A Crooked Man - Hardcover

This intricately webbed mystery stars a Pennsylvania senator who combines his political hobbyhorse, the legalization of drugs, with his personal investigation into the suspicious demise of his teenage daughter, Lore. Senator Schlafer springs into action when his son admits hiding some of the daughter's papers, further obscuring the killer's identity: is it the mobster worried that legalization will destroy his lucrative narcotics trafficking? Corrupt elements in the feds' war-on-drugs bureaucracy? Is the murderer connected with Schlafer's own family, a history of which Lore was compiling when she died? The papers contain clues about her life that vex Schlafer until his recovery, late in the game, of her diary, which incriminates her killer. The diary makes the case against the perp, who then commits suicide. Though the dialogue often is overdone, the story's essentials technically fit together snugly by the end. Clearly, New York Times book reviewer Lehmann-Haupt is an able mystery writer, but he should probably keep his day job before going at it full time. Gilbert Taylor

New York Times daily book critic Lehmann-Haupt has crafted a masterful first novel about a U.S. senator embroiled in a tantalizing mystery. Protagonist Nick Schlafer is flyfishing as the story opens, but the idyllic mood quickly turns harrowing when he reels in ventriloquist dummy that may symbolize what could happen to his son if he continues to support drug decriminalization legislation. It also makes him wonder whether his daughter's death by overdose a year earlier might not have been an accident. His quest for answers winds through federal government agencies, Congress, the White House, and the small Pennsylvania town of his youth. Deft characterization, credible dialogue, and a strong plot enhance this smart tale of corruption and intrigue. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal, January 1995