What do you think?
Rate this book
Reuben and Cynthia Frost Mystery #1
Murder for Lunch
When Reuben Frost’s old firm is faced with murder, the Wall Street legend comes out of retirement to find the killer
No one on Park Avenue can hail a taxi quite like Graham Donovan. He stands outside his apartment building, arm outstretched like a true master of the universe. Today, he rides downtown with the Wall StreetJournal on his lap, his mind preoccupied by rumors that his venerable Wall Street law firm, Chase & Ward, is about to be accused of insider trading. A suspicious letter has surfaced bearing Donovan’s signature, and he’s desperate to protect his reputation. But in the end, it doesn’t matter, for he has hailed his final cab.
When Donovan drops dead during lunch, the firm calls on its greatest mind, seventy-four-year-old Reuben Frost, a brilliant lawyer who was recently forced into retirement. It’s clear Donovan has been poisoned, but by who? Only Frost knows the ins and outs of Wall Street well enough to pinpoint the killer.
No one on Park Avenue can hail a taxi quite like Graham Donovan. He stands outside his apartment building, arm outstretched like a true master of the universe. Today, he rides downtown with the Wall StreetJournal on his lap, his mind preoccupied by rumors that his venerable Wall Street law firm, Chase & Ward, is about to be accused of insider trading. A suspicious letter has surfaced bearing Donovan’s signature, and he’s desperate to protect his reputation. But in the end, it doesn’t matter, for he has hailed his final cab.
When Donovan drops dead during lunch, the firm calls on its greatest mind, seventy-four-year-old Reuben Frost, a brilliant lawyer who was recently forced into retirement. It’s clear Donovan has been poisoned, but by who? Only Frost knows the ins and outs of Wall Street well enough to pinpoint the killer.
- GenresMystery
268 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 22, 2016
Good mystery.
Reuben Frost retired lawyer from wall street law firm, just like Perry Mason quite diligent. Now he has to find out who and why Graham Donovan was murdered. Every character was well written, you'll know everything about them.
Reuben Frost retired lawyer from wall street law firm, just like Perry Mason quite diligent. Now he has to find out who and why Graham Donovan was murdered. Every character was well written, you'll know everything about them.
May 10, 2026
Well, what a pleasant surprise this was! Saw this @ Goodwill for 99¢ and couldn’t resist - I’d seen books in the series on bookstore shelves & racks for years, but never read one. And I’m so glad I read this, I’ve already run out to my local used bookstore and bought the rest of the series.
In Reuben Frost, Murphy has created the next iteration of Emma Lathen’s John Putnam Thatcher; that series was a classic, and this appears much in the same vein - Wall Street professionals who have a sub-specialty of solving crimes in the investment world. Here, Frost gets his baptism by fire when a partner in his law firm dies of a heart attack at a partners’ meeting - but wait, was he poisoned first? Frost is off and running, we’re off and happily reading!
In Reuben Frost, Murphy has created the next iteration of Emma Lathen’s John Putnam Thatcher; that series was a classic, and this appears much in the same vein - Wall Street professionals who have a sub-specialty of solving crimes in the investment world. Here, Frost gets his baptism by fire when a partner in his law firm dies of a heart attack at a partners’ meeting - but wait, was he poisoned first? Frost is off and running, we’re off and happily reading!
May 8, 2021
I read this about 33 years ago. About a third of the way through it I wondered why something was done but then it became clear than it was essential to the story and to the development of the partnership. I realized how much I enjoyed this series starring a guy about my age now. A good legal thriller set in NYC with the twin tours outlined on every chapter heading. No wonder I kept these books all these years!
February 7, 2025
Pretty good mid 80's law firm mystery. Competent writing but just mediocre for me.
March 20, 2026
Perfect Pace - Very Entertaining!
Unique characters revolving in upper end urban society. NYC Interesting clues including a variety of suspects each with intriguing motives!!!
Unique characters revolving in upper end urban society. NYC Interesting clues including a variety of suspects each with intriguing motives!!!
January 11, 2017
Particularly interesting for lawyers
The story revolves around a NY law firm and I think gets a lot of that culture, indeed skewers it. If that appeals, you too will like this mystery.
The story revolves around a NY law firm and I think gets a lot of that culture, indeed skewers it. If that appeals, you too will like this mystery.
May 31, 2016
Good characters and taut plot. I want to read others in the series
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews