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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky Charactes, Interesting Setting, But No Depth,
By Jeff "filmfanman" (Kansas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Corpse in Oozak's Pond (Peter Shandy Mysteries) (Paperback)
The Corpse in Oozak's Pond was my first experience with a Charlotte MacLeod story and I only read it because 1987 (when the book was published) was one of the best years for mystery fiction, in my opinion. In fact, three of my favorites of that year - `Old Bones' by Aaron Elkins, `Rough Cider' by Peter Lovesey, and `Nursery Crimes' by B.M. Gill were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Since The Corpse in Oozak's Pond was also nominated that year in the same category I figured it was time to give it a read. MacLeod's work is out of print now but I was able to find a copy in a used bookstore.
Professor Peter Shandy and his Librarian wife, Helen, both employees of Balaclava Agriculture College, are called upon to solve the mystery of an unknown corpse dressed in century old clothing after it floats to the top of Ooozak's pond during a rather festive Groundhog Day ceremony. Added to this is an unfortunate lawsuit against the college by the founder's descendants and two more bodies found poisoned to death. Shandy just wants to get back to his students and rutabagas but first he has to sort out all the conflicting evidence and find a killer before it's too late. I had real problems keeping the cast of characters straight in this story and had to re-read the first couple of chapters a couple of times just to get my bearings. I am always leery of stories that provide a genealogy chart in the beginning of the book. This usually indicates you are going to need a playlist to keep track of the key players. I know this was supposed to be a light, whimsical murder mystery but I expected a little more character development so I could root for Shandy as he goes through his investigation. Unfortunately I felt no connection to any of the characters. Speaking of said investigation, the whole course of the story from discovery of the first body to the final solution takes all of two days! Nothing seemed to flow organically. I wanted to like this story and was expecting the same type of engrossing mystery as the other Edgar Nominated books for that year but this one seemed to be the odd man out and didn't really satisfy like the others. The characters are quirky, the msyetry complex, and the setting is interesting but ultimately this seesm to be a case of style over substance with no depth of character. Maybe other books in the Peter Shandy series are better but nothing in this book makes me want to find out.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peter Shandy is the Greatest!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Corpse in Oozak's Pond (Peter Shandy Mysteries) (Paperback)
After reading literally hundreds of mystery novels, I discovered Peter and Helen Shandy in Balaclava two years ago. Since then, every mystery that I read is held up to the Charlotte MacLeod standard. This series is like taking a vacation with a really fun group of friends. They're my favorite books in the world, I reread them all periodically. I can't wait until the next one!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Peter Shandy mystery marred by geneaological complexity,
By
This review is from: The Corpse in Oozak's Pond (Peter Shandy Mysteries) (Paperback)
This is one of the weaker novels involving Professor Peter Shandy, his librarian-wife Helen, and the colorful folks at Balaclava Agricultural College. This time, a corpse turns up during a Groundhog Day ceremony, and college President Svenson once again calls on Professor Shandy to get to the bottom of the crime. Perhaps it is indicative of the complexity of the interrelationships among the characters that the author chose to put a geneaological chart in the front of the book. It doesn't help much. The characters' names are clever, but morphologically similar, as are some of their backgrounds. Several of the women in the town also resemble each other, adding to the confusion. This book is not leavened, as are others in this series, by much humor between Shandy and his wife, or with the colorful President Svenson. Cronkite Swope, ace reporter, is present, but the overall tone is of various people resenting each other for past or present transgressions. I did, however, like the groundhog character and Jane Austen, the Shandys' cat.
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