Customer Reviews

Unholy Death In Princeton: Death Is Academic

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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The plot involves a woman -- a journalist -- who is doing research at Princeton Seminary on a book she's writing about an abolitionist who was killed by a lynch mob. In the first pages, while on a walk this woman discovers a body and (unbelievably), the Keystone Cops in charge of the jurisdiction decide she must be the killer because she found the body. She is still defending herself from those accusations when another killing takes place. Because she has little confidence in the police to discover the killer, she and an old friend she's staying with decide to play detective and figure out (through asking questions) who is the killer at the seminary. There are a number of characters associated with the seminary (faculty, staff, and students) on the list of suspects, and they all end up being invited over for lunch or dinner.

I realize that mysteries are a fictional genre and don't have to be TOO lifelike, but they do (I think) have to be credible at some level. As one who has been to a divinity school, I found the portrayal of Princeton Theological Seminary a bit hard to believe. Does the author really think that students from snake-handling backgrounds a) would attend seminary and b) be allowed to bring their rattlesnakes with them and keep them in seminary housing? (By the way, that's not a spoiler -- we learn this very early in the story). Then there's the book that this journalist is writing -- a biography of a 19th century figure that the journalist doesn't seem particularly qualified to write about -- one of those "huh?" details. Does she have a contract to write this book? How did she get the idea -- not to mention the time off work -- to write such a biography? And for someone who is supposed to be employed as a journalist, the "detective" character seems to have an open-ended vacation from work, with no clear date set for her to get back to her regular job.

And those are just the start of the credibility problems -- there are other details that make me think it would be extremely unlikely that such a thing could happen -- I can't say more without risking revealing too much. But suffice it to say that the world of academics in any field is quite cozy, and in a field studied at seminary, very cozy. There are some secrets that would be very difficult to pull off given how everyone knows everyone.

And I had a pretty good idea about half-way through the book who the killer was.

That having been said, I nevertheless enjoyed reading the book This is definitely a cozy mystery, with lots of scenes taking place over meals, where the menu is discussed (there's even a couple of recipes in the back.)

This was a disappointment compared to her first two mysteries. Unholy death is repetitious and monotonous to the point where I used it to fall asleep at night. Most of the characters are as three-dimensional as cardboard. One character is mocked by the author because she (the character) is reluctant to drink beer like everyone else - as if beer-drinking-for-the-sake-of-conformity on campus were not the serious problem that it is! On the positive side, however, the Theological Seminary setting is interesting. Some good ideas, not artistically developed. Hopefully, if she writes another one, it will be an improvement over this.

This is Ann Waldron's best McLeod Dulaney mystery yet. The characters are so lively and well-drawn they literally walk right off the page (and, in some cases, right into your heart). The setting--the Princeton Theological Seminary--is perfect (a perfect place for a murder, that is), and the plot is downright diabolical. Are you in the mood for some humorous, mysterious and sinfully well-written fun? Then do yourself a favor and read this delightful book.

This is such an amazingly complex yet very entertaining book; I'm amazed no one else has yet written a review! Maybe it's because all the hot buttons in today's religious environment are brought right out in front of everyone, and figuring out which one or ones you do or don't want make it too difficult to choose. Goodness knows, there are enough for everyone!

As in the two previous `Death is Academic' books, set at Princeton University, the area is as much a character as the people. This one is slightly different, however, as the setting is the famed Princeton Theological Seminary, rather than the University. Prizewinning journalist McLeod Dulaney is back in the north (from her home in Florida) investigating the life of an abolitionist newspaperman who died in 1837.

In the process, she runs into bigger-than-life examples of all the `interesting situations' facing modern churches. Gays in the ministry. Women in the ministry! Inclusive language. Snake handlers. Conservative fundamentalists who believe absolutely 100% in the Bible, with no possible allowance for unknown books or foibles of the various translators throughout history.

There's also an biblical archeologist who may or may not be dealing in artifacts while working on the Dead Sea Scrolls, endowments that may not be all they're supposed to be, and of course - a dead body. Actually, two of them, but McLeod only stumbles-literally-over the first of them. In a variation on the town-and-gown theme, there are Township and Borough police forces, who usually do not work together willingly, or peaceably.

The Dean takes exception to McLeod's constant questions and wants her to leave town, but the Township detective has ordered her to stay put. So she moves in with a couple she's known for many years, and resumes her detecting. The characters are all wonderfully well drawn, including all the animals, especially Beelzebub and Gabriel, and the story-line hangs together extremely well, considering all the diverse threads employed in it. In all, I found this to be a very enjoyable and informative book. There are even a couple of recipes included.

McLeod Dulaney is a Florida journalist who has twice spent a semester teaching writing at Princeton University. This time, she's come north merely to do research: on abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy, and using the resources of the library at Princeton Theological Seminary. But of course, every time she's in New Jersey, she gets involved in a murder investigation. Inquisitive by nature, McLeod makes every attempt to solve the murder (or murders). She gets close to the truth but often comes to a slightly incorrect conclusion.

You'd think such a prestigious seminary like the one at Princeton would above petty academic politics and quite above violent acts. But McLeod learns that's far from the case. This third installment in the series opens with her discovery of a dead body that turns out to be a seminary student -- one whose recent inflamatory sermon seemed directed at revealing a number of secrets among his colleagues and faculty members. Not long afterward, one of those faculty members is found dead in his office. McLeod finds herself in the stickiest of situations. The Princeton township police consider her a suspect in the student's murder. Nick Perry, her police contact in the Princeton Borough, cannot help her because the site doesn't fall within his jurisdiction. Her academic friend (and more?), George Bridges, has left the Ivy League school and is working for the moment in Europe. After McLeod is ordered by the dean of the seminary to leave the campus, she turns to her old friends from Atlanta, Angus and Fiona McKay, for housing and for assistance. Fiona is eager to play George to McLeod's Nancy Drew. And even though she's been warned by every potential suspect and by Nick Perry (who gets involved after the second murder) to drop her lines of questioning, McLeod is a born interviewer and cannot help herself. But can she put two and two together before the killer (or one of them, at least) decides to eliminate her from the equation?

The episodes in this series are like bags of potato chips: you can't stop at just one. Though the general writing style and the unraveling of each mystery won't set the world on fire, the books are entertaining enough -- especially for folks who are connected to Princeton or to any academic atmosphere where similar circumstances could certainly arise