Customer Reviews

Murder 101 (Alison Bergeron Mysteries)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Murder 101," Maggie Barbieri's debut novel, features Alison Bergeron, an English professor at St. Thomas, a small Catholic college in the Bronx. Alison calls herself "queen of the nerds," and it is an apt description. She is in her thirties, five-foot ten, intellectual, a chatterbox, clumsy, and prone to making silly and often inappropriate wisecracks. She cries at the drop of a hat and often faints or pukes under stress. Alison was recently divorced from her husband of seven years, a fellow professor who cheated on her repeatedly.

Her problems with her ex-husband fade into the background when two policemen barge into Alison's office. It seems that one of her students, Kathy Miceli, has been found dead in the trunk of Alison's car. The fact that the police consider Alison a suspect is bad enough, but making matters worse is the fact that Kathy's parents are reputedly Mob connected. If they believe that Alison was in any way responsible for their daughter's death, they might have her fitted with cement boots and dumped into the Hudson River.

The only silver lining is that one of the detectives who questions Alison, Robert Crawford, is nice-looking and apparently single. Alison is attracted to him, and she believes that her interest may be reciprocated. Alison's best friend, the sassy Maxine Rayfield, dubs Crawford "Detective Hot Pants," and snickers suggestively whenever he and his partner are around. As the investigation progresses, Alison's life is repeatedly threatened; she is also in danger of losing her heart to the compassionate and adorable Detective Crawford.

Barbieri's debut novel is a frothy combination of romantic chick lit and murder mystery lite. For the most part, "Murder 101" is formulaic and far-fetched, but it has pleasant moments of lighthearted wit and sweetness. Alison is a refreshing character: bright academically but naive in almost every other way. As she puts it, "I had spent way too many years with my head in books." It's time for her to grow up at last, and as a result of her traumatic experiences, Alison learns a great deal about the tough realities of life. "Murder 101" is an inoffensive, squeaky clean, and delightfully funny murder mystery with a spunky and appealing heroine.

The mystery and romance are light hearted fun. The characters were well developed and there is definitley potential there for sequels. The only complaint I have and the reason why I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 is that the primary character, Alison, is CONTANTLY fainting, throwing up or crying. While I enjoy the rest of her personality, fainting once would have been enough and I can't stand women who cry at the drop of a hat. So...looking forward to more from this author. If this is her debut book as the reviews have stated, then her next books should be exellent as her first one is very good.

As an English teacher, I really wanted to like this new book. While the mystery was interesting, the characters were just annoying. Alison Bergeron, the narrator & an English professor, tries to be funny but fails. Her best friend, Max, is even more annoying; she seemed like some caricature. I might try the next installment, "Extracurricular Activities," only because I had high hope for this series.

NYPD Detectives Wyatt and Crawford enter the office of English Professor Alison Bergeron as she and her best friend Maxine Rayfield discuss killing her ex-spouse as he drives a BMW while she rides the train since her car was stolen. Crawford informs her that they found her vehicle with the body of student Kathy Miceli in the trunk of her car. Alison pukes on the shoes of the nicer cop Crawford before fainting while his partner wants to take her downtown for some intense questioning.

Crawford decides to tail Alison and not just because he likes how she looks; she is his only tenuous lead. Max persuades Alison that she is the prime suspect though no motive surfaces and that they must not allow NYPD especially that hunk Wyatt to railroad her while Wyatt looks at Alison's ex-husband as the culprit because he has learned about her ex-husband's affair with the deceased. Struggling to grade the Shakespeare class papers and ignore her attraction to Crawford as she does not trust men to remain faithful, Alison prays for a police rescue when the killer abducts her.

Though the dueling investigations (amateur and professional) take a back seat to the characters' reactions to the homicide, fans will enjoy this academic whodunit due to the four prime characters. Crawford is a fascinating protagonist who has two conflicting reasons to trail the professor while Alison has two solid reasons to avoid the cop. Throw in the romance between crusty Wyatt and Max on top of a delightful final relationship twist between the main pair leads the audience to a fun tale in which the coupling supersedes the mystery.

Harriet Klausner

This book was light entertainment, especially for a first novel. However, Janet Evanovich she is not. The story line and characters reminded me of things that happen in the Stephanie Plum (Evanovich) series, but the strength of story and comedy just weren't there.

This is a fun, light, and very readable novel that mixes romance and mystery. It's a cozy read, with witty dialogue, bouncy prose, and some very likeable protagonists. The mystery isn't particularly complicated and the romance is straightforward, but blended together they make for a great weekend or summer read. I hope this is only the beginning of a long series.

There are some minor weaknesses worth mentioning, mainly that the main character is supposed to be a smart and accomplished English professor, but there are several instances where she comes across as missing the obvious (probably because the author needed Alison to remain clueless so she could continue the mystery). Secondly, I found the character of Max, the best friend, to be cliched and unbelievable-- the kind of stock "shallow, materialistic, but heart of gold" best friend type character that pops up a lot in chick lit and is terminally annoying. But none of this marred my overall enjoyment of this book.

A quick and light enjoyable read. I would place it some where in a catagory with Janet Evonivich and Sue Grafton. Not as high up as those 2 but it was enjoyable and I liked the characters. I did not like that she did not do her homework on catholic theology and inserted her own views in place of truth. She should have just left that out of the story. Why must we be tolerant of negative catholic comments when if they were about the muslim or budha faith it would be outrage.

It isn't that I hated this book (or even had a strong dislike), it's just a disappoinment.

I read mysteries--lots of them. And I have come to particularly like the woman centric modern amateur mystery. I had high hopes for this one.

I liked that it took place on a college campus and that the protagonist was a Lit Prof (and female). However, the plot was thin at best. Yep, figured out the most relevant portions by halfway through the book and was astounded that the police (who play heavily in this book) couldn't piece together obvious clues. And I do mean obvious--almost to the point where you see them in big neon lights with arrows pointing.

Even when plotting is thin, good character development can carry a book. The characters in "Murder 101" go through the entire spectrum. While the lead (and apparently continuing) characters are well thought out and dimensional, the supporting cast (including the murderer) are pretty durn shallow. It isn't like their backstory isn't told--it's like the author didn't take the time to develop a backstory in her own mind so that these literary people would seem real. Some of the dialogue is pure tin pan alley.

Then, to make matters worse, I had to keep reminding myself that this is a 21st century novel. Considering Al (our literary professor turned suspect turned detective, of sorts) spends most of her time throwing up, fainting, and crying (not sobbing--bawling her eyes out), I kept expecting to hear how President Eisenhower had just gotten off the radio.

It isn't a wasted read--been there, done that, know what to look for. It does seem, however, wasted talent.

I probably won't continue with the series. Too bad.

Well written, enjoyable, light and easy read.. but also well developed characters, plot. Her humor is what makes this book so enjoyable.. and the main character's personality is fun. I think its a winner, cant wait to read the rest!!

My mom reads a lot of mysteries. I don't, but I do pick up and bring home all of her books so I have some familiarity with the genre. Along the way I also have become interesting in a few series. When Mom finished Murder 101--Maggie Barbieri's debut mystery novel released in 2006--and recommended it to me, after laughing through most of it, I decided to give the book a try.

Alison Bergeron is an English professor at St. Thomas College, a small Catholic school located just outside New York City limits. Unfortunately, that does little to keep Alison's car from being stolen. Matters only worsen when two homicide detectives with the NYPD inform Alison that her car has been found with a dead body inside--a body that belongs to one of the students in her Shakespeare class.

Being car-less and newly divorced isn't bad enough, now she finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. Possibly as the prime suspect. Alison has no choice but to try and clear her name, even if the attractive Detective Crawford would prefer she stick to the classroom--for both their sakes.

Murder 101 was really enjoyable. With Alison's first person narration, Barbieri has created an authentic and hilarious protagonist. The novel blends the madcap, action, quotidian, and even some romance to create a great story. The chemistry between Alison and Detective Bobby Crawford actually verges on the tangible it is so well written.

Her characters are also loads of fun, each being fully realized and adding their own charm to the story. Alison's best friend, Max, provides an amusing counterpoint to Alison's more grounded and logical personality. My personal favorite character might have been Detective Wyatt who, though he did not get the most "air time" did have some of the best lines.

Praise aside, it was not until a hundred pages into the story that I actually made a commitment to stick with the series in its later installments. Murder 101 is one of those novels that gets better, along with the plot gaining momentum as it moves along. Barbieri's narration and dialogue are witty and snappy to keep readers' attention and to keep them laughing.

This is also the first mystery I've encountered with a college professor as the main character. As someone who briefly considered a career in academia, I was intrigued to see behind the scenes of a college professor's life. While the murder investigation is, of course, a big part of this book is Alison's life both at school and in terms of her budding relationship with Crawford. All in all, a really fun read.

Alison's adventures (with and without Crawford) continue in Extracurricular Activities (2007).