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Tale of murder set in Fergus Falls and area
Published Saturday, May 19, 2007
Could a mysterious murder happen in Otter Tail County? It does in Gerald Anderson’s, “Death Before Dinner,” a novel set in Fergus Falls.
Anderson, a Minnesota native, is a professor of British and European history at North Dakota State University. His mystery has a Lake Wobegon feel to it.
“It is flattering to be compared that way,” Anderson said. “We are dealing with the same general kind of people.”
Sheriff Palmer Knutson, Anderson’s sleuth, goes about investigating murder in a Scandinavian manner and dialect: “Yah, Otter Tail Sheriff’s Office, what can I do for you?”
Scandinavian jokes interplay with the plot making for giggles and laughs in the middle of the mystery.
“When I was a kid in Hitterdal, the town was 70 percent Norwegian, 25 percent Swedes and then we had the Meiers. They were nice people, they just had to have fish on Friday,” Anderson said.
From the architecture of downtown Fergus Falls buildings to drinks at Mabel Murphy’s, the mystery descriptively runs through Fergus Falls and makes stops in Pelican Rapids, Detroit Lakes and Underwood.
“Death Before Dinner” is not a hard-boiled mystery, but its unfolding plot is complemented by suspects who all have a reason to kill. Everyone has an ax to grind with the self-serving, manipulative university president. Readers will hardly feel remorse at the demise of Dr. George Gherkin.
Every August, Gherkin, the fictitious Fergus Falls State University president, hosts a faculty party. It’s tradition for George to lock himself inside the kitchen to prepare his signature dish. But instead of Chicken Kiev, the guests find their chef with a meat cleaver buried in his head.
“There’s an incredible amount of violence in planting a meat cleaver in someone’s head,” Anderson said.
But the novel centers more on the introspective sheriff, his upstart deputy and the 11 leery suspects, rather than the violent nature of the crime.
There’s Sally Ann Pennwright, Gherkin’s scorned secretary and former mistress; Sherwin Williams, the assistant professor of Art who’s been denied tenure for years; and Francis Olson, the athletic director whose attempt to leave Fergus Falls was thwarted by Gherkin. The remainder of the suspects make for a cast any reader can empathize with or at least laugh at.
Copies of “Death Before Dinner” are scheduled to arrive at Victor Lundeen Company, Tuesday, May 22.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by smiley55 (anonymous) on May 22, 2007 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MURDER OF A ROTTEN BOOK:
We can only hope has itellectual and informed humans that "Gerald Anderson's book has a quick and brutal death to it due to lacking interest. It is hard to believe that any publishing company would publish such a moronic piece of rubbish. Farther more it doesn't bode well for our present educational system it this person is supposed to be a professor?
A professor of what, stupidity 101? My advice would be for Mr. Anderson would be stick to teaching (if he knows how to do that) and leave it to the professionals to write, geeze!!! It lacks substance and worse of all a poor imagination.
Posted by ZaZ (anonymous) on May 23, 2007 at 2:32 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
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