“In case it slipped your mind, this show opens in just one week from now, and as you can see, those people up there literally stink.”

133. Megan – Mary Kay Simmons

A campus novel from 1971, which to me reads older but that might be because these girls were the ones in a sorority, Megan is a whodunnit centered literally around people going to clandestine meetings at the theater building while the set for some show is being struck. I have no idea what show, I missed that if it was stated because it was never stated again. Liz, though, this show belongs to Liz Walton. You see, someone doesn’t like Liz Walton and steals her gloves, her bookends, her golf club, makes phone calls in her name, and basically wants to make sure she looks like a total murderer. In the meantime, Liz starts dating a dean of the college and delaying conversations with the police to make it easier to frame her…

The first murder, though, which looks like a drowning, is Megan’s. Megan was not very popular and it seems quite melodramatic. She blamed Liz for a relationship that wasn’t even happening being destroyed, she blackmailed a fragile man into lying for her, and she also used to write Liz repeated notes that claimed she was going to commit suicide, but then wouldn’t. Liz got in trouble because of Megan and then managed to do the thing that stalking letters tell you to do, she stayed away when that was the condition of staying in school. And then Megan dragged her back in by getting murdered.

I’m not sure I would say it really seemed like Megan was committing any of the subsequent murders, even though the back of the book wants you to think that and it was a selling point for me wanting to read this. I’m always keen on vengeful ghosts.

Megan was not really a vengeful ghost. Spoiler.

 

Ozymandias is shocked – shocked – to find that Megan is not a vengeful ghost who steals bookends and takes them to the theater department.