Wicked Designs

Mici Anhalt #3

by Lillian O'Donnell

Lillian O'Donnell's current novel returns us, ingeniously, to the adventures of Mici Anhalt, the woman sleuth praised by the New York Times as "human enough to laugh at, desperate enough to feel anxious for."No one could want to murder Blanche Landry, a rich and respectable New York dowager. The police claim that her death, at the underground entrance to a Manhattan subway, was a simple case of drug overdose - the corpse was shot full of cocaine. But Blanche's devoted nephew, Norman, is convinced that his health-fadist aunt was no addict, and he enlists Mici in the case.Suspecting a cover-up, the single-minded investigator bypasses the uncooperative police department and discovers an ally in the District Attorney's office - Tony Rygel, an assistant DA who is also a soon-to-be-rekindled old flame of Mici's.It is not until Mici penetrates the secrets of her suspects' pasts that the fragments of the investigation fall into place. In a secluded boathouse in Connecticut, the politics of family challenge the politics of love and power, and the stunning truth of the Landry murder is revealed.

221 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Married J. Leonard O'Donnell. Lived in New York, NY. Interred in Maple Grove Cemetery.
Began career in theater then turned to writing crime novels. Longest running character was NY City policewoman Norah Mulcahaney, but also had series for Mici Anhalt, a crime victims investigator, and private detective Gwenn Ramadge.

Reviews

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written . Complex plot. Mici Anhalt, 32-year-old investigator for the New York State Crime Victims Compensation Board, is approached by someone trying to find out what happened to his beloved aunt. The body of Blanche Landry, the aunt, is found in the morgue. She was last seen alive walking her dog very late Friday evening. Her body was found at the foot of a locked subway entrance, head bashed in. The body of her dog was found in a trash bin, several blocks away, head also bashed in. Many interesting characters are introduced, their lives interconnected like spider webs. The solution requires careful separation of the threads.
Good read.