The Object Lesson

When his former friend, Douglas Taft, is hospitalized under mysterious circumstances, Michael Cadenhead tries to find out why and stumbles into a puzzle involving Taft's aloof and enigmatic fashion model sister.

When a former high school classmate is stabbed, Michael Cadenhead is summoned to the hospital. Renewing high school friendships draws Cadenhead, and the reader, into a Manhattan mystery. The mystery centers around the events of a party held the weekend of high school graduation. The party turns nasty, yet in comparison with the daily news, it hardly seems to be the evil occasion one anticipates. Though the six friends are private school graduates and Ivy Leaguers, they are fairly inarticulate--unable to speak in complete sentences and taking every opportunity to swear. Their speech patterns eventually become tedious and annoying. In addition, the object of Orlando's first novel remains obscure, leaving the reader feeling as if he or she walked into the middle of a conversation and can find no way out. Not terribly satisfying and not recommended.
- Karen Stewart, Colorado Legislative Council Lib., Denver
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.