Double, Double, Oil and Trouble - Emma Lathen
This is Book 17 of the long-running series starring investment banker John Putnam Thatcher. It is set in 1978. He taken far from his Manhattan haunts to Istanbul, Zurich, and London in adventures that involve kidnapping and murder.
In the first half of the book, the familiar series characters are pushed into the background in order to visit the different locations and place the various characters in their different organizations. The action unfolds in a complicated fashion and we are thankful Putnam gives a lengthy reveal. The wheeling and dealing of large oil companies to land drilling contracts is only mildly interesting.
In the end, while this is worth reading for true fans, I don’t think it is the best introduction to the Lathen mysteries. See Something in the Air or Murder to Go.
Lathen was the pen-name for two Boston business executives, Mary J. Latsis and Martha Hennissart. Their entertaining series blended series characters from Wall Street and characters in a specific industry. Their novels were solid sellers from 1961 to 1997 (when Ms. Latsis passed away).
Click the title to go to the review:
Banking on Death (1961)
A Place for Murder (1963)
Accounting for Murder (1964); Silver Dagger Award
Murder Makes the Wheels Go Round (1966)
Death Shall Overcome (1966)
Murder Against the Grain (1967); Gold Dagger Award
A Stitch in Time (1968)
Come to Dust (1968)
When in Greece (1969); shortlisted for Edgar Award
Murder to Go (1969)
Pick Up Sticks (1970)
Ashes to Ashes (1971)
The Longer the Thread (1971)
Murder Without Icing (1972)
Sweet and Low (1974)
By Hook or by Crook (1975)
Double, Double, Oil and Trouble (1978)
Going for the Gold (1981)
Green Grow the Dollars (1982)
Something in the Air (1988)
East is East (1991)
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