The Mark Twain Murders

Beth Austin #1

by Edith Skom

Skulduggery was afoot in the campus library at Midwestern University. Sinister students were razoring pages from periodicals and stealing obscure essays for their term papers. A bookish thief was making a bundle smuggling out valuable first editions for resale. And in the South Tower, a killer was stalking a coed.

Even so, Professor Beth Austin was shocked--and intrigued--to find a handsome FBI agent in the English Department. Soon they had joined forces, delving into the lives of her eccentric colleagues...and straying into the dark shadows of the groves of academe where someone's hands were stained with blood.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Edith Skom is the acclaimed author of The Mark Twain Murders and The George Eliot Murders and has been nominated for the Agatha, the Macavity, and the Anthony awards. She lives outside Chicago, where she is a lecturer at Northwestern University.

Reviews

[David Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

very cute - saw the cover while shelving today, and with finals over I have time to kill. I don't read mysteries often, or at least, not properly - I don't ever try to puzzle it out. lazy, very lazy of me. the cutest thing is the publishing date - when they get embarrassed by mentioning Watergate, I flipped to the sticker and saw 1990! I had been sucked into believing it was right on the curve....wish fulfillment for an English freshman like me, though I hope critiques for me are more open and honest lol. Beth is a fine sharp character, and while I understand the summer setting for its leisure, if there are more books I hope they are set in the actual school year - I want to see her teach, and I want to read more essays. the romance was rather charming in how chaste it was...cuteness.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the academic structure and library technology, this book seems to be set in the late 1970s when security systems had just been added to academic libraries and faculty still worried about research on state campuses. Prof. Beth Austin is obsessed with plagiarism and must skim books in search of a source in this early computerized world. I just Google phrases and use Turnitin myself. Bodies do start showing up though.

[Kat Walter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretentious and ridiculous.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting cast of characters. I enjoyed the academic/library setting.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always seem to enjoy mysteries set at a university, especially because I recognize people who I work with in some of the characters! So, I was looking forward to this book and I was not disappointed, although it really wasn't all that realistic (let's face it, why would the FBI go to the English Department and not work with the Library or the university police?)

But still, this is a fun, light reading about the incidence of missing or vandalized books that turn into a murder of a coed. I know a couple of professors, who like Beth Austin, are witty, perceptive and curious as all get out and could easily see her working with the handsome FBI agent to track down the evildoer.

[Kestrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Veeeeeerrry similar to the Joanne Dobson series featuring a female literature professor (right down to the law enforcement boyfriend) and, as in the case of the Dobson series, not as satisfying as the Amanda Cross series, both because the female prof spends more time thinking about men than about literature, and because the literary parts are not quite as, well, literary.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

A enjoyable mystery, although it seemed to jump quite a bit. I found myself going back a page several times to see what I missed, only to find I hadn't missed anything. I am sure there were many literary references that passed me by.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me longer than I thought it would. I never seem to connect with the story.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

An intellectual murder mystery set on an Midwestern campus. This was not nearly as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

good - like the professor character - will look for others

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the heroine was a professor her lack of good sense detracted from the story.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stolen books, plagiarism, murder, and the usual rancor of academia. This is a pretty good series debut.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is actually a good read, except the material is dated - computers, other technology.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked this book a lot! Granted, the protagonist is a teacher who violently hates plagiarists, so that made me happy. I may be biased.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slow plot with far too many literary referances for me.