Too Sane a Murder

Deb Ralston #1

by Lee Martin

Police detective Deb Ralston sets out to clear Olead Baker, a disturbed young man with a history of schizophrenia, of the brutal murders of his family, two guests, and a pet cat

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Pseudonym of Ann Wingate

Anne Wingate, born in 1943 as Martha Anne Guice, is a mystery writer currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Most of her mysteries are set somewhere within Texas. She is an adult convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this sometimes shows in her works. She grew up in the Disciples of Christ Church.

Reviews

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Police detective Deb Ralston
SETTING: Fort Worth, Texas
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Deb Ralston is called to the scene of a horrific family murder where 5 people have been killed, including a 4-year-old girl. The obvious suspect is Olead Baker. He’s 26 years old and was institutionalized for exhibiting signs of schizophrenia. Although he seems to be sane, the evidence is incontrovertible—gunshot residue, bruising on his shoulder from holding a shotgun. But over time, Deb comes to believe that he has been set up, but proving it is almost impossible. The real strength of the book is the characterization. Deb is a person before she is a cop, caring yet professional. Olead is a sympathetic character, very self aware, and lovingly drawn by Martin. However, the ending of the book is a real mess, hastily and unconvincingly presented. That diminished my enjoyment of the book quite a lot.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter was really interesting— schizophrenia & orthomolecular medicine. The beginning was horrifying & heart-breaking. The fact that Deb just couldn’t imagine how Olead got the bruise & the gun powder residue tho—that seemed so obvious to me, I found her inability to think of it annoying. And likewise how long it took her to think of how he could’ve stayed asleep, & not remembered anything. But then, this was written in 1984; we hear a lot more about Rohypnol, & being roofied now probably. It does seem pretty odd that the perp hung onto the Mellaril for so many years.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Lee Martin’s Deb Ralston series, even though each book is a little hard to read in its own way. She manages to write an engaging story about an intelligent and caring detective without constantly going out of her way to show the traits out loud on every page. You just follow Detective Ralston’s curiosity up and down twisty roads, while meeting interesting and very real characters along the way.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! I’ve read a handful in Lee Martin’s Deb Ralston series. Finally got to the first one. If I hadn’t already been into the series, this one would have me picking up book #2 - which coincidentally is next on my reading list.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diesem Buch gebe ich nur vier Sterne, da ich mir noch nicht sicher bin, was ich von dem Ende halten soll. Das ganze Buch über ist Olead sehr offensichtlich der Schuldige. Alles, angefangen von der Tatsache der einzige Überlebende eines Massakers zu sein, bis zu den Schmauchspuren und dem Abdruck der Tatwaffe an seiner Schulter, deutet wirkich alles auf Olead Baker hin. Sehr schnell ist sich Det. Deb Ralston aber sicher (weibliche Intuition?), dass Olead es nicht getan hat. Es stimmt, so wie er sich verhält und was er von sich gibt, kann sich auch der Leser nicht wirklich vorstellen, dass er unter anderem eine vierjährige erschossen haben soll.
Er wird sogar schuldig gesprochen und zum Tode verurteilt und im letzten Moment taucht dann der wahre Mörder im Gericht auf und alles klärt sich.
Es ist zwar (wird im Vorwort erwähnt) wirklich mal so geschehen, aber ich fand das Ende ein bisschen zu lahm. Ich weiß nicht. Kann es nicht recht beschreiben. Ist ja auch nur meine Meinung.
Ansonsten wirklich wieder eine interessante Story von Lee Martin und gut geschrieben.

[Deb]

"This is the first book in one of my favorite mystery series. We are introduced to Deb Ralston, a detective with the Ft. Worth Major Case Squad, and also a wife and mother with somewhat harried home life (rings very true). She comes in to a bizarre case where the main suspect is being allowed to remain at the crime scene, and they can't even determine how many victims there are, because a room has been entirely filled with furniture and they are impossible to get to.[return][return]It seems obvious that Olead, a recent resident of a mental health facility, must have gone nuts and killed his family, but a few details are bothering Deb. Not least that a former mental patient makes a hell of a fall guy for anyone else.[return][return]The gradual revelation of what happened, along with an interesting array of characters drawn with great detail, and the collision of Deb's work life with her home life, make this an excellent introduction to a promising series."

[Riyan Rinaldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among the mystery books I've read, which are mostly whodunnits, this is the first police procedural novel. As expected, it describes the criminal case as close to reality as possible, including the police routines (which is tense, rather stressing and a bit dull, in my opinion), crime scene technicians in action with the gunpowder test, taking fingerprints, etc. and the judicial process. All of them are fairly new concepts for me to find in a novel. And since the writer is a former policewoman herself, those concepts can be conveyed in a great detail yet easy to understand.

For the characters, I think Deb Ralston is a good combination of 'cold' logic and 'warm' emotion. I also enjoy the psychological journey of Olead Baker, from a schizophrenic to a man being able to love.

Great premise. Great characters. Great book.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Deb Ralston's character. She is a short tough detective and mom to three adoptive children. I like how she is smart.

The plots are good. I like all the characters around Deb. too.
The police scenes sound true to me.

I have this book in hardback and it is written by Lee Martin. The ebook I bought also and it is under the name Anne Wingate. I hope more of her books come out in ebooks soon.

the setting of the books is the Fort Worth Texas area.

It is also a clean read.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of the Deb Ralston series, a female sleuth who defies all the usual conventions. Deb isn't young, pretty, and unattached. Instead, she has a husband who is often unemployed, plus kids, a big dog, and a house she can't keep up with. In a later book of the series, her life is further complicated when she gets pregnant and has a baby. Deb Ralston is tough, smart, and so real.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

TOO SANE A MURDER - G
Martin Lee (aka Anne Wingate) - 1st in Deb Ralston series

Deb Ralston is an average police-mom trying to solve a murder case with almost no evidence. The suspect always cleans the house spic and span after each murder.

It was a good premise but needed more depth.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than a box of chocolates! This is the second book of this series that I've read about Deb Ralston a detective for the Fort Worth Police Dept. Theey're fun, good characters for this police procedural and a good story. If you like strong female lead characters this is a great series.

[Aleta]

Deb Ralston series #1

[T.K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though the author is LDS, you'd never know it. The murders in this book are grisly and include children, the characters use profanity, and the story lacks much of anything uplifting. :(

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Lynn Calvin]

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