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Reuben and Cynthia Frost Mystery #8
Murder.com
A not-so-anonymous victim sends Reuben Frost on a chase to catch a high-tech killer
The girl is found lying beside the East River, strangled. She’s in her late twenties—so why was she carrying a fake ID? The case should have nothing to do with Reuben Frost, legendary retired Wall Street lawyer, but Frost has never been known to mind his own business. Not to mention, his wife, Cynthia, has been slowed down by arthritis, and his social calendar is barren for the first time in decades. It’s the perfect time to find a murderer.
The dead girl is Marina Courtland, daughter of millionaire food distributor Daniel Courtland, a treasured client of Frost’s old firm. Working alongside his dear friend Luis Bautista, the sharpest detective in the NYPD, Frost digs into Marina’s past. But what he discovers is a tangled web of plagiarism, infidelity, and indiscreet emails that will ultimately put him face to face with Marina’s killer.
Murder.com is the 8th book in the Reuben Frost Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
The girl is found lying beside the East River, strangled. She’s in her late twenties—so why was she carrying a fake ID? The case should have nothing to do with Reuben Frost, legendary retired Wall Street lawyer, but Frost has never been known to mind his own business. Not to mention, his wife, Cynthia, has been slowed down by arthritis, and his social calendar is barren for the first time in decades. It’s the perfect time to find a murderer.
The dead girl is Marina Courtland, daughter of millionaire food distributor Daniel Courtland, a treasured client of Frost’s old firm. Working alongside his dear friend Luis Bautista, the sharpest detective in the NYPD, Frost digs into Marina’s past. But what he discovers is a tangled web of plagiarism, infidelity, and indiscreet emails that will ultimately put him face to face with Marina’s killer.
Murder.com is the 8th book in the Reuben Frost Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
212 pages, Paperback
Published July 12, 2016
11 people want to read
About the author
Haughton Murphy
13 books4 followersThe pseudonymous Haughton Murphy, in real life former Wall Street lawyer James Duffy, and his wife have vacationed frequently in Venice.
Mr. Duffy is a member of the Bar of the City of New York and a former member of the American and New York State Bar Associations. He served as a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs during the administration of Mayor Edward Koch. In 1995 President Clinton named him to the Board of Directors of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, a government-sponsored entity to foster economic growth in Albania.
While a partner at Cravath, Mr. Duffy was an avid writer and a member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America and the British Crime Writers Association. He was a part-time and summer reporter for the Daily Times of Watertown, New York, from 1952 to 1956, and wrote reports for Professor Seymour E. Harris of the Fund for Advancement of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1958. After he became a partner at Cravath, he authored Domestic Affairs: American Programs and Priorities in 1979; Funding for Culture: The Cultural Policy of The City of New York, a report to the Mayor by the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs in 1983; and two murder mystery novels, under the pseudonym Haughton Murphy, in 1986 and 1987. Since retiring as a partner, he has written five additional mystery novels under his pseudonym and another novel, Dog Bites Man: City Shocked!, under his own name.
Mr. Duffy received an A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1956, where he was a Senior Editor of the Daily Princetonian and research assistant to Professor Alpheus Thomas Mason in connection with his biography of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, and an LL.B. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1959. Mr. Duffy served in the military for six months prior to joining Cravath in 1959, and was recalled to active duty in 1961. He returned to Cravath in 1962 and became a partner in 1968.
Mr. Duffy is a member of the Bar of the City of New York and a former member of the American and New York State Bar Associations. He served as a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs during the administration of Mayor Edward Koch. In 1995 President Clinton named him to the Board of Directors of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, a government-sponsored entity to foster economic growth in Albania.
While a partner at Cravath, Mr. Duffy was an avid writer and a member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America and the British Crime Writers Association. He was a part-time and summer reporter for the Daily Times of Watertown, New York, from 1952 to 1956, and wrote reports for Professor Seymour E. Harris of the Fund for Advancement of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1958. After he became a partner at Cravath, he authored Domestic Affairs: American Programs and Priorities in 1979; Funding for Culture: The Cultural Policy of The City of New York, a report to the Mayor by the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs in 1983; and two murder mystery novels, under the pseudonym Haughton Murphy, in 1986 and 1987. Since retiring as a partner, he has written five additional mystery novels under his pseudonym and another novel, Dog Bites Man: City Shocked!, under his own name.
Mr. Duffy received an A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1956, where he was a Senior Editor of the Daily Princetonian and research assistant to Professor Alpheus Thomas Mason in connection with his biography of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, and an LL.B. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1959. Mr. Duffy served in the military for six months prior to joining Cravath in 1959, and was recalled to active duty in 1961. He returned to Cravath in 1962 and became a partner in 1968.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 16, 2017
Marina Courtland is found lying dead next to the East River with fake ID? Considering that she is the daughter of a millionaire food distributor Daniel Courtland this becomes a very high-profile case.
Reuben Frost who is some what retired from the firm that represents Daniel and his company have known each other for more than twenty-five years. When Luis Bautista, who is a smart detective for the NYPD is assigned the case he gets in touch with Reuben. Luis and Reuben have also been friends for years and even socialize together with their wives. Suddenly Reuben seems to team up with Luis to try and find who murdered Marina.
Although the story is not very shocking it does talk a lot about New York and that part I enjoyed I did not feel compelled to keep reading and unfortunately was able to put the book down and not rush to finish it. Sadly I do not think I would read any of his other books as it did not appeal to me much except I thought the title, Murder.Com was interesting.
Reuben Frost who is some what retired from the firm that represents Daniel and his company have known each other for more than twenty-five years. When Luis Bautista, who is a smart detective for the NYPD is assigned the case he gets in touch with Reuben. Luis and Reuben have also been friends for years and even socialize together with their wives. Suddenly Reuben seems to team up with Luis to try and find who murdered Marina.
Although the story is not very shocking it does talk a lot about New York and that part I enjoyed I did not feel compelled to keep reading and unfortunately was able to put the book down and not rush to finish it. Sadly I do not think I would read any of his other books as it did not appeal to me much except I thought the title, Murder.Com was interesting.
April 9, 2018
Sorry, I did not particularly like this book. (I listened to the audio unabridged version.) It's a surprisingly shallow story with very shallow characters, lacking in details about the investigation itself and too many details about the meals the main characters ate. Marina's dad did not seem like he was grieving and the investigator jumps to some pretty hefty conclusions based on a lot of circumstantial evidence. It's like they have one suspect and they're sure it's him because it can't be anyone else. And details of the trial are lacking. Reuben is allowed to know some detailed information about the investigation, in spite of the fact that he's not only not a police officer but is also a retired lawyer. I think if the author reads a few more investigation-type novels, he could fill in some gaps and do a more thorough job. Just my opinion of course.
June 22, 2017
Maybe it was the narrator, but this was not well presented. The plot was obvious but the author tried to mimic Robert Parker's style
March 16, 2021
Good book. Didn't know that there was another one. I love the chemistry between the characters. They have been friends for years. Mystery was very good . I didn't know who the murderer wad.
September 27, 2021
I'd like to know why Bautista, the newly fledged lawyer, is back on the police force.
Not really up to par, so I guess it's time for this series to be done. Too bad!
Not really up to par, so I guess it's time for this series to be done. Too bad!
March 5, 2017
Listened to this ... I liked the narrator and the main characters ... thought the mystery was weak. We never really found out why anything happened ...
September 20, 2016
Despite an overabundance of details - do we really care what each and every one of them ordered every time they eat out? no we do not -, it was not a bad read, but the ending completely ruined it for me. It was flimsy at best, with a conclusion based way more on conjecture than on actual facts. I mean, we never have proof that X was the killer, just that X had dinner with her the day she died, and from that everyone jumps to the conclusion that he murdered her because this must have happened and then he must have thought that and she must have said that, so CLEARLY he had to kill her. Sorry but I don't see how that would hold up for even 30 seconds in a real court of law.
Also, the synopsis gave away way too many details. What could have been interesting questions for a few pages or chapters turned into wastes of time because we had the answer on the backflap.
Also, the synopsis gave away way too many details. What could have been interesting questions for a few pages or chapters turned into wastes of time because we had the answer on the backflap.
June 1, 2016
Although this wasn't a police procedural, I think that is the closest description I can use for the style of this mystery. The investigation was step by step, the investigators were fairly methodical, and clues piled up until a solution was reached.
One thing I especially liked is that the main character's wife was intelligent and had good input that paid off - it was nice that she wasn't just a throwaway character.
It says in the description that there are more mysteries featuring this character, and I may check them out. However, this can easily be read as a stand-alone and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I also wasn't burdened by a dump of information from previous books. That was well-done!
One thing I especially liked is that the main character's wife was intelligent and had good input that paid off - it was nice that she wasn't just a throwaway character.
It says in the description that there are more mysteries featuring this character, and I may check them out. However, this can easily be read as a stand-alone and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I also wasn't burdened by a dump of information from previous books. That was well-done!
May 21, 2016
This book was ok. The book moved at a slow pace and I felt my interest waning several times. I would step away and then try to read some more later. I did like that the murderer was not blatantly obvious until closer to the end when all the clues started to line up. This book just wasn't for me.
**Please note that I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
**Please note that I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
June 21, 2016
First off I want to thank the author publisher and Netgalley for my copy of this book. I love a good Mystery, and this was so well written and easy to fallow. The case made this a page turner. The characters were well thought out and I LOVED the wife she was smart and witty. I think when everything is so tight nit it makes the story so much more enjoyable. All and all great book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews