Every good cozy mystery needs an attention grabbing, fun, title and quirky cover art.
You get both of these with Murder Is Academic.
I have lots to tell you in my review, so please read on and enjoy.
Warning: You won’t be able to resist this book!
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Murder is Academic
by Lesley A. Diehl
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I enjoyed the book….Well written, will keep you guessing…
~rantin’ ravin and reading
Lesley keeps you hooked from the start. From the murder until finding out who did it, you are on the edge of your seat.
~Shelley’s Book Case
I love a good mystery and this was no exception. It was light and fun …
~The Book Junkie
Diehl writes with wit and an eye for detail and creates believable characters that I would want to hang out with.
~Bea’s Book Nook
Murder Is Academic
(Laura Murphy Mystery Series)
File Size: 1626 KB
Print Length: 223 pages
Publisher: Lesley A. Diehl (March 29, 2014)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
ASIN: B00JCV6XG8
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MY REVIEW
Murder Is Academic tickled my funny bone and had me using my brain pan.
Laura and Annie, two college professors, just landed their canoe. While waiting for their ride home, Laura wanders over to examine something she spotted while on the lake. It’s a shirt or something, in an ugly plaid color. She gives it a tug and finds something even uglier. There’s a body attached.
As they wait for their ride to arrive, a stranger approaches them, wanting to know what they’re doing at the construction site. Laura doesn’t know if his reason for being there is legit or maybe he’s the killer so she tries out some Judo on him.
This was the first time I laughed out loud while reading this book. I could just see Laura, twisting and yanking this guys arm around and not having much affect. Guy is tall, broad-shouldered, and immovable.
Once her friend Der, the police detective arrives, the victim is identified as the President of the college and the questions begin. The funniest one was from Guy. He wanted to know if Laura was being arrested for murder, and if not, would she have dinner with him.
I have four characters I’m attached to. Laura’s friend Annie is funny and caring, someone I’d like to pal around with. Der, the cop, is Laura’s best buddy, and his sarcasm and charm are equally appealing. But there’s no hanky panky with these two. They’re just friends. Enter Guy, the sexy biker from Canada. He’s alpha male and has cast his lure at Laura. I was glad she took the bait. These two started out suspecting each other and I liked where they ended up. Now Laura, she felt so real, so alive. We shared many things in common, including sticking our heads in the icebox to relieve the hot flashes. She’s now a favorite character of mine. And there’s on e character that comes in a bit later in the story that I wanted to hug. You’ll know when you meet.
While Der is questioning suspects and chasing down leads, Laura does her own investigating. With no love lost between the President and the faculty, they’re all suspects. And as the list narrows, the killer gets more desperate. Now she is being threatened and Laura and Guy are bracing for the eye of the coming storm.
There are a few things I need in order to enjoy a mystery.
There has to be multiple suspects to sift through . I like following the trails, coming up on dead ends, and moving on to the next.
The characters have to be flawed and well-developed, especially the amateur sleuths. That’s what makes the book funny. Comic relief is a must.
The motive can’t be obvious or the killer will be easy to sort out.
And the ending has to make sense and not be rushed. I like the case wrapped up and explained without feeling like it all happened in the last pages.
In Murder is Academic the author gave me plenty of suspects, not too few and not too many, which made sniffing out the clues engaging.
The characters, especially Laura, Guy, Der, and Annie were captivating, loveable, and fun to hang with. They felt like old friends.
There was more than one motive. I felt like I was being given subtle clues right about from the beginning and my attention stayed sharp.
And now for the ending. I wanted more than one answer. As I was reading, I found I wanted to know more about Annie and her ill husband, More about Der besides what’s happening on the job, and definitely more about Laura and Guy. And, of course, I wanted to know who the killer was and why he did it. I got plenty of answers and came away happy.
Must not forget about the romance. The author having Laura and Guy hook up right from the beginning was exciting. I like when the romance is developed in the beginning and there’s no wishy-washy stuff. Then it’s just more fun to read how the romance grows, and the mystery still remains the main focus. Laura and Guy were icing on the cake.
I laughed out loud so many times while reading. I couldn’t wait to find out who did what and why. I was eager to read the next page and the next, and so on. That’s why I’d recommend this book to anyone. Friends, family, the stranger looking at me funny when I laughed out loud in the waiting room. Anyone who’d listen. I can not wait for more!
5 STARS
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Synopsis
Laura Murphy, psychology professor, thinks there’s nothing she likes better than coffee and donuts on a summer morning until she says yes to dinner with a Canadian biker and finds herself and her date suspects in the murder of her college’s president. Laura’s friend, the detective assigned the case, asks her to help him find out who on the small upstate New York college campus may be a killer. The murder appears to be wrapped up in some unsavory happenings on the lake where Laura lives. A fish kill and raw sewage seeping into the water along with the apparent drowning suicide of a faculty member complicate the hunt for the killer. And then things become personal. The killer makes a threatening phone call to Laura. With a tornado bearing down on the area and the killer intent upon silencing her, Laura’s sleuthing work may come too late to save her and her biker from a watery grave.
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About The Author
Like me, my protagonists choose to live their lives close to nature.
From the deep, green river valleys and tree-covered mountains of upstate New York to the palm-treed pastures of the Big Lake Country in Florida, these women have found their homes and their hearts in rural America.
These plucky snoops are joined by a transplant from Connecticut, Eve Appel, who moves to rural Florida to set up a consignment shop with her best friend and partner, Madeleine Boudreau.
All these amateur sleuths yearn for the simple, artless existence of hard work coupled with rustic pleasure.
That’s why they live away from big cities, but murder and violence have a way of stalking us, even our plucky heroines, who think they’ve avoided life’s perils.
Lesley A. Diehl author of cozy mysteries featuring sassy, country gals who enjoy snooping www.lesleyadiehl.com
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Tour Participants
May 15 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
May 16 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review,
May 17 – The Book Junkie – Review, Giveaway
May 19 – Bea’s Book Nook– Review,
May 20 – fuonlyknew ~ Laura’s ramblins and reviews – Review
May 21 – deal sharing aunt – Interview, Giveaway
May 22 – Victoria’s Pages of Romance – Guest Post
May 23 – Traci Andrighett’s blog – Review
May 26 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
May 27 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
May 28 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review
May 29 – Back Porchervations – Review, Interview
May 30 – Community Bookstop – Review
May 31 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
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