Once Too Often [Paperback]

Dorothy Simpson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (1998)
• ASIN: B000OUASBM
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well plotted, beautifully written procedural/cozy, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Too Often (Hardcover)

A fine entry in Ms. Simpson's always-well-written series. The puzzle is carefully crafted and ingenious, with enough red herrings to throw most pursuers off the scent. The characters are pleasantly three-dimensional; Ms. Simpson is a good enough author to realize that, if the reader doesn't care about the characters, there would be no reason care what happens TO them. A thoroughly satisfying book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The thinking person's mystery, January 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Too Often (Hardcover)

Inspector Luke Thanet's beloved daughter is getting married in a few days. However, instead of a joyous occasion, the police officer worries that his daughter is making a bad choice. Luke is relieved to be handed a perplexing case to investigate so that he can concentrate on something other than the upcoming nuptials. Newspaper columnist Jessica Dander is dead from a broken neck after falling down the stairs in her home. Luke and his partner Detective Sergeant Mike Lineham need to determine whether the cause of death was an accident or a deliberate act of foul play.

An investigation into the deceased's background produces a host of believable suspects, all who disliked the victim. The primary suspect is Jessica's spouse, who has no viable alibi to cover his whereabouts during the time of death. His motive was that of the cuckolded husband, who was also a spousal abuse victim. Besides the spouse, other suspects had solid motives to commit murder. Jessica's lover, who allegedly tried to end their relationship. His wife, who was just outside the murder scene in a car waiting for her spouse to end the relationship. An apprentice hairdresser, who had a deep obsession for the dead person. Luke wants to have this case solved before his daughter's big day so he has one less headache to deal with when his daughter marries.

This fourteenth entry in the Inspector Thanet series is a warm British police procedural wrapped inside a charming cozy. The tale is long on the intellect and short on the gore. The two police officers quietly reason out the sequence of events, discreetly make inquiries, and compare stories without turning into Super-cop. Fans of Jessica Fletcher and Ms. Marple will not only want to read ONCE TOO OFTEN, but all the other entertaining works in this series. Dorothy Simpson gives the audience a tantalizing glimpse into the personal lives of the two officers, thereby humanizing them so that readers will care what happens to them.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Too Often (Hardcover)

This is a very well-written mystery. The author has you guessing all the way to the very end and it turns out to be a total surprise! I would reccomend this book to those who love just a great mystery without all the gore.