Flirting with Death

Peggy O'Neill Mystery #8

by M.D. Lake

Dismissing an unwanted suitor, the creepy Jason, campus cop Peggy O'Neill is shocked by the brutal murder of a young veterinarian and fears that Jason may be out to get her next

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1996

About the author

MD Lake is the pseudonym for Allen Simpson, a professor of Scandanavian literature at the University of Minnesota and a former humor columnist for The Minnesota Daily. An Agatha-Award winning author, he has published ten Peggy O'Neill mysteries.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised. Wasn't sure if it would be good. But picked up bc of the ducks on the front. Lol there was mention of ducks in the first few chapters and i was like any book that mentions ducks is good right?! Lol but despite that being about the only spot that mentions ducks, it was still good. I Didn't figure out the killer right away so that was nice. Sometimes books are badly written and you know right away.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

How have I not read any M.D.Lakes books before now. I loved it. This is a genuine mystery with a great ending

[June Hiza]

Stumptown #4

[Cheryl Landmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a used book sale without realizing it was the 8th in the series, so I probably missed some of the back story. But, this didn't really deter me from enjoying it for the most part. There were enough references to Peggy's past experiences to get to know her character and follow along with this case.

Peggy was fairly likeable with the feistiness and tenacity of a terrier determined to get to the bottom of the murder and put an end to the stalking of Jason. At the same time, she showed vulnerability and uncertainty, which made her all the more human and not just a hard-nosed cop. What I did find a little strange and disturbing was her casual relationships with the men in her life. She was sorta, kinda dating Gary but also seemed to still harbour feelings for her ex-lover, Al, and had dinner dates with Buck, the policeman.

I also liked Buck, but it seemed he and his police officers weren't doing a whole lot to apprehend Jason, the prime suspect. If Peggy could chase down clues to his identity and his relationship with Dana Michaels, why couldn't Buck do the same thing? For a supposedly good cop, his actions were a little ineffectual and incompetent.

Jason was truly a chilling character with his incessant stalking and harassing of Peggy.

I liked the little twists and turns at the end. Overall, this was not a bad mystery but not quite as good as some others I have read. I'm going to go back and read the first book in the series and perhaps learn a little more about Peggy and her ability to solve cases.

[Malaraa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just reread this while going through older books to add them in. Some of it, like the siblings of some characters who were 60's children and the heroine bemoaning having to figure out how to cut and copy in a simple word doc feel very dated. Otherwise, it's a good story still. And in at least one regard, it was ahead of it's time (sometimes I think still ahead) : its realistic and sympathetic portrayal of women trying to decide where and how to draw the line with a creeper. Even though the 90's weren't that long ago, this was still a very rare thing to be seeing in a book. I know a lot of us, especially over a certain age, can identify all too well with Peggy as she's analyzing the stalker's behavior, and another character asks her "What are you, a connoisseur of perverts?" and she replies "No more than any other woman."