Murder Is Academic
Christine Poulson Book Review

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Plot Summary of Murder Is Academic

"

Dunne, April 2004, 23.95, 288 pp
ISBN 0312318073

A professor at St. Ethelreda's College at Cambridge University, Cassandra James is quite content with the life she has made for herself. She is in an exclusive relationship with Stephen, a well known lawyer, and lives in quaint cottage with her cat. One day when she goes to the home of the head of her department Margaret she finds papers lying on the ground in no particular order and in the swimming pool. She tries to get them out but sees Margaret lying lifeless in the pool.

At her husband's request, she goes through Margaret's papers and finds that her head was having an affair with her student Lucy. Lucy died several months ago climbing down a cliff. The authorities think she slipped and hit her head. Cassandra wonders if two deaths could be linked but keeps her suspicions to herself that is until a second student is attacked and later dies. Cassandra has her hands full because she is made the acting head of her department and is pregnant but she still has time to see if the three deaths are connected and if so who is behind the killings.

Readers who adore academic mysteries will like MURDER IS ACADEMIC an amateur sleuth tale that is filled with unexpected twists and turns and plenty of red herrings. The cast is simply brilliant as well as realistic because they behave in ways according to their character. The heroine's relationship with her lover evolves over the course of Christine Poulson's tale and readers will find themselves reading for them to make their relationship legal, that is if she can survive her current crisis. MURDER IS ACADEMIC is a treat for mystery fans.

Harriet Klausner

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Murder Is Academic

Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%

Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Murder of certain profession? - students/teachers
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - student
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books to Murder Is Academic
A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing by Lou Allin
Dead Soldiers by Bill Crider
Hot On the Trail by Jane Isenberg
Murder at the B-School by Jeffrey Cruikshank
Shadows on the Ivy by Lea Wait

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Murder Is Academic Christine Poulson Book Review

Murder Is Academic
Christine Poulson Book Review