The Wedding Game: A Mystery at the University of Michigan (Mysteries Featuring Anneke Haagen at the University of Michigan)

Anneke Haagen is feeling a bit frazzled from the demands of running a computer consulting business, readying her new computer game for beta testing, and planning her wedding to Ann Arbor police officer Karl Genesko. It's a good thing she can always count on some friendly give and take with her fellow members of GameSpinners, a private e-mail list for computer game designers, to relax her. Until, that is, member Vince Mattus, "poster boy for road rage on the information highway," gets a decidedly unfriendly and definitely deadly letter bomb. When the FBI finds information that leads them to believe that Mattus had embarked on a special Blackmail Game (no programming skills required), aimed at his fellow GameSpinners, it's up to Anneke and the others to clear themselves as suspects by solving the murder. As one of them wryly posts, "Instead of just spinning our wheels, why don't we approach this the way we'd approach a real game--think of it as a Murder Game. The way I see it, it's basically an rpg, only we're not just role-playing the characters, we ARE the characters." But even games can have serious consequences. As the GameSpinners circle closer to the truth, the stakes grow higher for the murderer among them, and Anneke finds herself the object of his deadly attention.

Middle-aged, opinionated, and talented, Anneke continues to charm as an unorthodox detective, and Holtzer's decision to exploit the logistics and psychology of the Internet as fertile territory for a murder mystery pays off. At once a commentary on the vagaries of modern life and a good-humored send-up of the notion of The Great Detective interrogating his suspects, The Wedding Game will reward those who feel like playing. --Kelly Flynn

Product Description

And I related to the listserve interaction and the flame wars and other background devices that Holtzer used in the novel. But as a good mystery novel....not exactly. The characters were thin, and the ending was disappointingly abrupt. And really, it's pretty hard to stir up much feeling for a mystery which is solved by e-mail with the help of a couple of geeks and a suspended cop fiance.

It's an entertaining afternoon read...but by no means a first class mystery novel.


A Disappointment   September 20, 2000
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I eagerly awaited this book's availability at my local library, as I have read all the other Anneke Haagen books with pleasure. I was particularly looking forward to this book, because of the expected nuptials of Anneke and Karl Genesko. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me on severals levels.

First of all, in what I thought was a fairly weak ruse, Susan Holtzer takes Genesko out of the picture almost completely early on. This isn't what I've come to expect from his participation, so that was disappointing.

Secondly, she introduces us a little more to Anneke's annoying family, which wasn't very fulfilling at all in terms of character interaction either.

I think a good mystery is predicated on the reader's caring for either the victim, the killer, or the crime solver, and in this book, which takes place a lot in an online forum, I couldn't muster up any concern for any of them. Yes, there is a certain amount of cleverness to the plot, but I missed the meat of the character's interacting with one another, and I found so much Virtual Reality to be distracting.

Ms. Holtzer said she wasn't sure it would work at the end of the book, and I don't think it did. At least, it didn't for me.


VERY true to internet life!   July 2, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

My mom took this book out of the library. The whole time she read it she said, "When I'm done, you're going to LOVE this book!"

So she finished it.

I read it in one sitting.

I wish it were out in paperback now; I'd buy a dozen or more copies and send them to all my friends.

This is a well-written mystery. It wasn't so detail-oriented as to make the reader clutch his head in one hand and an Excedrin in the other -- yet I could visualize what was going on. The characters were fun but not frivolous.

Most amazingly, from my years on newsgroups, I could TOTALLY IDENTIFY with the online personae. This makes this book very real.

I highly recommend it.

Again, my mom was right


A great installment in this popular series   March 17, 2000
 11 out of 15 found this review helpful

Ann Arbor police lieutenant Karl Gensko and computer programmer Anneke Haagen are marrying in a week, but neither feels totally happy since they are prime suspects in an ongoing homicide. A mail bomb killed Vince Mattus, a person belonging to the Internet list Game Spinner. Near the victim's computer was a note that named seven of the players including Anneke under the ominous header "The Black Mail Game. "

The Ann Arbor police department forces Karl to go on extended leave because he is a prime suspect due to his relationship with Anneke. However, neither Anneke nor Karl can stand to sit idle while the FBI conducts the investigation. They want their names cleared before they go on their honeymoon, so they conduct a bit of sleuthing that places them in danger of becoming the next victims.

Anyone who has participated on-line will want to read THE WEDDING GAME. Anyone who has not, but reads this exciting realistic novel, will want to join a discussion group. Susan Holtzer has written her best Haagen tale to date as she uses the sub-plot of the upcoming nuptials to provide humor and insight into the lead couple. The unique mystery has an intriguing twist since most of the characters have never met outside of cyberspace. This plot device works because of Ms. Holtzer's strong storytelling abilities.

Harriet Klausner