Twice Retired

Paul Lane #8

by Richard Lockridge

Like New, inside .. A must have if you need.. Richard Lockridge....Hard cover , Heavy clear mylar over original dust jacket. First Edition.. Former library edition with the usual library stamps & markings. Cardholder missing ..I Ship Fast From Our Warehouse, In A box, Bubble wrapped , with FREE U.S.P.S. delivery confirmation

Genres: Mystery

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

An American writer of detective fiction, Richard Lockridge's frequent collaborator was his wife Frances Lockridge, who co-wrote the Mr. and Mrs. North mystery series and other popular books.

The couple also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Emeritus Walter Brinkley bounces his way into another murder investigation. That's the way this round little man is described as moving about...he never just walks into a room; he always bounces. He may be emeritus, but he definitely hasn't lost his vitality. This time Brinkley returns to Dyckman University for a book party. He's finally finished and published his A Note on American Regional Accents (having grown from a "note" to a 515 page tome) and the university wants to celebrate him in proper style. But getting to the Faculty Club is quite an ordeal--it's 1970, the Vietnam War is on, and the undergraduates are protesting the war, the establishment, and the police. Roughly in that order. Police are trying to direct traffic away from the center of campus and if the good professor really insists on going to the Faculty Club...well, then he'll have to detour quite a ways around. After the party, Brinkley returns to his car to find a dead man in his backseat. The body is General Philip Armstrong, chair of the board of trustees and a strong believer in putting down the protestors. Someone has put a pig mask on him, making it appear that the general was the target of the protestors--the pig masks had been used to mock the police. Lieutenant Stein and Assistant District Attorney Bernie Simmons have several avenues to follow--from an attack by one of the protestors to a disgruntled professor who just found out he's not getting tenure due to Armstrong's influence to family members who may not have been as devoted to the general as they would like everyone to believe.

I really love the Lockridge mysteries with the bouncy little professor. He doesn't show up quite as much throughout this story, but the opening with him and his little cameos later are perfect. It is somewhat fortuitous that I picked this one up just now. The background for the story is the deep unrest on college campuses and the protests taking place across the country. Here at the university where I work (and at many across the U.S.) we went through a period of protest at the end of the semester. And our brilliant (read that in the most sarcastic tone you can manage) university president decided to call out the state riot police on students peacefully protesting in (take note of this) the designated place on campus for protests and free speech. We had snipers on the roof of our student union building with their scopes on our students. It was appalling. [sorry for the momentary soap box moment...]

The students in Twice Retired aren't peaceful. They're openly mocking and baiting the police and administration. They're throwing things and destroying property. There's plenty of opportunity for someone to get hurt and for someone to get killed. The question is were they killed because of the protests, as a direct statement on the part of the protestors--or were the protests used as a cover for something more personal? After all of the characters are introduced and interviewed after the murder, it isn't difficult to answer that question. The interesting part is following Stein and Simmons to see how they will catch the culprit--how will they break an alibi? Very entertaining.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're familiar with the Heimrich Mystery series this mystery features Prof. Brinkley a fun character and one I wish had shown up even more! This is a solid who-done-it with Bernie Simmons, John Stein, & Paul Lane leading the detecting.

Noticed when Richard Lockridge writes on his own, the storyline is much leaner than when he wrote with Frances. A good book to read, especially good to read if you have read any of Heimrich series.

Also- interesting time-capsule of the time- Riots at colleges, drugs, long-hair etc... Two viewpoints and generations also in the mix. If you seek another time-capsule like mystery also check out- With Option to Die.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brings back characters from the other series so that was fun. Good read.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book in a white elephant party. It has an amazing cover and tagline ("The victim is found dead--in a pig mask.") and begins thus: "Walter Brinkley searched his vocabulary, which was more extensive than most, and came up with the word. The word was 'pudgy.'" It only gets better from there. Characters include: a detective and assistant D.A. who think way too much about tangents (their own and others'), bearded hippies, a girl who smokes reefers, and more!!!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story takes place in the 60s when the students were rioting at colleges. A retired professor leaves a dinner in his honor at the Faculty Club and finds a dead body in his car. Assistant D.A. Bernie Simmons and Lieutenant John Stein have few clues.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

a pleasant 70's period piece, bit choppy and slow