The Wedding Game: A Mystery at the University of Michigan (Mysteries & Horror) [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Holtzer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mysteries & Horror | Publication Date: March 15, 2001

Police lieutenant Karl Genesko and his fiancee, computer pro Anneke Haagen, are finally tying the knot-and in-law-deep in pre-wedding jitters and activities. Anneke's grown daughters and granddaughter are arriving soon, she's got her consulting business ends tied up, and the University of Michigan's Art Museum rotunda is a glorious wedding locale. But when Karl is called away suddenly to investigate a mailbomb murder in Oakland, the victim turns out to be "Vince Mattus"-and the happy couple become suspects in the case. Mattus is one of six computer gamers in Anneke's on-line chats-evidence found in his apartment links the group, and Karl, to the murder. From a punk party girl to a Silicon Valley heavy, the suspects create a murder game to catch the killer--on-line. As the game zeroes in on the culprit, identities disappear and emerge. And for Karl and Anneke, "till death do us part" might happen sooner than anyone suspected...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

These days, isolation and anonymity are clichéd hallmarks of the information age: pundits remark that we have become a fragmented culture of lonely individuals, faces lit by the pale glow of computer screens. With the latest in her University of Michigan mystery series (The Silly Season, Black Diamond, Curly Smoke, Bleeding Maize and Blue), Susan Holtzer both takes advantage of and challenges these stereotypes. The Wedding Game is a fast-paced mystery in which neither the reader nor the detective actually "meets" the murder victim or any of the suspects face to face (f2f, as they say online).

Anneke Haagen is feeling a bit frazzled from the demands of running a computer consulting business, readying her new computer game for beta testing, and planning her wedding to Ann Arbor police officer Karl Genesko. It's a good thing she can always count on some friendly give and take with her fellow members of GameSpinners, a private e-mail list for computer game designers, to relax her. Until, that is, member Vince Mattus, "poster boy for road rage on the information highway," gets a decidedly unfriendly and definitely deadly letter bomb. When the FBI finds information that leads them to believe that Mattus had embarked on a special Blackmail Game (no programming skills required), aimed at his fellow GameSpinners, it's up to Anneke and the others to clear themselves as suspects by solving the murder. As one of them wryly posts, "Instead of just spinning our wheels, why don't we approach this the way we'd approach a real game--think of it as a Murder Game. The way I see it, it's basically an rpg, only we're not just role-playing the characters, we ARE the characters." But even games can have serious consequences. As the GameSpinners circle closer to the truth, the stakes grow higher for the murderer among them, and Anneke finds herself the object of his deadly attention.

Middle-aged, opinionated, and talented, Anneke continues to charm as an unorthodox detective, and Holtzer's decision to exploit the logistics and psychology of the Internet as fertile territory for a murder mystery pays off. At once a commentary on the vagaries of modern life and a good-humored send-up of the notion of The Great Detective interrogating his suspects, The Wedding Game will reward those who feel like playing. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This fourth entry in Holtzer's Blue and Gold series (after The Silly Season) solidifies the author's position as a mystery writer to watch. A week before the wedding of computer programmer and series regular Anneke Haagen and former pro football player turned police lieutenant Karl Genesko, murder threatens to cancel their plans. Both Anneke and Karl become suspects when a letter bomb kills blackmailer Vince Mattus, a member of GameSpinners, an Internet newsgroup for game programmers. FBI officers go over Anneke's computer records, since her name was among those of other GameSpinners on a list next to Vince's desk. After the FBI questions her, she remembers Vince's abortive attempt to blackmail her over the Net, and she soon finds out that he tried the same thing on other newsgroup members. Might one of them have killed Vince to shut him up? While wedding plans proceed, Anneke decides to find the answer to that question. First she prints up the GameSpinner correspondence, giving it to Karl to mull over. Then she suggests to the other programmers that they make an online game of solving the case with just themselves as players. Both mystery lovers and computer buffs will enjoy this imaginative romp in cyberspace, especially Holtzer's on-target discussions of identity on and off the Net. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312978669
• ISBN-13: 978-0312978662
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great installment in this popular series, March 17, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wedding Game: A Mystery at the University of Michigan (Hardcover)

Ann Arbor police lieutenant Karl Gensko and computer programmer Anneke Haagen are marrying in a week, but neither feels totally happy since they are prime suspects in an ongoing homicide. A mail bomb killed Vince Mattus, a person belonging to the Internet list Game Spinner. Near the victim's computer was a note that named seven of the players including Anneke under the ominous header "The Black Mail Game. "

The Ann Arbor police department forces Karl to go on extended leave because he is a prime suspect due to his relationship with Anneke. However, neither Anneke nor Karl can stand to sit idle while the FBI conducts the investigation. They want their names cleared before they go on their honeymoon, so they conduct a bit of sleuthing that places them in danger of becoming the next victims.

Anyone who has participated on-line will want to read THE WEDDING GAME. Anyone who has not, but reads this exciting realistic novel, will want to join a discussion group. Susan Holtzer has written her best Haagen tale to date as she uses the sub-plot of the upcoming nuptials to provide humor and insight into the lead couple. The unique mystery has an intriguing twist since most of the characters have never met outside of cyberspace. This plot device works because of Ms. Holtzer's strong storytelling abilities.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever, Cute, and Contrived, March 26, 2001

By 

Judith Lindenau "dulcie22" (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wedding Game: A Mystery at the University of Michigan (Mysteries & Horror) (Mass Market Paperback)

I think I've been on the Internet as long as Anneke, and I've been hanging out in chat rooms and listserves since before point and click. I even played Adventure on my TRS 80 with its tape drive. So yes, I enjoyed the nostalgia of much of this setting, especially the Adventure interactive text game quotes and references.

And I related to the listserve interaction and the flame wars and other background devices that Holtzer used in the novel. But as a good mystery novel....not exactly. The characters were thin, and the ending was disappointingly abrupt. And really, it's pretty hard to stir up much feeling for a mystery which is solved by e-mail with the help of a couple of geeks and a suspended cop fiance.

It's an entertaining afternoon read...but by no means a first class mystery novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY true to internet life!, July 2, 2000

By 

Rebekah Sue Harris (West Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wedding Game: A Mystery at the University of Michigan (Hardcover)

My mom took this book out of the library. The whole time she read it she said, "When I'm done, you're going to LOVE this book!"

So she finished it.

I read it in one sitting.

I wish it were out in paperback now; I'd buy a dozen or more copies and send them to all my friends.

This is a well-written mystery. It wasn't so detail-oriented as to make the reader clutch his head in one hand and an Excedrin in the other -- yet I could visualize what was going on. The characters were fun but not frivolous.

Most amazingly, from my years on newsgroups, I could TOTALLY IDENTIFY with the online personae. This makes this book very real.

I highly recommend it.

Again, my mom was right