Synopsis
English professor Alison Bergeron may not have a degree in sleuthing. But that won’t stop her from making the grade in her latest crime-solving adventure…
St. Thomas, the small college north of New York City where Professor Alison Bergeron teaches, has had its share of scandals—on and off campus; among both students and staff; and, lo and behold, with Alison herself. So when one of St. Thomas’s resident directors goes mysteriously, scandalously missing, the administration wants to keep a lid on it. With only five weeks left in the semester and no time to interview replacements, Alison is tapped for the job.
“MYSTERY, ROMANCE, AND HUMOR BLEND SEAMLESSLY…REMINISCENT OF [JANET EVANOVICH’S] PLUM SERIES, THIS IS NOT TO BE MISSED.”—romantic Times BOOKreviews
An alumna of the college, Alison knows all about living in the dorms. Even a short stay is like doing hard time. Her only way out: To take it upon herself to track down the RD and get back to the business of being a real adult—and have real sleepovers with her adult boyfriend, NYPD Detective Bobby Crawford. But, as she and Bobby are about to discover, the plot of this case is more complicated than, say, a Shakespeare play…and when it comes to solving crimes on campus, there’s only pass or fail.
“Barbieri aces this exam.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
Publishers Weekly
Going back to dorm life isn't much fun for Alison Bergeron in Barbieri's uneven fourth puzzler to feature the reluctant crime magnet (after 2008's Quick Study). Alison, an English professor at St. Thomas University in the Bronx, becomes the temporary resident director of Siena dorm after Wayne Brookwell, its popular RD, fails to return from spring break. Det. Bobby Crawford of the NYPD, Alison's faithful boyfriend, helps her move into her new digs, Wayne's small, less than spotless “suite.” When the toilet overflows after Alison flushes it, Crawford cleans up the mess—and discovers a brick of heroin hidden under the bathroom floor. Adding spice is a love triangle involving Wayne and Amanda Reese, a Siena RA who's engaged to a Princeton student. Less entertaining is a subplot about Alison's bitchy best friend, whose estrangement from her detective husband has gone into overkill. (Dec.)