Customer Reviews

Too Sane A Murder

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"Too Sane a Murder" is the first of a series by Lee Martin, one of several pen names used by Martha G. Webb. Set in Fort Worth and surrounds, the series is carefully constructed, intelligently written, with a good sense of people, place and plot.

In "Too Sane a Murder" (which other reviewers have confused with "The Mensa Murders), Detective Deb Ralston is called out to a crime scene where several people have been killed by shotgun wounds, and the remaining person in the house is Olead Baker, a "nut case" recently released from a mental institution. After the arraignment the suspect manages to escape. Ralston convinces the Powers That Be that she can find him, and she does, at the Water Garden, a fountain across the street from the court house (and from Texas Wesleyan Law School). In the course of her investigati0n, Ralston decides that Baker is being framed -- that the murder is too carefully planned to have been the result of a violent psychotic outburst. In the usual climactic scene, she proves him innocent amid chaos and fanfare.

This is my favorite kind of mystery: the police procedures, the psychology of perps, victims, cops and families all make sense, and you're left wanting to pick up the next book in the series ("A Conspiracy of Strangers") as soon as you put down this one. Read it if you can find it!

Have you ever read a Deb Ralston mystery? If you haven't, this is a good book to start with. Deb is an average police-mom trying to solve a murder case with almost no evidence. The suspect always cleans the house spic and span after each murder. It is almost impossible to guess who is doing the murders, but if you're good, you just might figure it out. The plot of the story is very deep and easy to understand. If you enjoy police procedurals, this is close to the TV series C.S.I. I hope this review will help you chose if you would like this book or not.