On the Fringe

Lee Ofsted #5

by Aaron Elkins, Charlotte Elkins

A Lee Ofsted mystery Lee Ofsted and Graham Sheldon, her ex-cop fianc?, have decided to take advantage of the glorious setting of the historic Royal Mauna Kea Golf and Country Club to have a quiet wedding ceremony. But from the start things go awry, partly on account of the influx of treasure hunters determined to find the club's most famous lost possession, the Cumberland Cup, commissioned from the great Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1908. Then real disaster strikes. During the Centennial Ball, Hamish Wyndham, the ancient and irascible chairman of the club's board of directors, is discovered bludgeoned to death. When the club pro, Wally Crawford, is targeted by the police as the most likely suspect, Lee is dragged into the maelstrom. And it doesn't take her long to turn up a host of suspects, motives, and simmering resentments . . .

Genres: Mystery, Sports, Fiction

202 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Aaron J. Elkins, AKA Aaron Elkins (born Brooklyn July 24, 1935) is an American mystery writer. He is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'skeleton detective'. The fourth Oliver book, Old Bones, received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Novel. As Oliver is a world-renowned authority, he travels around the world and each book is set in a different and often exotic locale.

In another series, the protagonist is museum curator Chris Norgren, an expert in Northern Renaissance art.

One of his stand-alone thrillers, Loot deals with art stolen by the Nazis and introduces protagonist Dr. Benjamin Revere.

With his wife, Charlotte Elkins, he has also co-written a series of golf mysteries about LPGA member Lee Ofsted. They shared an Agatha Award for their short story "Nice Gorilla".

Aaron and Charlotte live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Japanese: アーロン エルキンズ

Series:
* Lee Ofsted (with Charlotte Elkins)

Series contributed to:
* Malice Domestic

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the plots have not been very believable, this has been a fun series with its background of the women’s pro golf circuit. This entry is set on Hawaii in a tradition-bound golf club dating back to 1905. The club was forced to admit women in 1965, but it was not until 1995 that a native Hawaiian became a member. One of the oldest members is murdered and Lee Ofsted’s friend Peg is hot on the case and she is convinced that the clubhouse conceals a secret passage. For the first half of the book, Lee is just a wet blanket, a role usually assigned to her fiancé, Graham Sheldon. When she does become involved she rather stupidly puts herself at risk. An entertaining read, but probably the last of the series.

[William Mosteller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of this series I've read, third book by these authors. The mystery is interesting, but what I really enjoyed were the insights into how a professional golfer views the world.
Early in the book, Lee is playing with members of the board of the golf club, and while they're decent off the tee and on the fairway, they've bad cases of yips on the green. She stands clear and doesn't watch them, for fear of catching it.
Late in the book, she hits a hole in one, but rather than enjoying it, her world view is that they're all luck, you only get so many in your life, so she's wishing this one had arisen in a real tournament rather than the event she's in.

[B Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda got this by mistake. I was looking for a non-fiction book about fringe science with the same name, and this one popped up as well. The blurb made it sound potentially interesting. It was short so why not. This was book 5 of a series, the only one I have read. I don't think it made any difference. This was a straight forward murder mystery with way way way too much golf. If you are part of the golf and country club set, then you may enjoy this. If, however, you are like me and can't tell a birdie from a bogey, you might want to blackball this series.

[A G A VAN DEN BOS · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mélange of characters and themes presented in a protracted diffusive vagarious format. Neither is it clear whether the endeavors' to inculcate wit and humour were intended to be either satirical or surreal.

[Litabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read

The golfing series is okay . I read all five books in a couple of days though so it's just too quick a read and now the series is over, not a lot of depth but easy mindless reading.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and fun for reading by flashlight during a hurricane. It kept my attention away from impending death and destruction. Elkins' characters are always fun.

[Donn Lorber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Country club exclusive setting w a local Hawaiian cultural twist is a decent read. Mysteries include murder and theft

[Nancy]

A Lee Ofsted mystery Lee Ofsted and Graham Sheldon, her ex-cop fianc?, have decided to take advantage of the glorious setting of the historic Royal Mauna Kea Golf and Country Club to have a quiet wedding ceremony. But from the start things go awry, partly on account of the influx of treasure hunters determined to find the club's most famous lost possession, the Cumberland Cup, commissioned from the great Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1908. Then real disaster strikes. During the Centennial Ball, Hamish Wyndham, the ancient and irascible chairman of the club's board of directors, is discovered bludgeoned to death. When the club pro, Wally Crawford, is targeted by the police as the most likely suspect, Lee is dragged into the maelstrom. And it doesn't take her long to turn up a host of suspects, motives, and simmering resentments .

Graham helps with the case and it is solved.

[Sanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has some editing issues.

Spoiler re Graham and Lee..............




Why at the end of the book are Lee and Graham referred to as "Mr. and Mrs. Graham Ofsted"? Ok, it's not unheard of for a man to take his wife's last name, but it just doesn't seem like something these two would do.

[Jim]

This was a pretty good mystery, one that I did not figure out but probably could have if I had taken the time to sit down and think about. I like that. The setting was fairly exotic and I think the author could have done more with it, but that's a quibble. I hope there are more of them but I fear this may be the end of the series.

[Alison Dygnas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Predictable

I quite enjoyed the first couple, but the story line became quite predictable and cheesy. The characters and plots became more and more contrived as the stories went on.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual mystery isn't spectacular. Rather dull actually. But the settings make up for it. I would read the book for that alone. Sets you down in the gorgeous Big Island of Hawaii. Would have liked to have read about the wedding though. Felt rather left out of that.