Historical November 1983 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnis, G.F. Putnam Sons, New York, 1983, is so engrossing that I even skipped lunch to read it.
This is a book about the Green Beret doctor who murdered his wife and two children then tried to pass it off as the work of a Manson-like, hippie group. Jeffrey MacDonald, a handsome, popular, voted most-likely-to-succeed in high school, married his childhood sweetheart.
He attended Princeton University, then medical school, and joined the Green Berets.
The murder took place one night in 1969, and, in 1970, a military court cleared him of all charges.
His father-in-law kept probing until, nine years later, MacDonald was found guilty and brought to justice.
A most gripping book which is highly recommended.
For the mystery buffs the library recently acquired quite a few Agatha Christie paperbacks. Among the other English writers the library carries such favorites as Josephine Tey, Dorothy Sayers, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Dick Francis, Ngaio Marsh, et cetera.
One of my favorite American mystery writers is Amanda Cross.
The Washington Post calls the James Joyce Murder Mystery by Amanda Cross “a modern comedy of errors where the women are equal to the men in intelligence and wit.” Her favorite sleuth, Kate Fensler, is spending a quiet summer, in the country sorting out a collection of James Joyce papers when a farmer’s wife up and gets murdered. Kate is living in a household of eccentric folk and any one of them could have done it. Or is the answer hidden in the papers of James Joyce himself?
It is a highly literate mystery which I recommend. Other books by Ms. Cross are Death in a Tenured Position, The Question of Max, Theban Mysteries, Poetic Justice and In the Last Analysis. You’re never too young or too old to be mystified. Visit the Kiosk today for a sample. Kingsbury Kiosk welcomes all neighborhood readers. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9-5:30
Original photograph caption
Mary Ann Shickman, reviewer of books for adults. Original portrait, The Paper, November 1983, page 6. Photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Paper, November 1983.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: The Fatal Vision review prints a 1969 murder date; this is preserved as the reviewer’s original account and flagged for verification, not silently corrected.
Original source: SD_Times1983_11.pdf, printed page(s) 6; PDF page(s) 6.
