When the Grim Reaper strikes the math department at a nearby university, P.C. and Mackenzie do some homework of their own and discover that almost everyone--parents, teachers, and students alike--had a motive to get this nutty professor out of the way.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grades 5-8--Once again, P. C. and his friend Mackenzie stumble into a murder and onto the murderer. When their nasty calculus teacher at Columbia University is pinned to the blackboard with an arrow shot from a crossbow, the two friends begin to investigate their eclectic collection of classmates. Some attend the college, but others, like Mac and P. C., are high school students taking advanced classes. A visit to a medieval weaponry collector's makeshift torture chamber, a careening taxi ride across New York City, and the final, hair-raising chase through the darkened halls of the university add excitement to this basic whodunit. The audience for this book is a little unclear. The main characters are juniors and are appropriately pictured (if a bit unrealistically perfect) on the cover, but the book design and story are clearly for younger students. The plot is simplistic and is of the cookie-cutter variety. Upper-elementary-school fans of series mysteries should enjoy it and perhaps reluctant readers in the upper grades would also find it appealing, but they may take issue with the large paperback format.
Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-7. When aptly named calculus teacher Professor Dunaway is found pinned to her chalkboard by a crossbow bolt, amateur sleuth P. C. Hawke and sidekick Mackenzie Riggs, already in a "freakazoid frame of mind," find themselves up against both a clever killer and an obtuse police lieutenant with zero sense of fashion. Zindel's plot won't hold water for a moment, but he piles on suspects and red herrings, sends Hawke and Mac from the Bronx to JFK Airport hunting clues, throws in an embezzlement scheme to further muddy the waters, and brings the investigation to a suspenseful climax with a wild, spooky chase through an unlit classroom building basement. P. C. narrates, but Mac has an equal and active role in this helter-skelter whodunit, aimed at Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew grads. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
All the clues add up,
By
This review is from: P.C. Hawke Mysteries: The Square Root of Murder - Book #5 (Paperback)
A very well-written mystery. I think this one was the best (along with the E-Mail murders) of the group, and each and every single one was a masterpiece. Too bad, Mr. Zindel died before he finished the series! Young or old alike will enjoy these stories!
5.0 out of 5 stars
My personal review of "The square Root of Murder.",
A Kid's Review
This review is from: P.C. Hawke Mysteries: The Square Root of Murder - Book #5 (Paperback)
I thought the book the book was great! I like the way PC and Mackenzie solved the murder. I also liked the way they got the clues and figured out who murdered Professor Dunaway. I like mysteries because they keep you wondering what will happen next and I like to try and solve the mystery myself.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It was a Saturday afternoon, the last fab and brill day of Indian summer. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
faculty tea Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Dunaway, Harry Zoole, Lieutenant Krakowski, Gabby Zoole, Lion's Den, Americom Fidelity, Jeremiah Jones, Bernadette Lello, Bernie Lello, Burton Lello, New York, Detective Cooper, Buenos Aires, Eva Marie Dunaway, West End Avenue New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It was a Saturday afternoon, the last fab and brill day of Indian summer. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
faculty tea Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Dunaway, Harry Zoole, Lieutenant Krakowski, Gabby Zoole, Lion's Den, Americom Fidelity, Jeremiah Jones, Bernadette Lello, Bernie Lello, Burton Lello, New York, Detective Cooper, Buenos Aires, Eva Marie Dunaway, West End Avenue New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
- The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel in Back Matter
- P.C. Hawke Mysteries: The Scream Museum - Book #1 by Paul Zindel in Back Matter
- The Surfing Corpse (P.C. Hawke Mysteries) by Paul Zindel in Back Matter
- P.C. Hawke Mysteries: The Lethal Gorilla - Book #4 by Paul Zindel in Back Matter
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