Mysteries: … Into the Grey
Saturday, September 24, 2016 10:30 pm
By JAY STRAFFORD Special correspondent
Advice to the angry: No matter how upset or frustrated, never say “I could kill (insert name here).” If that person turns up dead, you’ll top the list of suspects.
That’s what happens to Dulcinea “Dulcie” Schwartz in “Into the Grey” (224 pages, Severn House, $28.99), the 10th entry in Clea Simon’s series featuring the Harvard doctoral student.
Dulcie, who’s near to completing her dissertation, is chagrined to learn that her adviser has added Professor Roland Fenderby, a known lecher who dismisses Dulcie’s work as the efforts of a dilettante, to her thesis-review team. And when his head is bashed in with a 10-pound tome, Dulcie finds herself more than a footnote in the investigation. So does her distant cousin, Mina Love, who has accused Fenderby of sexual harassment.
A mystery with multiple potential killers — and a few messages from Dulcie’s late cat, Mr. Grey — Simon’s latest adds to her engaging body of work and will find admirers among academics, ailurophiles and anyone who enjoys an unusual series.