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COLD MORNING, Ed Ifkovic's seventh Edna Ferber Mystery is set in Flemington, New Jersey in 1935 during the famous Lindbergh baby trial. Edna and her rival Alexander Woolcott are sent by the New York Times to provide color commentary. Aleck and Edna are members of the Algonquin Round Table, a witty group of New York Notables who meet for weekly lunches at the Algonquin Hotel. Aleck sides with the prosecution, while Edna has serious doubts about the defendant Bruno Hauptmann's guilt. A great deal of the fun in reading COLD MORNING is Edna and Aleck's witty arguments about the case.
Very soon there is another murder, this time of a young waitress at the local hotel. Her boyfriend is quickly arrested and, like Hauptmann, he insists that he is not the murderer. Edna is a wonderfully observant woman, the most notable quality the real Ferber is remembered for, and she begins to see that much more is going on in both cases than the New Jersey Police, or Aleck for that matter, see.
Edna begins to snoop around, noting that the evidence is not only circumstantial but that there is a great deal of evidence that is being ignored. And you can bet the authorities don't like her interference one bit.
Charles Lindbergh does not figure largely in the story, but his personality, his fame and America's worship of him are the backdrop on which the action plays out. The best scene in Cold Morning is the meeting of Edna, Lindbergh and Colonel Schwarzkopf, WW I hero, and recent appointee as head of the New Jersey Police. Edna bravely confronts Lindbergh, who appears rather limited but tall, handsome and imposing. We remember almost at the same moment as Lindbergh does that Edna is Jewish. And of course Lindbergh's notorious association with the Nazis, his condescending attitude to Edna and the fact that it is 1935 bring this scene, and Edna's chance to influence Lindbergh's view of the case.
COLD MORNING is not full of suspense, not a novel that you need to finish before bedtime. Rather it is a very careful unraveling of the facts of the case. It succeeds through the wit and determination of the main character. It is only as it draws to a conclusion that it becomes a page-turner, with the classic scene between Ferber and the real murderer.
The Lindbergh Baby Murder Case has continued to fascinate history buffs and Ifkovic's fictional solution is quite satisfactory. Add to this the development of Edna's case through dialogue with her nemesis, Aleck Woolcott, and you have a noteworthy mystery.
§ Susan Hoover is a playwright, independent producer and retired college English teacher. She lives in Nova Scotia.
Reviewed by Susan Hoover, April 2016
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