Murder Without Icing

John Putnam Thatcher #14

by Emma Lathen

Book by Lathen, Emma

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Aka R.B. Dominic

Emma Lathen is the pen name of two American businesswomen: an attorney Mary Jane Latsis (July 12, 1927 -October 29, 1997) and an economic analyst Martha Henissart (b. 1929),who received her B.A. in physics from Mount Holyoke College in 1950.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/31/boo...

Reviews

[Teri-K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very good one in this series, John Thatcher is pulled out of his usual surroundings on Wall Street and immersed in the world of professional hockey! Fun story, as usual the authors make me care about everyone involved and keep me guessing, too.

[Marianne Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better entries in this series. Thatcher is a great character and I want to bank at the Sloan!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloan Guaranty Trust is sponsoring a bottom-level hockey team. Suddenly the Huskies start winning - and winning - and it's all due to one man. Billy is a miracle on the ice and major trouble off it. John Thatcher follows the team and its quirky management with the eye of a banker. MURDER WITHOUT ICING offers some priceless satirical moments showing a city in the grip of hockey fever.

Read 4 times

[Lyn Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something about ice-hockey that I find fascinating. This is quite my favourite John Putnam Thatcher book of the series. I must have read it four or five times over the years.

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The works of the duo of businesswomen behind the name of Emma Lathen are apparently only available second-hand these days, and they sell for essentially the price of shipping. Which is a pity, because this series really is good fun.

Perhaps John Putnam Thatcher and his associates, being bankers, are too unlikely heroes for our age. Much of the pleasure in these books resides in Thatcher's internal monologue, his continuous ironic, sceptic but kind, grumbling about the foibles of his business associates, the failings of a figurehead president of the company, the illogical behaviour of mankind in general, and of course the occasional murder.

Perhaps that is why "Murder without icing" is not the best. Too much of the plot and the story are in the hands of side characters, of which Lathen has (have?) a limited stock of archetypes. Perhaps because the story is set in the world of hockey, which requires a fair amount of explanation, it is slow to start, and then shuts down too abruptly. The plot lacks their usual intricacy.

Nevertheless, if you come across a copy, it is a good book to take for a holiday read.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thatcher becomes involved with an ice hockey team because the main owner is an important client of the Sloan. When a potential buyer of part of the team is killed at the airport after the team arrives from an away game, the police get involved, and we get to meet some of the players and other important figures on the periphery. I like how Lathen always starts each book with a couple of paragraphs about Wall Street, as a seque into the story. And I like the continuing characters, especially Brad Withers, the clueless president of the bank.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sloan decides to branch out from its usual sponsorship of the ballet into sponsoring hockey telecasts. At first, this looked like a nice, safe idea. But when the team begins winning, and egos on the team begin to flare, it ends in murder. John Putnam Thatcher must try to clear this mess up before the Sloan gets a black eye.

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[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story felt slow and lacked some of the sparkle of personality that fills other Lathen stories. Not as much Thatcher involvement as well. I also figured out the killer right away, so I would say this wasn't one of the ladies best stories. Perhaps they didn't warm to hockey as they did to other venues.

[MKBAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a NY Islanders fan, you will really enjoy this book. It involves a hockey expansion franchise in NY. If you are of an age during which the original six began to expand and you remember hockey's expansion, I think you will really like this book.

[SA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it for the hockey. It had hockey, actually pretty strongly rendered hockey, so good on Lathen. Not really my type of book otherwise.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old school hockey mystery. It was a desperation choice from books left behind at the cottage. The pages were so yellow, it was hard for my aging eyes to read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice palate cleanser.