The Mensa Murders

Deb Ralston #7

by Lee Martin

When three female members of Mensa are murdered in the identical manner, Detective Deb Ralston must investigate the killer who breaks his victims' necks, tucks them into bed, and cleans the house. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give 4 stars, but she lost a star for leaving the poor cat in a carrier for hours. And how could it be her responsibility, anyway? Don’t they have an animal control officer in Fort Worth?! Seems to me the animals should’ve been picked up by AC & taken to their shelter. THEN they could still have been adopted by the people who took them. I’m glad that thread was tied up & not left dangling. I like the writing style, tho. Never read this author before. The Mensa facts were interesting—and reminded me of why I so often don’t “click” with other people.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Deb Ralston of Ft.Worth Police has quite a mystery on her hands. A fat woman with heart troubles is tucked up neatly in her bed but her sister doesn’t believe it was a natural death. And when two more women are found in similar circumstances, Deb is on the hunt. Connections between the women include interest in/ or jobs in health care and participation in a local Mensa group.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mensa Murders by Lee Martin is the 7th book of the Deb Ralston mystery series set in (recently) contemporary Fort Worth Texas. Deb Ralston is a homicide detective, wife and mother to a newborn. Challenging to fit in the demands of family with the demands of the job, especially the out-of-normal-work-hours requirement to chase down clues before too late (before the next crime is committed).

Three women are murdered. All belonged to a Mensa Special Interest Group. Why were they murder victims? Deb struggles to find connections between the victims, not only to explain why they were murdered, but to prevent another death.

Another seemingly unrelated subplot is provided, a man who is a nuisance at the police station. But he proves to be more than a mere nuisance.

I'll continue to follow the series because I own several more of the books.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deb Ralston finds out that the murders of Mensa Members seem to be connected. She feels she is not as smart as Mensa members but to her surprise she passes the test to be a member. I found this book interesting as I took the test and passed as did my late husband. I found it very true to what I know about the group and I believe non-mensa members will enjoy this book.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book by unintentionally when looking for Mensa books. I did not realize the vast variety of people who can/are members of Mensa.

This was my first experience with Deb Ralston, and I looked up the other books in the series. My library system did not have any, and I had to get the books for inter-library loan.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light mystery that is a quick read. Written well enough with a good protagonist (a police detective trying to balance her family and job). Good airplane book! I picked this up at a sale somewhere. Had I realized it was #7 in a series, I would have tried to read them in order.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting murder subject, especially since I have friends in MENSA. I found the detective more interesting than the result, however I'll give the author credit for the plot. I liked it enough that I may look up the first in the series since I'm curious about part of the origin story.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-1/2 stars. Really enjoyed this book; got me hooked on the whole Deb Ralston series.

[Alayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a terrific mystery, set before mobile phones and with a wonderful female detective with a very dry sense of humour. Loved it!

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Punctuation! If you're looking for a quick murder mystery featuring a female detective who is vaguely prejudiced in every way possible, don't mind poorly-punctuated work, and enjoy a story in which only 2 potential suspects are present (or really only one suspect, who isn't very suspect to begin with, and one suspect who is regarded as a joke), pick this up! To the author's credit, I was happy to have figured out the murderer's identity long before the detective herself had, and with all the posturing about how she should be a Mensan, I felt that I, too, could be accepted into the ranks of total wierdos and social malcontents (as described in the book, not by my own estimation).

A very quick, very forgettable read.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a quick read. It seemed to be trying to break out of the mold of standard "gimmiky" murder mysteries but failed to do so. The protagonist detective seemed to want to address personal home-life problems but this subplot never is developed. I'm sure it is a continuing theme throughout a series of books and I confess to not having read any others so maybe I am not being fair. Still, each book should stand on its own and I couldn't help feeling I was missing something. The identity of the killer was so obvious that I was sure I must be proven wrong in the end. Even the detective had it figured out with at least 40 pages to go. Perhaps that was the author's intent however, the result was a less-than-stunning conclusion.

[Bianca · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for a quick read or have extra time on your hands and don't know what to do with yourself, it's a good book to pass the time.

If you're looking for an intense mystery, I suggest to look elsewhere. The plot is mediocre; lacking suspense or depth.

Overall, it was neither here nor there.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Police procedural, of adequate interest but fairly unsavory and just a little unbelievable; what are the odds that this number of suspects and unusual happenings would all surround one police officer? Not homey enough to be cozy, not hard-bitten enough to be a thriller, not really enough of any one thing to be really enjoyable, and the end is pretty grim. I won't read more of this author.

[Lynn]

Fictionwise multiformat ebook

[Lynn Calvin]

Fictionwise multiformat ebook

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK book, detective Deb Ralston tries to make sense of murders of unattractive Mensa members. A little dated.

[Toesnorth's mom]

ok, not great

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of fun. The title sort of gives away a big chunk of the plot, which turns out to be a red herring! Good characters. Fun story (except for the dead people). Maybe an author for The List.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast read. I picked this used paperback up in the hospitality room at the Summit Inn B&B. Since my ex-husband was Mensa level IQ, it caught my eye. Very enjoyable.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not remarkable, OK.
Women who are in mensa and also in religious group being killed.
Deb Ralston is detective.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

part of a series. good enough to look for others

[Leonore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK, fast, simple read. Good for beach or airplane. Certainly not Robert Ludlam or Dan Brown.