Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Murder on the Campus

At long last I have found a mystery set in South Dakota, Copper Bluff to be exact. An Act of Murder, written by Mary Angela, features college professor Emmeline Prather. When a Emmeline returns for the new semester, she is excited about her students and her English classes.

One evening Emmeline overhears a threatening conversation with a woman and a man, and she worries about the final comment, "I could make your life a living hell, and you know it." The next day she meets one of her new students, Austin Oliver, a young man from a nearby farm, and she recognizes his voice as one she heard the night before. Still unsure who the woman was, Emmeline decides to throw herself into the new semester and forget about the conversation.

A few days later Austin Oliver is found dead in the theater building. What could cause a seemingly healthy young man to die suddenly? The police begin to investigate and refuse to discuss whether Austin was murdered or died accidentally. Because Austin was one of her students, Em feels an overwhelming need to find out what happened to him.

She enlists the aid of her fellow English professor Lenny Jenkins and they comb the campus looking for clues. The campus abounds with suspects: the fraternity boys in her class, the young actress in the play, her jealous hot-headed boyfriend, the theater director and even some of the faculty.

When Em's apartment is broken into, Em thinks she is moving closer to finding the killer. With Lenny sticking closer to her side, Em continues her search with surprising results.

This is the first in a series and I look forward to the next in the series. Emmeline is a interesting character teaching English, but loving everything French. I feel there might be a relationship growing between Em and Lenny. Stay tuned.

Special thanks to Lori Rader-Day for pointing me in the direction of South Dakota.

Click here to get a hold of the book.

1 comment:

Mary Angela said...

Thank you for featuring my book! I appreciate it.
Mary Angela