Customer Reviews

Quieter than Sleep

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The clost door flew open and Randy Astin-Berger found me for the last time, falling forward into my arms in a first, and final, embrace."

This first novel by Joanne Dobson, an associate professor of English at Fordham University is anything but a sleeper! This mystery is set in the posh, political world of a small, elite Eastern college where fools sometimes rule and enemies are made for seemingly obscure reasons.

Karen Pelletier, our heroine, is a suspect in the murder of Astin-Berger, but so are Avery Mitchell, the college president, single and very appealing; Ned Hilton, the professor who, as a result of the deceased's influence, did not receive tenure; plus any number of the students who were victims of Astin-Berger's charms and misuse of power.

Enter Police Lieutenant Piotrowski, overweight and overwhelming, a real contrast to the proper Professor Pelletier. He seeks her help in solving the puzzle and pays her a much needed per diem to research the Dickenson papers that seem to play a part in the crime. Karen finds the answer in her research and almost loses her own life, but for the now-slimming, more gentle lieutenant.

This reader hopes more novels featuring the college setting, and including the appealing college president and, of course, Lt. Piotrowski already are being written by Dobson.

Readers who appreciate an intricate mystery plot will enjoy Dobson immensely. This book has it all--a tightly-woven, haiku of a mystery; interesting, well-developed characters who act in synchronization with their motives (and whose motives stem from their personalities); and an intimate and realistic exploration of the specialized world of academia.

It's a shame how few mystery writers manage to hit all three targets, but Dobson shows herself to be a master (that she keeps this up through the next two books is nothing short of amazing). Dobson's specialty (in my opinion) is the integration of subplots and side stories with the main mystery. Everything happens for a reason, and the reason always has to do with the mystery (not just to throw the reader off-track).

I'm looking forward to the fourth book in the series this winter.

This was a new author for me, but caught my eye with its topic on academia. Since I am stuck in that world (kidding) myself, and know of the foibles of this world with the grant writing, the little secrets, the gossiping from which luckily I am exempt since I am deaf (but I "hear" third or fourth hand, literally by hand), I got a big kick out of the characters Ms. Dobson has written about. This is a deeply intelligent mystery without the need to be offensive as I find some writers are. I kept hoping and keep hoping that none of this about Emily Dickinson is true, since I love her poetry. But this was a truly satisfying mystery in plot, in characterization, and in explaining the whys and wherefores of a world many don't know about. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

I can't help but be amazed by the flood of ecstatic reviews greeting this book. The title and basic concept led me to expect great things, but--as both a mystery fan and an English lit professor--I found it disappointing and dull. The bizarre, quirky world of academia is certainly an excellent background for a mystery, but it doesn't receive its due here. The heroine is fiercely uninteresting; even her character quirks are dull (why, for example, constantly focus our attention on her preference for black coffee?). If you're looking for a good mystery that really mines the fascination and strangeness of English literary research, read Robert Barnard's _Case of the Missing Bronte_ or Jane Langton's _Emily Dickinson is Dead_. For a truly great read about literary research and the folk who are obsessed with same, you can't do better than A. S. Byatt's _Possession_. _Quieter Than Sleep_ is a waste of a good concept.

I don't normally write reviews for works of fiction, but this book deserves to be praised. The first thing that stands out about "Quieter Than Sleep" is the use of language.

Most mysteries and detective novels count on fast dialog to move the story along and to give the reader a sense of the characters. These books normally use short paragraphs and shorter sentences. They aren't always successful, either.

Dobson, instead, writes longer passages using the most wonderfully descriptive words. She sets scenes beautifully and allows her characters carry on internal dialogs with well-chosen words.

Don't think this bogs down the story or the momentum. It doesn't. The plot moves along at a good pace.

I felt that her characters were extremely well-defined ... more so than in most mysteries. There's a real sense of who these people are and an understanding of why they act as they do. Their motives are clear.

The clues are there. A few red herrings lead you astray. Sub-plots keep your interest. Marry that with an academic setting, faculty in-fighting, New England staidness, and Emily Dickinson and you end up with a most excellent book.

It was quite a surprise to find out that this was a first novel for this author, it's that well done. I'm working my way through her other books. Dobson is well worth reading.

Joanne Dobson's Quieter Than Sleep is just the wonderful beginning of an outstanding series starring Professor Karen Pelletier. Dobson has created a main character who is real, flawed, terrifically intelligent and witty, and tenacious to a fault. These books are not typical "cozies" but raise the bar. I love a lot of cozies, but Dobson's writing doesn't miss a beat. The language flows beautifully, the characters are well defined (no confusing one character with another in these books), and the story keeps me reading at all hours of the night. Dobson's are among the very few books I really CAN'T put down. So, start here, then please go on to read the rest of the series.

Rarely do new mystery series begin with a heroine as interesting and as well portrayed as Professor Karen Pelletier is in Quieter than Sleep. Not surprisingly, the book was nominated for an Agatha award.

Doctor Pelletier found herself pregnant as a teen in high school, and dropped out of her plans to go to Smith to marry her truck driver lover. After a difficult pregnancy and marital abuse, she puts her life together to raise her daughter as a single Mom while pursuing her academic career. Finally finding love with a cop in New York, she abandons him to follow her desire for a career to settle at tony, elite Enfield College in New England. Arriving at Enfield, she's the new kid on the English department block sharing responsibilities for 19th century American literature with an aggressive, pompous womanizer who wants to discuss more than literature with her. She finds herself attracted to all the wrong men, and attracts attention from men she would rather avoid. Ah well, back to those term papers! She's so self absorbed that she doesn't quite notice her effect on others or what is going on around her. Told from that obtuse perspective, the surrounding developments take on an opaque characteristic that makes the story more enjoyable.

As to genre, Quieter than Sleep reminded me most of Jane Langton's mysteries. But Quieter than Sleep has more action and less intellectual content than the Langton works do. I actually would have enjoyed reading more about Emily Dickinson than the book provides. Like Ms. Langton's books, there's not much mystery in Quieter than Sleep. Between the subtitle of the book and events that occurred in the first few pages, the motive and identity of the guilty party were soon evident to me.

Quieter than Sleep is quite good on academic politics, and made them seem as interesting as possible.

I was pleased to learn two new words from this book, something I cannot ever remember happening with a mystery novel before. The story is enlivened with some fine writing. The book begins with "I might as well admit it: I'm sick of desire. Of love, sex, and desire, and all their cumbersome baggage." Delightful quotes from Emily Dickinson also make their way into our heroine's thoughts. Each fine phrase makes the book stand out.

The book sets up quickly. Our heroine is being bored to death by Randy Astin-Berger, the English professor you'll love to hate, at the faculty Christmas party. His topic? Sex and literature. Within a few pages, Astin-Berger is dead meat and the lives of many at Enfield will never be the same. From there, Karen Pelletier finds herself drawn into helping resolve the mystery while assisting those who have been harmed by the events. Along the way, you'll learn some interesting perspectives on Emily Dickinson.

If I liked the book so much, why didn't I grade it as a five star effort? Basically, the plot development didn't work for me in many ways. First, the mystery should have been more mysterious for my taste. I like to have to wait until at least the second half of the book before knowing what is going on. Second, the book wastes too much time on red herrings that didn't really tempt me. Third, the police investigation seems over laden. I cannot imagine that the resources put into this case would have really been employed. Fourth, the tone is very detached. The book needed to grip the reader in the emotion of the events. It didn't. So I felt like I was reading a clever book about a murder mystery, rather than experiencing a murder mystery.

As I finished the book, I wondered about how many times academic curiosities are being explored more for the ego of the experience than for finding the truth of the circumstances. I was reminded to avoid projecting my own needs onto the facts around me.

Well-developed characters and setting, and an intriguing mystery, rounded out with entertaining literary references, make this a welcome addition to the murder mystery genre.

Quieter Than Sleep - English professor Karen Pelletier has an unpleasant surprise when she opens a closet at a Christmas party and out falls the corpse of arrogant colleague Randy Astin-Berger. The usual gossip is given a twist, as speculation grows. Meanwhile, Karen is busy with a suicidal student, whose father menaces both of them. On the case is self-described "big cop" Piotrowski, who may want to have more than just a professional relationship with Karen. A second love interest comes in the form of the college president, the patrician Avery Mitchell. It all adds up to a suspenseful novel in the series.

The heroine has a Ph.D. in English. The setting is Enfield College, fictitious, near Lowell, Massachusetts. Karen Pelletier is an authority on Emily Dickinson. Avery Mitchell is Enfield's president. Randy Astin-Berger suffers a non accidental death.

There had been a faculty party. Randy had been critical of others and had prevented at least one person from getting tenure. Detective Piotrowski is one of the officers conducting the investigation. In time he hires Karen as a researcher to clarify literary matters for the police. Avery said that all Randy had ever wanted from others was a mirror reflecting his own ideas. He, Randy, had told Karen that the department was filled with retrograde intellects and that he could further her career.

Official suspicion is aroused when events, a missing person and an attempted suicide, appear in a cluster. Randy had been reading the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher. Later Randy's office is found ransacked. Karen follows in his footsteps to stumble upon the scholarly piece of information triggering the unfortunate happenings at Enfield. The book is a good one. It is well-plotted and has rounded characters.