Monkey Puzzle

I took a break from my Birth Year Challenge reading to work on a book that's been sitting in my TBR pile from the library--Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling. This will take care of one of my Library Challenge books. Monkey Puzzle is an academic mystery--one of my favorite kinds. Set at Grantham University, Ohio, we have killer who seems to be following the three monkeys "See no evil, hear no evil speak no evil." Starting with the murder of the university's most unpopular professor--a professor who had a way of speaking evil to his various victims and reminding them of all the little "secrets" they'd rather keep hidden, the killer goes on to attempt a murder of the chair of the department (who should have heard no evil) and a night-time security man who saw evil, didn't report it, and tried a spot of blackmail. What exactly did these three speak, hear and see that was worth killing for?

Gosling does a wonderful job portraying the in and outs of departmental feuds--everything from the petty rivalries and verbal skewerings to the witty byplay of departmental meetings. The obsessive nature of the murderer is very believable--trust me, I've worked in an English Department for 10 years now. I have no problem believing the rationale of the killer. This was a very quick read and I enjoyed it very much. It's a shame that Gosling didn't make a habit of writing about academia--but I believe most of her novels are stand-alone or carry the protagonists to different settings. I would enjoy reading more academic mysteries by her hand...if there are any to be had.

Three stars out of five on Visual Bookshelf