intellectual and psychological game of blackmail for the straight and narrow.But mysterious deaths among New World's British contacts convince Anna that something is wrong in the executive suite. Worse, she is soon blackmailed by a British secret service agent who's following the same trail.Anna reluctantly bugs her boss's phone and copies company files, but when her British contact turns up dead, Anna finds that sheand Harryare in mortal danger. Her old skills come in handy as she tries to keep ahead of ruthless killers, first in Washington, D.C. and then in the north of Scotland.The Big Payoff has been issued in British, Danish and Japanese editions and was a selection of the Detective Book Club. It was an Edgar Award nominee.Look for more of Janice Law's Anna Peters mysteries to become available in the near future.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

My family spent many happy summers in beautiful St. Andrews, Scotland, the home of Golf and of the ancient St. Andrews University.Besides novels, I have published articles and short stories. My day job is teaching English at the University of Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (December 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583486976
• ISBN-13: 978-1583486979
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,377,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The first, and possibly the best in the Anna Peters series., September 24, 1997

By 

J. H. Trecker (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Payoff (Hardcover)

A very clever tale of a low-paid secretary (Anna Peters) who discovers her bosses at New World Oil are up to no good. As in the works of Polish sci-fi author Stanislav Lem, Law wraps some biting social commentary in a taut, well-paced and jazzily written mystery. If this book was put back into print, it would be something of a period classic-something on the order of a "Foxy Brown." The first of a series of adventures featuring the rather unusual Ms. Peters.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First and Best, December 31, 1999

By 

J. H. Trecker (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Payoff (Paperback)

The Big Payoff, originally released in 1976, is the first - and perhaps best - novel in Law's long-running Anna Peters mystery series. Starring one of the genre's most fully realized female detectives, Law's novel seems oddly prescient today considering this generation's new-found fascination with smart, hip sleuths.

Despite plumbing a genre that might seem dated - that of the "evil business conglomerate" (in this case the New World Oil corporation) - Law's novel never breaks stride and reads as fresh today as it did some 25 years ago. In fact, had this novel been released today by a younger author with a promotional push, it might become a modest hit.

As it is, the Big Payoff deserves to move beyond its status as a cult classic (Law's novels are a modest favorite among the library set; first editions tend to command modest prices) - it is a fine detective novel with a bold central character that still has resonance.

Others in the series worth checking out: Under Orion, Gemini Trip and the kooky Death Under Par, one of the funnier novels about golf and murder.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A grand new character was introduced, December 31, 1999

By 

Jerrold B Trecker (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Payoff (Paperback)

Anna Peters was one of the first of a new kind of mystery heroine who has grown older gracefully during her career. This first novel also captured the spirit of a big match soccer day in Scotland, an unexpected bonus.