Dollycas's Thoughts
Jennifer âJennâ Dalton loves her job at Clarion University in Virginia where she is the director of the campus writing center. She also pens a âfairly successful mystery seriesâ under a pseudonym. Her colleagues believe her books are less than literary achievements as they are genre fiction. The powers that be in the English Department wish their students to apply themselves and strive for higher literary endeavors. Jennifer mentors her students in whatever they want to write but one pushy professor, Douglas Barth took one student, Mia Jackson to task in a shameful encounter. Later he is found dead and she is missing. Mia was upset about her grade and told the man so loudly but Jenn couldn't believe she could kill anyone. Yes, there was evidence that could show the two had met but no proof she killed her professor.
Jenn Dalton is used to writing murder mysteries but solving a murder in real life is a lot more complicated. Could she actually catch a killer? She enlists some help from others at the college. Campus psychologist, Zachary Flynn, cafeteria manager Christine Kubiak, and librarian Brianna Rowley agree to band together with her to try to bring down the killer and throw the book at them.
Schooled in Murder is a spinoff from Ms. Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library Mystery series. Characters in that series have visited or worked at Clarion University and some are mentioned in this story, but you do not need to have read that series to enjoy this one.
The murder happens in chapter one so we hit the ground running when we meet protagonist Jenn Dalton. As the story continues we meet several supporting characters including Jenn's friends Bri and Christine, assorted professors, and the head of the department. Psychologist Zach Flynn pushes himself into the group as his attraction to Jenn grows. Mia Jackson is the prime suspect in the professor's death but other suspects are soon in the mix. The problem with the first book in a series is introducing all the characters so we don't get much depth. It took me time to warm up to Jenn and I felt the author pushed the relationship between her and Zach too hard too soon but I am open to see where it goes. All the characters have room to grow as the series continues and I look forward to them being more fleshed out.
Usually, with the first book in the series, it is hard to include a complicated mystery while introducing all the characters but Ms. Gilbert gave us one to sink our teeth into. I appreciated how Jenn and her fellow sleuths asked questions and discussed what they found out and their theories about the case. Another murder brought a new batch of theories. Jenn knew she was on the right track because of some alarming incidents. I honed in on the killer before Jenn which didn't occur until the scary showdown.
Schooled in Murder was an entertaining read that has laid the groundwork for the continuation of this series. I love the college setting and that Jenn is a cozy mystery author. I can only imagine what she and her friends will get tangled up in next. Bring on book two!
Jennifer âJennâ Dalton loves her job at Clarion University in Virginia where she is the director of the campus writing center. She also pens a âfairly successful mystery seriesâ under a pseudonym. Her colleagues believe her books are less than literary achievements as they are genre fiction. The powers that be in the English Department wish their students to apply themselves and strive for higher literary endeavors. Jennifer mentors her students in whatever they want to write but one pushy professor, Douglas Barth took one student, Mia Jackson to task in a shameful encounter. Later he is found dead and she is missing. Mia was upset about her grade and told the man so loudly but Jenn couldn't believe she could kill anyone. Yes, there was evidence that could show the two had met but no proof she killed her professor.
Jenn Dalton is used to writing murder mysteries but solving a murder in real life is a lot more complicated. Could she actually catch a killer? She enlists some help from others at the college. Campus psychologist, Zachary Flynn, cafeteria manager Christine Kubiak, and librarian Brianna Rowley agree to band together with her to try to bring down the killer and throw the book at them.
Schooled in Murder is a spinoff from Ms. Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library Mystery series. Characters in that series have visited or worked at Clarion University and some are mentioned in this story, but you do not need to have read that series to enjoy this one.
The murder happens in chapter one so we hit the ground running when we meet protagonist Jenn Dalton. As the story continues we meet several supporting characters including Jenn's friends Bri and Christine, assorted professors, and the head of the department. Psychologist Zach Flynn pushes himself into the group as his attraction to Jenn grows. Mia Jackson is the prime suspect in the professor's death but other suspects are soon in the mix. The problem with the first book in a series is introducing all the characters so we don't get much depth. It took me time to warm up to Jenn and I felt the author pushed the relationship between her and Zach too hard too soon but I am open to see where it goes. All the characters have room to grow as the series continues and I look forward to them being more fleshed out.
Usually, with the first book in the series, it is hard to include a complicated mystery while introducing all the characters but Ms. Gilbert gave us one to sink our teeth into. I appreciated how Jenn and her fellow sleuths asked questions and discussed what they found out and their theories about the case. Another murder brought a new batch of theories. Jenn knew she was on the right track because of some alarming incidents. I honed in on the killer before Jenn which didn't occur until the scary showdown.
Schooled in Murder was an entertaining read that has laid the groundwork for the continuation of this series. I love the college setting and that Jenn is a cozy mystery author. I can only imagine what she and her friends will get tangled up in next. Bring on book two!
