Speaking of Murder

What a great start to a mystery series! As you should never shop when hungry, neither should you read an Edith Maxwell book - food always sounds sooo good! Lauren Rousseau is a professor at a small New England college; Jamal is her best student and slightly older than most of them. When Lauren wakes up next to him she is shocked at her own behaviour, but when she leaves college a few nights later and finds his dead body on campus, she is even more shocked. Could it be anything to do with his fall-out with her boss, or is there some other reason? With no real leads for the police to go on, Lauren can't leave it alone and determines to find his killer. Wow, this is one busy book! It's never a straightforward matter of solving one death with this author - she has a wonderful imagination. I really like Lauren, and look forward to more from this series. With her romantic life hanging in the balance, her friend, sister, other family members and her penchant to follow her nose - despite her heart, and mine, thumping in her chest, this is an exciting read! Lauren is much braver than me - creeping around investigating others is most definitely not my forte. Another feature of this author's work is always the fabulous food especially from different cultures and my mouth watered throughout. My only criticism is a personal annoyance: as a Scot, I have no issue with American and Irish spirits being described as whiskEy, but Glenfiddich is most definitely Scottish and therefore WHISKY. A well-planned and beautifully written tale, as always, and one I recommend to all lovers of a good mystery with several strands to follow. I'm happy to give this 4.5* and await the next one!

Speaking of Murder by Edith Maxwell was originally published in 2012 using the pseudonym Tace Baker. Lauren Rousseau is a linguistics professor at Agawam College. She lives in a condo with her dog, Wulu, a cockapoo. Lauren has recently obtained tenure along with her colleague and friend, Ralph Fourakis. She has been dating Zac Agnant, a Haitian American videographer. Lauren is Jamal Carter’s faculty advisor for his thesis which has her approval, but it has it a roadblock with department chair, Alexa Kingston. Lauren finds Jamal dead on campus one evening. She does not know why anyone would kill her top student, so Lauren sets out to learn more about Jamal. The mystery was multifaceted. There is the death of Jamal, the fire at the boat shop, a missing friend, break in at Lauren’s condo, and Lauren’s dog is taken. I liked all the action which kept the story moving forward. The whodunit was interesting with a variety of suspects and misdirection to throw off readers. While I liked that aspect of Speaking of Murder, I was not a fan of Lauren Rousseau. The book begins with her sleeping with her star pupil. Lauren did not find this wrong nor the aspect that she was cheating on her boyfriend, Zac. There was too much focus on Lauren’s love life. I was baffled as to why Zac stayed with Lauren. She is unable to make a commitment, rude to the man, judgmental, and cheats on him. Lauren did not hesitate, though, to call him when she did not want to be alone (or when she wanted to do the horizontal hula). I did not understand Lauren’s dogged persistence in searching for a friend who did not want to be found especially if your life is in danger. I wish the main character had been Officer Natalia Flores (I liked her). In addition to frequent mentions of jiggy jiggy, the book contains foul language. I was disappointed that I was left with unanswered questions at the end. I wish there had been a better wrap up of the various storylines. There were also inconsistencies. Lauren’s life is in danger, so she makes sure to lock doors and windows. She even tells Officer Flores when she is going off to visit her aunt. But then she goes off jogging alone at night or walking across campus on her own in the dark. While I enjoy Edith Maxwell’s other cozy mysteries, Speaking of Murder was a miss for me. Speaking of Murder has an intriguing mystery with an unaccounted for chum, a slain student, a poached pooch, a blazing boat shop, a dubious department head, and a persistent professor.