Once upon a Crime [Mass Market Paperback]

M. D. Lake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Checking off a list of suspects, crime-weary campus cop Peggy O'Neill searches for the killer of a notorious Danish scholar who was to open a symposium on Hans Christian Andersen before being bludgeoned with a statuette of the Little Mermaid.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Avon; First Edition edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380775204
• ISBN-13: 978-0380775200
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe Lake's best, December 5, 2000

By 

"janie33" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once upon a Crime (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought I'd read all Lake's books, but I somehow missed this one. Two of my favorite Lake characters, Pia Austin and Sam Allen, appear here for the first time, and they're wonderful! I wish Lake would use them more--maybe even write a book featuring them, with Peggy (who I love) on the side. The story of Hans Christian Andersen's relationship with a remarkable Danish woman is expertly woven into the mystery and there's a side-splitting chapter on college football players too! Maybe I do like this the best of all Lake's books!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Mystery, Unpleasant Resolution, December 12, 2001

By 

Daniel L Pratt (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once upon a Crime (Mass Market Paperback)

The author's sendup of literary critics in academia, particularly feminist critics, is worth the price of admission all by itself. But the denouement, right after the mystery is solved, seems highly unsatisfactory to me, for reasons that can hardly be discussed without spoiling the otherwise clever plot.

4.0 out of 5 stars Like an Andersen fairy tale, the ending is sad., February 20, 2009

By 

Tracy Christenson "dictionary enchantress" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Peggy O'Neill, a campus cop at a university, is supposed to be resting after being injured in the line of duty, but she finds it difficult to stay away from the campus. She makes friends with a student at the university, Pia Austin, and her boyfriend, Christian. Pia is studying humanities and has a deep interest in the works of Hans Christian Andersen. Pia is currently working on translating some letters that Hans Christian Andersen and a friend of his, Henriette Wulff, wrote to each other. She shows Peggy the new children's library on campus, which was funded by her boyfriend's mother and grandfather. There is a special room in the library dedicate to Hans Christian Andersen, and the letters, a gift to the school from Christian's mother, are the crown jewels of the collection. Pia is excited because there will a symposium about Hans Christian Andersen at the university and her father, a Danish scholar, will attend and give a speech. However, Pia's father turns out to be a disagreeable man, and before the symposium is over, he is found murdered in the Hans Christian Andersen room. He was hit over the head with a statue of the Little Mermaid, and the collection of letters are missing. Was the man murdered by a thief wanting to steal the letters, or was there a more personal reason for the crime? Because of her friendship for Pia, Peggy feels drawn to investigate the murder.

Not a bad mystery. The characters are fairly entertaining, and the solution was pretty clever. However, I thought that the reason for the crime was rather sad, and I was a little unsatisfied at the end. I won't say anymore about that, though. You'll have to read it yourself to decide.