Murder at the Margin: A Henry Spearman Mystery [Hardcover]

Marshall Jevons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

Cinnamon Bay Plantation on lush, tropical St. John was the ideal Caribbean island getaway: or so it seemed. But for distinguished Harvard economist Henry Spearman, long overdue for R & R, it offered diversion of a decidedly different sort and one he'd hardly anticipated: murder. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Prickly and priggish, Gen. Hudson T. Decker (Ret.) may have been a Cinnamon Bay regular, but he'd managed to alienate fellow guests and a lot of townspeople over the years. Suddenly, before the local inspector has assembled a suspect list, there is a mysterious drowning and a second murder, this time a former U.S. Supreme Court justice. Prime suspects abound: a liberal professor of divinity, a vengeful wife, an alleged girlfriend, and a handful of angry local activists. While the island police force is mired in an investigation that leads everywhere and nowhere, the diminutive, balding Spearman, who likes nothing better than to train his curiosity on human behavior, conducts an investigation of his own, one governed by rather different laws - those of economics. Theorizing, hypothesizing, Spearman sets himself on the trail of the killer as it twists from the postcard-perfect beaches and manicured lawns of a premier resort to the bustling old port of Charlotte Amalie to the densely forested hiking paths with their perilous drops to a barren, deserted cay offshore.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard economist Henry Spearman finds his Caribbean vacation interrupted by murder in this 1978 mystery novel.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Writing pseudonymously, [William Breit and Kenneth Elzinga] have created Henry Spearman, a Harvard economist (actually a "Chicago' economist affiliated with Harvard), who utilizes the economic way of thinking literally to figure out "whodunit.' If there is a more painless way to learn economic principles, scientists must have recently discovered how to implant them in ice cream. -- John R. Haring, Jr., Wall Street Journal

This is a tight little mystery that should hold the interest of any student who enjoys detective stories. At the same time, it contains some basic economic lessons, presented in a way that the first-year student will have no difficulty understanding. . . . Its style is crisp and entertaining, and its cast of characters will delight any mystery lover. . . . What gives Murder at the Margin its sparkle are the shrewd observations about academic life and the authors' ability to transform statements of economic law into deft character analysis. -- Sarah Gallagher and George Dawson, Journal of Economic Education --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691033919
• ISBN-13: 978-0691033914
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,086,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous way to learn economics, July 16, 1999

By 

Donald J. Boudreaux - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the Margin (A Henry Spearman Mystery) (Paperback)

I know of no more enjoyable way of learning sound economics than by reading Marshall Jevons's murder mysteries. Jevons's deep understanding of economics is evident throughout, and his ability to weave economics into engaging plots is stunning. Read these books and enjoy!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn economics with a good mystery, February 18, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Murder at the Margin (A Henry Spearman Mystery) (Paperback)

The premise that an economist is capable of solving a murder mystery by using economic analysis appears at first glance to be absurd. However, this story is one where that concept is made thoroughly believable. The hero, modeled after economist Milton Friedman, analyzes all aspects of behavior in terms of maximum return on expenditure. And when people appear to be violating that principle, he is led down a dangerous path that allows him to find the killer(s).
Written by two economists, this book can also be used as a supplemental text in introductory economics. It is a refreshing way to study economics and mathematics without appearing to do so.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 hours -- the opportunity cost for me reading this book..., January 16, 2005

By 

Ken Jennings "Greg Focker" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the Margin (A Henry Spearman Mystery) (Paperback)

I read this book as a intersemester assignment for my AP Economics class. Interesting to say the least, it went well with my microeconomics intuition. Nice interesting story, although I already suspected who was the murderer way before our protagonist Henry Spearman mentions.

The interesting twist is in the end when I realized there was a BIGGER picture I didn't suspect. Overall, its a great murder mystery that takes economics to a whole new level.

The fusion of economics and criminology is just impressive in this witty satiric tale although there are high traces of clique stereotypes from the era the book was probably written (racial tensions) the book operates solely on economic reasoning. For those Sherlock Holmes out there looking for a good "utility," of their time this book will be worth your opportunity cost. I managed to stay awake to read the whole book through -- something meritable since I usually fall asleep reading my economics textbook.

If you want to enjoy economics fused with a Sherlock Holmes character, definitely check this book out. I highly recommend it especially for Microeconomics students.