An act of murder
By: Mary Angela
Illustrated by: Sabrina Sun
Publisher: Camel Press
Publication date: October 2016
ISBN: 978-1-60381-375-4
One of the best aspects of the small college town of Copper Bluff, South Dakota, in Professor Emmeline Prather’s mind was that it was all cohesive and quiet. Each semester started the same way, his classes progressed steadily, and the semester ended the same way as the year before. As another semester begins, Emmeline can’t hide the excitement she feels meeting a whole new group of students and discovering each of her own personalities and talents. A student named Austin Oliver stood out in particular, as he displayed a determination in his upbringing that Emmeline rarely saw, especially in a freshman.
In just a few days Austin was involved in many activities across campus, including building sets for the next play to be presented by the arts and English departments. However, Austin doesn’t get a chance to help out for long, as after an afternoon of work at the theater, the night janitor finds him dead. Initially, everyone comes to the conclusion that this was simply an unfortunate accident. However, Emmeline can’t help but feel that this death was the result of foul play. Why would anyone want to harm Austin, a young man who seemed to be a determined student and a nice guy? The police investigation turns this small college town upside down, but even after all the searching, the police still believe that Austin’s death was simply a terrible and unfortunate accident.
Not satisfied with the conclusion of the investigation, Emmeline searches for answers, trying to find out exactly who were the last people who spoke to Austin before his death. As the list of people with information grows, so does the list of questions, as this case becomes more and more complicated. Suddenly, Emmeline realizes that she will need an ally, so she enlists the English teacher Lenny Jenkins to help her think of other possible suspects and possible motives for this boy’s murder. At first, Emmeline and Lenny are pushed out of sheer curiosity as to what really happened to Austin, but as they dig deeper, someone dislikes their spying. One night, the killer even decides to pay a nightly visit to Emmeline’s house, making her realize that even she is now in danger.
This was a fun, sweet, and awesome first mystery novel for author Mary Angela that I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, once I started reading, I finished the book in record time. The wonderfully detailed and in-depth descriptions of the city, the stations, and the university were absolutely wonderful. There were so many times when I could almost feel the chill of the wind or imagine the breeze in the trees against the bricks of old buildings and I love when authors can create that setting for their readers. Author Mary Angela does this wonderfully and with the element of mystery added to this quaint little town, I found myself enjoying every part of this story.
Quill says: A wonderful first mystery novel that makes me want to read more.