Murder At The B-School
Jeffrey Cruikshank
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2004 Mysterious Press
ISBN: 0892967935

Murder & conspiracy in the halls of Harvard University.

When the Dean of the department summons him to a hastily called meeting, young assistant professor Wim Vermeer fears that his career is on the line.

Instead of terminating his contract, Dean Bishop hands him a sensitive assignment: assist the MacInnes family & work closely with the Boston police in solving the mystery of the death, in a Jacuzzi, of the school's golden boy & the second son of a super-wealthy dynasty. While his death appears to be an accident, his family is demanding answers about the safety & lack of campus supervision -- & so do the police.

& Dean Bishop, of course, expects Vermeer to keep an eye on the school's interests.

It isn't long before our hero realizes he's the fall guy for a devious coverup. Not only is the university scrabbling to hide a heinous financial scheme, there's a member of the faculty who's been keeping some career-ending secrets.

Embroiled in the middle of this conspiracy & deception, Wim Vermeer joins Boston PD Capt. Barbara Brouillard, & together they discover a way to find the truth about the young man's death, & build along the way quite an interesting relationship.

Ok, so who's really interested in murder most foul among the high-octane, high-falutin, high-brow, super rich & the super-brainy? Well, actually, I was. For a debut novel, Murder At The B-School could have done with some tweaking -- the protagonists are in need of more, to have gotten me engaged, because they tend to talk in lectures, however, Jeffrey Cruikshank does have a way with words, a fine sense of humor, an aptitude for suspense, & has the makings of a solid mystery author.
(09/26/04)

Rebecca