Private detective Estelle “Woody” Woodhaven is asked by a small college to investigate the death of an English professor there; widely disliked, there is little doubt that he was murdered. Woody turns gratefully to Kate Fansler for her insights both into academia and crime, but while she enjoys their conversations, Kate’s frequent detours into esoteric musings, particularly on the professor’s favourite poet Tennyson, serve more to baffle Woody than to enlighten her. And the interviews she has with the potential suspects serve only to muddy the waters even further…. This is the next-to-last Kate Fansler novel and she herself is barely in it - although it is, of course, Kate who ultimately solves the crime. Woody is a decent character, although her constant harping about how fat she is gets tiresome very quickly. I’m just not sure why Kate was even in the book and, frankly, the solution is lazy, but there are some nice quotes along the way. Really for completists only. ( )

Cross uses new character to air gripes with academia in murder of unpopular professor

One of the most disheartening experiences a reader can have is witnessing a once enjoyable writer wither away into something unmentionable. Cross, pseudonym of Carolyn Heilbrun, wrote a couple of decent mysteries in the "Murder She Wrote" vein. Not mind-blowingly awesome, but decent recreation. This book is more like a Hallmark Movie of the Week, and when I started to hear in my head the musical soundtrack that typically accompanies these dreadful productions, it was necessary to put this book down, in the veterinary sense. ( )

Probably the weakest entry in the Cross canon, the main strike against this is that Kate Fansler is not the central character, although she is present from time to time. The first-person narrator is "Woody" Woodhaven, a female private investigator whose main characteristic is fatness - indeed one can't help feeling that Cross introduced her in order to make statements about anti-fat discrimination. Woody isn't as interesting as Kate, in my opinion. In particular, the solution which Kate eventually provides is supported by virtually no evidence whatever. Read any of the earlier Fansler books before this one, I'd suggest. ( )

AWFUL