A Crooked Man [Hardcover]

Christopher Lehmann-haupt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 16, 1995

After a chilling threat against his young son, Senator Nick Schlafer struggles with unseen enemies, probes his teenage daughter's death under suspicious circumstances, and uncovers the dark underside of Washington politics and the horror of power gone awry. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

In a relatively compact undertaking, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, the senior daily book reviewer for the New York Times, has woven a multilayered mystery-thriller that combines dirty partisan politics, organized crime, illegal drugs and violent deaths, a combination that easily could become a bed of cliches in which a story like this wo uld languish. Lehmann-Haupt has kept it taut, exciting and filled with surprises.

From The New Yorker

Lehmann-Haupt is a soon-to-retire book critic for the New York Times, and his venture into suspense writing is taut and engaging.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (February 16, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067173444X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671734442
• Product Dimensions: 3.2 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,259,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Political thriller, July 16, 2003

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Crooked Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Senator Nick Schlafer is trying to push through a Bill in Congress, legalising drugs and drug taking.The President and most of his political opponents are adamently against such a move and Nick is accused of using the bill to make up for his daughters apparent suicide from a heroin overdose.He becomes involved with a high ranking mafia member who agrees with the proposed Bill because it coincides with mob interests.Perhaps this type of writing will appeal to readers with an interest in political situations but I really couldn't work up much interest and was able to identify "The Crooked Man" of the title almost immediately.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of Twists and Turns to Keep Your Interest, February 23, 2001

By 

Theresa Stuhlmann (Albuquerque, New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crooked Man (Mass Market Paperback)

"A Crooked Man" begins with the focus on Senator Schlafer's opinion on decriminalizing drugs. This topic is what initially got me interested in the book (and urging from a friend). Being a resident of New Mexico, the topic of decriminalization of drugs is a hot topic because our governor, Johnson, has the same feelings as Senator Schlafer. "A Crooked Man" not only discussed some of the research in legalizing drugs, but also some of the historical information that was interesting.

Other than decriminalizing drugs, the story also involved the suspicious death/suicide of the Senator's daughter and threats made directly to the Senator. The book was rather slow until approximately page 190. Page 190 was when the book became much more exciting and suspenseful and the book began moving much faster as the mob got involved, family secrets were exposed, and the mystery of his daughter's death began to unravel.

Overall, I gave "A Crooked Man" 3 stars because there were enough tists and turns to keep my interest, but the first 1/3 or so was rather slow and some of the characters and their reactions (verbal and physical) throughout the book were very unrealistic.

3.0 out of 5 stars Great potential but fails to deliver, May 11, 2006

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Crooked Man (Mass Market Paperback)

'A Crooked Man' features U.S. Senator Nick Schlafer who has proposed to de-criminalize drugs across the United States. Soon afterwards he is caught up in a confusing maelstrom of drug power players who may or may not want the bill to be passed, including the Drug Czar and mafia-types.

Schlafer's difficulties are complicated by a messy family background, inlcluding a daughter whom police believe slit her wrists while high on drugs. Family politics and national politics become intertwined and the book really starts to lose its focus. Schlafer is confused about who to trust and family secrets are exposed that shake him to his foundations. However, so many different things are going on that Lehmann-Haupt does a poor job of keeping all of the strands moving forward in a credible and meaningful way.

While a breeze to read, I was not terribly impressed. I give this one a grade of C+.