A Little Neighborhood Murder (Linford Mystery Library) [Large Print] [Paperback]

A. J. Orde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1992 | Series: Linford Mystery Library

When Jason Lynx's neighbors, George and Betty Whitney, are murdered, Jason discovers the police consider him the number one suspect. But Jason, an addicted puzzle solver, begins to find the case fascinating. Who'd have thought that George Whitney, an employee of a religious radio station, had it in him to attract a killer. Aided by endearing detective Grace Willis, Jason approaches the sinister secret that made the boring Whitneys so deadly dangerous. And if he is not very careful, that terrible secret could coil back and strike him....
"Orde writes with a firm, precise voice and Lynx is a well-drawn and likable characater."
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The debut of Jason Lynx, a 40ish, Colorado-based antiques dealer and interior designer, offers readers both rewards and disappointments. After Jason's wife disappeared five years ago, her wrecked car was found in the mountains with their infant son, Jerry, in the back seat. Jerry suffered an irreversible brain injury and has been institutionalized. Since then Jason has devoted himself to his business, his mentor Jacob Buchnam, his dog Bela, and solving puzzles. In his neighbor's house to feed their dogs, he discovers a bomb inside the front door; the next morning their murdered bodies are found. Unable to fathom why anyone would kill the radio executive and his wife, who showed championship canines, Jason conducts his own inquiries assisted by policewoman Grace Willis. His sleuthing soon reveals a link between the neighbors and his missing wife. Marred by an abundance of happenstance, a farfetched plot and a lack of suspense, Orde's first novel nonetheless features in Jason a thoroughly engaging multidimensional character, whom readers will look forward to meeting again.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

When Jason Lynx's neighbors, George and Betty Whitney, are murdered, Jason discovers the police consider him the number one suspect. But Jason, an addicted puzzle solver, begins to find the case fascinating. Who'd have thought that George Whitney, an employee of a religious radio station, had it in him to attract a killer. Aided by endearing detective Grace Willis, Jason approaches the sinister secret that made the boring Whitneys so deadly dangerous. And if he is not very careful, that terrible secret could coil back and strike him....
"Orde writes with a firm, precise voice and Lynx is a well-drawn and likable characater."
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 433 pages
• Publisher: Linford (February 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708971636
• ISBN-13: 978-0708971635
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,377,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder Moves in Next Door, February 8, 2003

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Neighborhood Murder (Mass Market Paperback)

A. J. Orde is B. J. Oliphant is Sheri Tepper and a stunning writer whether she is dealing with the far future or the deepest rescesses of the heart.

Jason Lynx, the hero of this series, is a man who has been seriously wounded by life. He was abandoned as an badly burned infant on the steps of a children't home. He spent the next four years undergoing skin grafts. At the age of 14 he was taken in by an antique's dealer who had helped him get his start in the interior design business. Later he married but his wife disappeared and his son was found strapped in a car seat in a wrecked vehicle.

Now it is eight years later. Jason has taken over his foster father's business and has established himself as a successful businessman. Then one Sunday his neighbor George asks him to check on his dogs while he goes to pick up his wife who has had a minor accident. What follows is murder, bombings, and the breaking open of scabs that have crusted over old wounds.

This is a very good novel and a very good mystery. While it was first published in 1989 there is very little dated about the book.

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun winter's evening murder mystery, May 9, 2009

By 

Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Neighborhood Murder (Mass Market Paperback)

Sheri S. Tepper has always been a highly prolific writer, publishing under several different pseudonyms over the last twenty five years; A. J. Orde is the name she used for a short series of six murder mysteries published between 1989 and 1996, featuring Colorado antique dealer, Jason Lynx. "A Little Neighborhood Murder" is the first of this series.

When Jason's neighbours fortuitously survive a parcel bomb attack on their home while Jason is house-sitting their dogs, he finds himself unavoidably involved in their affairs; as things escalate and the belligerent police inspector assigned to the case seems determined to botch the case (and prove Jason to be the perpetrator) Jason decides it is time to put his own puzzle solving skills to use and solve the crime himself. And the more he investigates, the closer to home he finds the clues are taking him.

Like all Tepper's books, this is never less than a great read. Jason Lynx is an interesting and likeable character, with a complex and involved background (perhaps just a little too involved at times to be credible but then who really needs credible in a murder mystery?) making Jason's own story, which emerges gradually as the tale unfolds, every bit as intriguing as the central mystery itself. The book is quite short and largely steers clear of most of Tepper's usual bug-bear subjects, although evangelical fund-raising organisations do come in for something of a side-swipe along the way but not so much as to any irritant to those who dislike Tepper's usual brand of (anti)-proselytising. The central mystery (and its solution) are reasonably convoluted although not too difficult to work out, although the denouement, when it arrives, is perhaps a little sillier than it needs to be and feels to bring the book to a somewhat over-dramatic and rushed conclusion.

Sadly, all of the books in this series have long been out of print but there are usually a reasonable number of not-too-tatty second-hand paperback copies floating around at a fairly low price for those prepared to hunt... something that is well worth doing.