Customer Reviews

Death at the Alma Mater (A St. Just Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The third book in this marvelous mystery series finds Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just investigating a murder at St. Michael's College at Cambridge. The most unusual thing about this assortment of former students who have been invited back to St. Mike's is that they have all been very successful financially, but there is also a lot of past history tying these people together. Now the Master and the Bursar look to this weekend with the hope of convincing them to make much needed financial contributions. The old place is crumbling down and some serious repairs need to be made. Unfortunately, the guest list includes Sir James Bassett, his current wife India and his former wife Lexy Laurant. Everybody knows that combination can only spell trouble. When one of the potential donors is found murdered St. Just and Sergeant Fear must forsake their time off to find the culprit.

Once again a mystery by G. M. Malliet gives lovers of detective stories a really good, difficult mystery to solve while also including her trademark tongue in cheek presentation of the classic Golden Age novel. The plot of the story, the actual mystery, was very well done. I certainly did not foresee the twist presented at the end. There are appearances by Portia De'Ath (from Death and the Lit Chick: A St. Just Mystery - the second book in the series) who is supposed to be spending her summer at St. Mike's working on her thesis but is in reality getting more of her mystery novel written. The relationship between St. Just and Portia has progressed to an understanding between them, but St. Just is adamant about not allowing Portia to get involved in this investigation in order to protect her and keep his private life and his profession separate. I can't help but wonder if this author is going to be able to continue along that path for much longer. It just seems that these two characters are meant to investigate crimes together.

This was a very satisfying read for me. I enjoyed it very much and appreciate the growth I see in these characters from one book to the next. Even Sergeant Fear's darling little daughter Emma is back with her programming abilities for his cell phone. If you have not read either of the other two books in the series, don't worry, this is very definitely a stand alone book. Any spoofing of the "cozy" mystery or the standardized "police procedural" is done in a very gentle, warm way. I have read some criticism of the method this author chose in the "twist" at the end which I mentioned before. While I agree that it would probably not have been my choice for how the murder happened I can honestly say that it did not diminish my enjoyment of the book in any way. We get a list of the cast of characters, we get a diagram of the College grounds, we get chapters with honest-to-goodness titles, and we get a well plotted mystery. A cracking fine novel for me.

I have to say that this book is nowhere near as good as the other two St. Just mysteries.

I agree with another reviewer who said some of the American characters are straight out of an Agatha Christie book-that's exactly what I thought when I was reading it.

Portia is becoming annoying too, almost as annoying as her last name.

As for how the murder was committed, that was so laughable and you could have driven a truck through the holes in the plot.

SPOILER ALERT!!

A blow-up doll? He never thought someone could actually see them both outside and join them? No one saw him dismantle the doll?

I'll definitely go to the library for the 4th installment of the St. Just mysteries . . . definitely not worth buying.

Bravo, well written and forces one to drive through reading. Great book for an exciting evening mystery read. Author is very creative and challenges the reader to keep guessing "What's Next". Highly recommended reading for Mystery followers. AGG

I am pleased to see another of the St. Just mysteries. The characters, especially St. Just and Portia, leave me only enough information about their personal lives to keep me coming back for more of Just's episodes. Malliet's use of a device to 'hold back' certain elements of her characters serves to heighten the suspense that is systemically built into any really good mystery novel....it's sort of a mystery within a mystery, and allows her writings to appeal to a broader group of readers than those who would normally read for 'mystery'. Granted she has her many subplots usually required in this genre, but the added subtle yet ongoing appearances of romance add a delightful flavor and 'upnote' to these wonderful stories. I hope Malliet will keep them coming!

Another winner by GM Malliet. Her character development is amazing. Get all of her work, you won't be disappointed.

All St. Just Mystery are wonderful to read and make you travel to England. Lots of details about people and buildings / location, very interesting and easy to read. A lot of fun with an interesting ending.

A bit disappointing but fun. A little contrived and the eventual solution was a bit sudden without much in the way of clues or indicators. The lengthy walks through Cambridge were nice even if the some of the players were less so. Given the motive I do wonder without giving anything away) at how the murderer actually would have benefitted from the victim's death.

Once you catch on to what the author is up to, you will just roar with laughter. This book is a breath of fresh air for the mystery genre.

I can't agree that this third installment is a good one or that the characters show growth. The first two books were sort of entertaining, enough for me to buy the third, but this one was a real disappointment. Malliet has fallen back on stereotyped characterizations and did very little to develop a real murder scenario.

Every character in the book is a stereotype:

St. Just--well, he's just perfect, and we don't learn anything about him. Sgt. Fear is so flawless that he can read his superior's mind. We do learn that his three year old is smarter than all the technology staff in the department, however. Portia, the girlfriend, also perfection. But we never really get to know much else about her. She's just perfect in every way from her shining cap of hair and the arch of her neck to the gourmet meal she can produce from three hot plates. Then there's the cast at the college and the suspects. Malliet writes about all Americans by relying on decades old stereotypes. Each of the three comes right out of an Agatha Christie novel. The blustery Texan who speaks a language that no real American ever did. The OVERBEARING obnoxious and bossy woman and her long suffering husband. They appeared in almost every Christie travel story and are no better developed. The college bursar? He's exactly the same as every parsimonious bursar that was ever written. The sturdy and tweedy English old maid. Yup, seen her in several dozen British mysteries. The not-quite-of-this-world reverend. The head master. Every single one is a stereotype borrowed from the mysteries of the 30s and 40s and therefore boring.

Worst of all is the solution to the murder. SPOILER ALERT: Although almost everyone involved seemed to have seen the murderer talking to the "victim" in an open courtyard, minutes later when he deflated and carted off what was actually a blow up doll, no one saw that? As if he could have planned that no one would glance out of a window for several minutes? It's just a silly solution.

Again, although they were full of stereotypical characters, too, the first two books weren't as bad, but I expected that Malliet would have developed more by the third. Unfortunately, there wasn't much thought put into this one.

Another St. Just - a perfect companion and enjoyable read. It certainly does the job. We have read all three so far and hope that this 'Agatha' winner will write more. Characters are thoroughly illuminated and the details of Cambridge and the rowing ethos are remarkable.