“Blunt Instrument, the first in a new mystery series by Bloom, startled me in the best possible way. Its wry tone is in keeping with her prior literary work, and Bloom engages with the full spectrum of genre expectations. . . . Bloom takes clear pleasure in exploring Dell’s complicated feelings about academia, how it’s tied to her relationship with her father, and how reckoning with this past while investigating a grisly killing is bound to throw serious emotional curveballs. This is rich terrain, and I’m eager for Bloom to delve deeper in future installments.”
Description
A failed professor solves a murder on campus in this new whodunit from bestselling author Amy Bloom.
The case of the bludgeoned lecturer has all of Cromwell University reeling, even though the elderly Professor Bullfinch wasn’t particularly well-liked. His ornery nature and Old World approach to campus politics ruffled more than a few feathers over the years, and present tensions within his department mean there are more suspects than mourners in the wake of his death. And the murder weapon—a bronze bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne—does seem to indicate that the attack may have been academically motivated…
Enter Dell Chandler, the failed English professor turned self-taught private detective whom Dr. Cutty calls in to investigate the crime. She has the background to tease out the motives among the staff and just enough experience to conduct a thorough inquiry. If she solves the case before the cops do, the university could keep the whole thing quiet, avoiding sensational media about the dark side of campus life. But to do so, she’ll have to dodge her own demons from her past life as a disgraced academic.
Written with the same depth of character and insight that readers have come to expect from author Amy Bloom’s novels and memoirs, Blunt Instrument is an engaging and entertaining mystery with a clever, complex protagonist at its core.
Reviews
“Witty . . . Bloom draws on her own experience with the dog-eat-dog world of academia to depict the brusque, irascible Dell’s winding journey toward the truth. . . . It’s a blast. A sequel would be welcome.”
“Dell is an appealing investigator . . . Fans of mysteries in academic settings will enjoy.”
“As Dell wends her way through this backbiting den of academic iniquity, she ends up with more suspects than you can shake a bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne at, and some hot extracurricular activities as well. We look forward to her further adventures in what promises to be a detective series of rare wit and intelligence.”
