Death of a Writer Book

This is an odd book. I feel that in terms of broad appeal, there would be too much musing on academia for the average murder mystery fan, and for those looking for insight into writing or academia, it's too much of an 'airplane reading' novel. Which is not to say the author didn't succeed in writing well enough of both things, it's just an odd pairing. Perhaps this is beach reading for professors?

While the book dips into the work of academia, it doesn't offer any real insight. The characters are well, if broadly drawn. (Of course there's a hot grad student that every man in the tale wants, right?) I think perhaps the hardboiled detective is a bit heavy handed given the rest of the novel is not written in a particularly pulp or noir style, but given the final events in the story, this characterization seems necessary to have it be believable.

While it's not generally my preferred genre, this is a satisfyingly twisty whodunnit, written, for once, by someone who can write well and paint a vivid scene. I knew who the guilty party was about half way through, but that may be more a function of having consumed so many stories with twists that I can recognize the markers being laid out over the course of the story. The set up is done well without tipping the author's hand too much.

The best, and I think most accurate description I can think of for this novel is - Very well written novelized Law and Order episode. Which is not a condemnation. Law and Order has been on for 100 years with good reason. It's an appealing format, and has fun, believable twists and turns. So if that sounds fun to you, you'll probably enjoy this.