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Jesse Falkenstein #9
Look Back On Death
Book by Egan, Lesley
- GenresMystery
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 16, 2020
I've been clearing my library of old favorites, and found a short stack of Lesley Egan's Jesse Falkenstein mysteries, so I'm re-reading them for the first time in literally decades.
In this outing, lawyer Jesse takes a break from the mundane estate planning and divorce cases he normally handles to help the Tredgolds, a family that suffered a tragedy--the murder of aunt Louise--compounded by having Mr. Walter Tredgold's brother, Dick, charged with and convicted of the crime. Eight years later, Dick is up for parole... but refuses to apply because he feels that would be admitting his guilt. Everyone who knows the family seems convinced Dick is innocent, but there seemed to be no other possible suspect. Now Walter wants someone outside the family to try to convince Dick to grab the chance to resume his life.
Instead, Jesse gets intrigued enough to re-investigate the crime. Sometimes, the perspective of distance and time can reveal things missed in the original case.
Sure enough, oddities begin to arise almost immediately. The police never looked into the missing diamond brooch Louise was either wearing or should have had ready on her bureau for a planned evening out the day of her murder. Louise had been suckered in by a fraudulent psychic, who had mysteriously garnered a public testimonial from a well-known journalist. And it seems Louise may have acquired a marriage-minded boyfriend her family hadn't known about. But every thread Jesse pulls seems to lead to a dead end. Until he meets Bob Walsh, whose family bought Louise's house after her death. Bob's family also bought furniture, and an heirloom case clock... that stopped for months after the murder at precisely 5:47, the probable time of Louise's death. And now, it's stopping again... Is Louise trying to tell them something?
Egan (who also wrote as Elizabeth Linington and Dell Shannon) was intrigued by psychic phenomenon and its occasional use in solving crimes. The Falkenstein series includes forays into using psychics to try to gain clues to help Jesse's investigation. Egan was one of the mid-century greats of the police-procedural, which features the eternal legwork-style of solving crimes. To her credit, her characters are usually colorful enough to carry the reader pleasurably through the often tedious work of finding and interviewing witnesses and chasing down all possible leads. For some reason, I picture Jesse as a young John Cullum! That makes re-reading this story more enjoyable.
As others have noted, the stories feature women in very traditional homemaker roles, or as working class servants. They reflect a different time and social order.
In this outing, lawyer Jesse takes a break from the mundane estate planning and divorce cases he normally handles to help the Tredgolds, a family that suffered a tragedy--the murder of aunt Louise--compounded by having Mr. Walter Tredgold's brother, Dick, charged with and convicted of the crime. Eight years later, Dick is up for parole... but refuses to apply because he feels that would be admitting his guilt. Everyone who knows the family seems convinced Dick is innocent, but there seemed to be no other possible suspect. Now Walter wants someone outside the family to try to convince Dick to grab the chance to resume his life.
Instead, Jesse gets intrigued enough to re-investigate the crime. Sometimes, the perspective of distance and time can reveal things missed in the original case.
Sure enough, oddities begin to arise almost immediately. The police never looked into the missing diamond brooch Louise was either wearing or should have had ready on her bureau for a planned evening out the day of her murder. Louise had been suckered in by a fraudulent psychic, who had mysteriously garnered a public testimonial from a well-known journalist. And it seems Louise may have acquired a marriage-minded boyfriend her family hadn't known about. But every thread Jesse pulls seems to lead to a dead end. Until he meets Bob Walsh, whose family bought Louise's house after her death. Bob's family also bought furniture, and an heirloom case clock... that stopped for months after the murder at precisely 5:47, the probable time of Louise's death. And now, it's stopping again... Is Louise trying to tell them something?
Egan (who also wrote as Elizabeth Linington and Dell Shannon) was intrigued by psychic phenomenon and its occasional use in solving crimes. The Falkenstein series includes forays into using psychics to try to gain clues to help Jesse's investigation. Egan was one of the mid-century greats of the police-procedural, which features the eternal legwork-style of solving crimes. To her credit, her characters are usually colorful enough to carry the reader pleasurably through the often tedious work of finding and interviewing witnesses and chasing down all possible leads. For some reason, I picture Jesse as a young John Cullum! That makes re-reading this story more enjoyable.
As others have noted, the stories feature women in very traditional homemaker roles, or as working class servants. They reflect a different time and social order.
November 6, 2014
A good clean investigational mystery featuring the character of Jesse Falkenstein, a lawyer. When an old lady is murdered her nephew is sent to prison for the crime. Falkenstein finds many others with better motives during his investigation.
September 9, 2007
Lawyer Jesse Falkenstein is hired to look into the unsolved murder of Louise Tredgold. This one has a little supernatural flavor.
CMB
CMB
December 10, 2013
a good intricate mystery but the ending was too deus ex machina
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews