If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him (Elizabeth MacPherson Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Sharyn McCrumb (Author)
Key Phrases: dol phin, Net Him, Met Him, Eleanor Royden (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Three grievously wronged women take murderous revenge in this sharp-edged, witty tale, the eighth appearance of forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson. Her skills at research and detection come into play when she is hired as an investigator by her brother Bill's Virginia law firm. Bill has been asked to defend a woman accused of poisoning her philandering husband, a piously hypocritical preacher. Another law partner, the resolute Amy Powell Hill, ponders how best to defend a Richmond socialite who gleefully admits to shooting both her ex-husband and his new wife. Intertwined with these contemporary cases is a 19th-century mystery: How did a genteel Southern lady manage to poison her wealthy Yankee husband? Buoyed by intriguing characters, a wry?sometimes macabre?wit, and lush Virginia atmosphere, McCrumb's (MacPherson's Lament; The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter) mystery spins merrily along on its own momentum, concluding that justice will triumph... but in surprising ways. Mystery Guild selection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Elizabeth MacPherson, Southern sleuth and forensic anthropologist, investigates a pair of murders for her brother's Virginia law firm. From the author of Missing Susan (Ballantine, 1991).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (March 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449149986
• ISBN-13: 978-0449149980
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #5 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > McCrumb, Sharyn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Hilarious!, September 22, 2000

By	Patricia Dumas "Ford Fan" (Chazy, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sharyn McCrumb never ceases to entertain, and to allow her Elizabeth MacPherson books to possess a lighter side her Appalachian series does not. "If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him..." is a riot from beginning to end, with wonderful characters, a great plotline, and McCrumb's usual inimitable wit.

It's a great book to start with if you're introducing yourself to her Elizabeth MacPherson's stories, but all the others are great, too, particularly "Lovely in Her Bones," "Highland Laddie Gone," and "Missing Susan," which is deliciously wicked, ;-)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has it all: humor, mystery, science, history, and feminism, July 8, 2001

By	Douglas A. Greenberg (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sharyn McCrumb has succeeded brilliantly in writing a novel that is a decent murder mystery and yet also so much more. She manages to incorporate some interesting bits of Civil War-era history and lore, some little-known facts regarding the nature of a certain poison that figures prominently in the story, and also some thoughtful insights into the nature of contemporary American sexism and women's varying reactions to it. Through it all, McCrumb manages to keep her reader laughing; as she spins out the various threads that comprise her tale, she exhibits a devastating wit which she employs to perfection in illustrating the foibles of her characters and of human life in general.

This was a book that once started, I had a hard time putting down. McCrumb always writes with grace and wit, and this is one of her very best efforts.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great mystery, some good laughs, and good writing, too!, June 21, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him... (Hardcover)

I love a good mystery, and I love a well-written book. Having both in the same package is a real treat!Sharyn McCrumb gives us vivid, fascinating portraits of women and their love relationships from several different perspectives. Her detective, Elizabeth MacPherson, is a young anthropologist grieving for her husband who is apparently lost at sea. She returns to her hometown and offers to help her brother, a young lawyer in a struggling law practice with a young woman partner. Elizabeth's "journal", letters she writes to the husband she never expects to see again, form the frame around portraits of three of the law firm's clients, all of them women with relationship problems. One woman was discarded by her husband for a younger, more attractive "trophy." She kills them both and says "Yes, I did it, and I'd do it again. They deserved it." The second is a battered wife whose husband is apparently murdered, but she swears she is innocent. The third is a young woman animal trainer who seeks the firm's help so that she can legally marry the love of her life--- who happens to be a dolphin! The women's stories are all both funny and poignant, and the denouement both credible and satisfying. A mystery that provides a good evening of entertainment is a worthy object. A book that introduces me to characters that I keep thinking about after I have finished it is even more worthy. This book succeeds both as a mystery and as a fascinating novel. I have enjoyed past Elizabeth MacPherson books, and they seem to get better and better! I can't wait for the next one!