Head Case

Anna Lee Mystery #4

by Liza Cody

When detective Anna Lee locates the missing teenaged girl she has been tracking, the girl is in a mental hospital and apparently suffering from schizophrenia, and Anna Lee must find out what frightened her into incoherence

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

197 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Liza Cody (real name Liza Nassim) is an English crime fiction writer.

Reviews

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in the Anna Lee series, but the first I've read. Anna Lee is a private detective (I believe in London) who has an assortment of picturesque neighbors and friends. She gets caught up in a case with a young girl who at first is missing. When she is found, she appears to have had a nervous breakdown. SPOILER ALERT Anna is also involved in a second case with a man who disappeared into the sea and apparently drowned. As often happens with such books, the two stories intertwine. I mostly liked Anna's brusque, matter-of-fact character, and I thought the part of Thea (the mentally ill teen) was quite interesting. However, the way the two cases come together could be seen a mile away.

[Janet]

I really enjoy this British, blue collar private eye. None of the usual swagger of the independent private eye with his own office. She's an employee and has to deal with an overbearing boss, and being fussed over about expense reports. She's smart, hardworking, and enjoys the hunt.

[Netti · Rating 3 out of 5]

1980s - UK: London, Hampshire, Southampton, Surrey
first published 1985

The morning began with a small domestic theft. Anna would have called it a loan but Selwyn was quite adamant.
'Don't, don't, don't take my morning paper!' he had bellowed after a previous infraction. 'And don't tell me you haven't. I always know. You steal the print off the page, the power from the words. And besides, you fold it up again all wrong.'
'What a fuss,' Bea said, all wifely contempt.
'You'll never understand.' Selwyn met contempt with disdain. 'It's my paper, and it's fresh and crisp I want it, with the smell of ink intact. Not after her upstairs has read the new off the news.'

Zu diesem Buch habe ich eine etwas gespaltene Meinung: einerseits hat Ms Cody ihren Stil gefunden, sie schreibt flüssiger und oft witzig...
stellenweise habe ich laut gelacht.

The right hand doesn't know what the left hand's doing.' Anna nodded in complete agreement: at present even the left hand didn't know what the left hand was doing.

Inhaltlich dagegen habe ich diesmal leider einiges auszusetzen: mehrere Charaktere sind psychologisch absolut unglaubwürdig. Und bei der Schilderung der Psychiatrie-Patientin sind so viele Klischees so dick aufgetragen, dass sie geradzu von der Seite bröckeln 🤦‍♀️ - Nun muss man der Fairness halber sagen, dass das Buch über 40 Jahre alt ist, und wenn ich mich recht erinnere, waren in den 80ern "multiple Persönlichkeiten" gerade modern, es wimmelte nur so davon in Büchern und Filmen. (so wie heute die Asperger wimmeln... hat jedes Zeitalter seinen Head Case?) Schade, die Geschichte fing so spannend und und interessant an, da hätte man mehr draus machen können.

Trotzdem kaufe ich jetzt sofort Band 5, obwohl ich mein Budget schon heftig überschritten habe ... 😇 kann also sooo schlecht nicht gewesen sein

[Andres Santamaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. It is about a boy who was drinking and driving with his friend and they get in a wreck. Unfortunately, the girl dies and the boy is left a Quadriplegic. The boy tells the story of how he it all started, how it happened, and how he moved on from it.

[Joan]

had read it years ago, so stopped

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, interesting, engaging story. Liza Cody is a nice writer, and if the mysteries are a bit dated (in the 80s afterall), they are still well-done.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5