Customer Reviews

Once upon a Crime

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

At the beginning of this book, campus cop Peggy O'Neill is recovering from injuries she suffered while on her last case. She becomes acquainted with Pia Austin, who is writing a thesis on Hans Christian Anderson. Peggy learns about two new worlds when she meets Pia's boyfriend Christian, the college's star quarterback and Sam, their friend who is into drama. Sam is producing "The Emperor's New Clothes" and the person who was to play the emperor is sick. He persuades Peggy to take the part. At the same time, there is a symposium about Hans Christian Anderson which is being sponsored by the University, and Pia's cold and remote father, Jens Lindemann, is the main speaker. Early on, Lindemann is killed. There are no end of suspects because Lindemann was very much a womanizer, and he also was the object of jealousy by his colleagues. Since Peggy is on leave from the campus police, she agrees to join the investigation until she goes back to work full-time. She does a lot of sleuthing and finally makes some clever deductions which lead her to the killer. Lake weaves a clever plot, and,despite a rather unusual ending, this is a very good mystery.

As a lover of academic mysteries I eagerly looked forward to reading this book. Much to my disappointment the female protagonist, Peggy O'Neil, is written as arrogant and self-serving. She also has a habit of interpreting the law as she would like to see it applied. I found her character just didn't ring true. It was after I read the book that I found out the author is actually J. Allen Simpson. I have problems with most male authors that write in 1st person POV as a woman. I just don't see that it usually works. Wally Lamb, of course, is the exception. If it is academic mysteries you want, try Charlotte MacLeod. Her Shandy series is excellent and fits the bill just fine.