Once Upon a Crime

by M.D. Lake

The University staff is all agog over the arrival of Jens Aage Lindemann--the respected Danish scholar and irrepressible reprobate who has come to conduct a symposium on his country's most fabled storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen. But things end unhappily ever after for the lecherous Lindemann when someone bashes his brains in with a bronze statuette of one of Andersen's most beloved creations, the Little Mermaid.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380775204
• ISBN13: 9780380775200
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

An Anderson murder story

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.

Maybe Lake's best

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!