The Boric Acid Murder: A Gloria Lamerino Mystery

Retired physicist Dr. Gloria Lamerino has just returned to Revere, Massachusetts, when she learns of the death of Yolanda Fiore, a publicist recently fired from her job at the nuclear research labs in Revere. Young John Galigani, Yolanda'a former boyfriend and son of Gloria's Best friend Rose, is the number one suspect in the murder. In this mystery, Gloria tries to find Yolanda's real murderer and clear her friend's son. Early in the story, a rather long list of potential suspects emerges, with motives ranging from revenge for a secret family feud, covering up some improprieties at the nuclear research facility, preventing the expansion of the town's library, to covering up a marital infidelity. The plot in this entry in Camille Minichino's Periodic Table mysteries is one of the best, with lots of clues offered to the reader. I really like the main characters in this series, the physicist Dr. Gloria and her boyfriend Matt Gennaro, a policeman on the Revere police force. Another enjoyable aspect of the story is how the author introduces the reader to scientific information about the element boron, which is a critical component in nuclear cooling systems. If you're looking for a fun, intelligent mystery with great characters, you won't be disappointed here!

This is the first time I have read this author and was impressed. The mystery revolves around a retired Chemist, who works on an as need basis for the police. The plot is good. The mystery keeps you guessing to until the very end. What I found refreshing is the detective is not some hot momma but a little overweight and so is her boyfriend, two people you would enjoy knowing. Over all and enjoyable read.

Reading this new "elemental" murder mystery by this talented and inventive physicist-author was again a treat. By now, reading how retired scientist Gloria Lamerino is coping with a blooming romance in middle-age, while immersed in crime investigations and targeted by murderous threats is like visiting with old friends. In her fifth mystery the author involved scientists and scientific uses of the title element (Boron) only incidentally, Alas! But she managed to come up with credible lethal mixtures of old history and passions enabled by the new (journalists and librarians searching the internet, nuclear power and nuclear waste, role models for coed highschools). The gentle mixture of the traditional (old friendships, family, love of food) and the novel (female scientist becoming a police technical consultant in her retirement) and the unexpected plot twists make this a wonderful read, with plenty of food for thought, for all ages.

When her fiancée died a few weeks before the wedding Gloria Lamerino packed her bags and moved to California where she taught physics at a major university for thirty years. Upon her retirement, she moved back to her home in Revere, Massachusetts when she meets homicide detective Matt Gennara. For the first time in three decades, she is in a serious relationship while also serving as a special science consultant to the police. Matt and Gloria are eating dinner at the home of her good friends Frank and Rose Galigani when the police suddenly show up to take the son John of their hosts in for questioning in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Angel Fiore. Even though circumstantial evidence points to John as the murderer, Gloria knows he didn't do it and sets out to prove it with a little help from Matt. Camille Minchino is a dynamite writer showing readers that life including sex remains strong after fifty. The heroine is gutsy and smart, as she is not afraid to find a killer among a plethora of suspects. The plot is intricately woven with enough red herrings purposely placed into the story line to keep readers from guessing who the real killer is. The BORIC ACID MURDER is a who-done-it that keeps the reader's attention so they won't miss out on the real clues hidden in the overall tale.Harriet Klausner