In Death of a Department Chair, protagonist Miriam Held recounts the events of the previous fall when she was suspected of killing Isabel Vittorio, the chair of her department and her former lover. The controversial and contrary Vittorio was, at the time of her death, attempting to block the hire of a brilliant African American female professor. Already under siege for her attempts to increase diversity on campus, Miriam is forced to defend her reputation and her life. As she searches for the truth, Miriam amasses evidence that leaves few friends and colleagues free from suspicion. Both a classic whodunit and a witty satire, Death of a Department Chair dramatizes how communities can create the very climate of mistrust and paranoia that victimizes them.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Austin University literature professor Miriam Held is the chief suspect in the murder of her department chair, Isabel Vittorio. Miriam and Isabel were lovers years ago, and Isabel recently beat out Miriam for the department-chair position after a bitter battle. They were also at odds over a new minority hire, and Miriam saw Isabel on the afternoon of her death. When it begins to look like someone is trying to frame Miriam, and the police show no inclination to look further than Miriam, she and her friends launch an investigation. Academic politics, diversity issues, infighting, and plagiarism frame the story of a woman who feels she is being railroaded for a crime she didn't commit. The structure of the novel has Miriam editing the story of what happened the previous autumn, a problematic technique as Miriam is not present during all the action, and Isabel's diary reads like dialogue rather than a diary. Still, fans of mysteries set in academia will relish the details of university life. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Everything moves fast in this mystery romp about desire and academic greed. Lynn Miller gives us not one but two deliciously insensitive villains and one first-rate heroine, not to mention a jumble of realistic crazies that anyone who's ever majored in anything at any university will recognize. A page turner whose witty and caring author makes us curious not only about who done it but who, amazingly enough, managed to hold off and not do it."—Carol Bly, author of My Lord Bag of Rice
"A tidy mystery with enough ambitious careerists and theorists to staff a dozen dysfunctional lit departments. Miller knows where the academic bodies are buried both literally and figuratively, and she touches up a traditional mystery with some lively, non-traditional angles."—Janice Law, author of Nightbus
"A tidy mystery with enough ambitious careerists and theorists to staff a dozen dysfunctional lit departments. Miller knows where the academic bodies are buried both literally and figuratively, and she touches up a traditional mystery with some lively, non-traditional angles."—Janice Law, author of Nightbus
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Death of a Department Chair,
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This review is from: Death of a Department Chair: A Novel (Paperback)
Very interesting book. Lot of infighting going on. I would recommend it to anyone. It has nothing to do with the individuals chosen life still. It takes you all over the place. Good mystery. Fast read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange, quirky tale!,
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This review is from: Death of a Department Chair (Hardcover)
Lots of twistings and turns concerning the death of a university (Texas) professor told from the view of a fellow lesbian lover who is also a
professor in the department. An unusual, but interesting tale!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beware Department Chairs,
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This review is from: Death of a Department Chair: A Novel (Paperback)
Anyone who has spent time in academic department meetings will recognize these characters and their murderous urges. Playful rendering and intriguing read.
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