The Princeton Murders

Who says the Ivy-encased halls of académe have to be stodgy and dull and boring? Not Ann Waldron, that's for sure! This first of a series is entirely entrancing, especially to one who is in any way involved with a university. McLeod Dulaney has surprised herself and her paper -- the Tallahassee `Star of Florida' -- by winning a Pulitzer Prize. She's even further surprised to be invited to Princeton University to lead a course on "Literature of Fact" to a small, select group of students. And off she goes, with the blessing of her editor. Once settled in, McLeod discovers her students to be excellent writers, and they're curious about nearly everything, an important ingredient if one wants to be a reporter. They form a tight band, protective of each other, and McLeod. Quickly assimilated into faculty life, among mostly witty, charming, literate folks, the first tragedy occurs shortly after a party, when a professor falls ill, and despite excellent and prompt medical care, dies within a short time. And if that's not enough, within a month, another succumbs to the same illness. McLeod's students think it might be murder, and after two could-be accidents, or maybe not, McLeod begins to feel the same way. And when she recalls an article she read in a medical magazine, she's sure of it! There are red herrings here and there, but solid clues as well. The ending came as a surprise, but followed a logical path. I hope McLeod has a good many more such adventures.

This book is a joy. Ann Waldron's hero/detective, McLeod Dulaney, is a captivating invention - bright, witty, erudite, hep. The mystery itself takes us through a maze of academic politics and infighting, in its way as riveting, petty, mean as anything one might find in the corporate world. Delicous all of it. A mystery lover's delight. Added to this Ms Waldron's book contains wonderful descriptons of Princeton -both town and university - lore and mileu. Were I the Dean of Students, I would assign this book as required reading for all incoming freshmen. And were I the Dean of Faculty, I would do the same for all incoming faculty. As an academic Baedeker, it can't be beat. To top it off, the descriptions of meals and food are mouthwatering. Some recipes are included. I for one will be getting out my bundt pan.I loved this book. Don't miss it. Buy it, read it, tell your friends! I just hope Ms Waldron will hurry up and give us her next volume.

A setting that matches any English novel, a steel magnolia as the sleuth, an engaging class of student detectives, an interesting interplay between deep south and Yankee culture, and enough murders cleverly executed to arouse concern for the future of the Princeton factulty. What more could one ask for an evening by the fire or a week-end at the beach? When McLeod Dulaney arrives as a visiting lecturer at Princeton to teach a class on "Literature of Fact," a fancy name for journalism, she wonders how she'll challenge twelve gifted students. As it turns out, murder challenges both teacher and students in a dangerous sleuthing assignment.

THE PRINCETON MURDERS, by Ann Waldron, is a smart, classy, and thoroughly enjoyable mystery! Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, McLeod Dulaney, is invited to teach a nonfiction writing class at Princeton University, and she's thrilled to accept the job. The thought of walking down the same sidewalks?and through the same hallowed halls?as F. Scott Fitzgerald did back in 1914, not to mention teaching a course at a university known the world over for its academic excellence, fills McLeod with pride.After she actually begins teaching at Princeton, however, and two of her fellow professors die suddenly from the same mysterious?and seemingly (to McLeod) unnatural?causes, McLeod's pride is set aside and her journalistic curiosity takes over. Sharing McLeod's suspicion that the two deaths may be the result of foul play, several of the students in her writing class organize a special investigative project, and?along with McLeod, and under her expert tutelage?begin interviewing the family members, friends and colleagues of the two dead professors.And that's when the academic fur hits the fan. The administration flies into an uproar, the faculty members start having fits, the campus police go crazy, another teacher is murdered, and McLeod and her students are forced to face?and deal with?the fact that their own lives are in extreme danger.And through it all, the reader of Ann Waldron's THE PRINCETON MURDERS is kept wonderfully entertained by a cast of fascinating, well-educated characters, a beautifully constructed plot, a charming string of informative asides, and a highly skilled author who knows the people and places of Princeton as well as she knows her own craft.Share this book with your friends. Better yet, buy them their own copies!