Final Examby Maggie Barbieri
Rating: ★★★½
isbn: 0312376774
Series: Murder 101 #4
Publication Date: December 8, 2009
Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Well, this book was better than the last one, Quick Study, but it wasn’t as good as the first two books. Allison, our now-fearless MC, is back to being thrust into situations beyond her control, albeit with some serious authorial license – in the first book Allison was tenured. Now, she’s not, which I guess gives the administration the power needed to force her into being a Resident Admin at one of the dorms when the current RA goes missing. Allison is determined to find out where the missing RA is, so she can move back home and off the dry, catholic campus.
When Allison moves into her room, her toilet explodes, revealing a brick of pure heroin. This only spurs her on, of course.
What results is a bit convoluted, and the story is further muddied by a side plot involving her best friend’s marriage which didn’t quite work. Ultimately, the plot, distilled down to its essence, is a good one involving unwitting college students, drug runs and what a less-than-ethical parent will do in the name of ‘what’s best’ for their child. No dead bodies in this one, just a lot of chases and head wounds. But in my opinion, it could have been better with, perhaps, a different editor. This author writes good crime mysteries, and efforts at high-jinks just fall flat.