Thursday, October 13, 2011

Physical Education-Maggie Barbieri

Physical Education


Maggie Barbieri

Minotaur, Nov 22 2011, $24.99

ISBN: 9780312593292



At the northern most tip of New York City is St. Thomas Catholic College. When the girl’s basketball coach dies, English Lit professor Alison Bergeron is drafted to take over at a time when the daughter of her husband Homicide Detective Bobby Crawford is a star player. She is leaving for the day when security guard John Dugan notices her trunk is not locked, which surprises the instructor. When they cannot shut it, they open it to find the bloody corpse of the new mail room employee Paul, who just delivered a package to Alison. Two colleagues of Crawford, Montoya and Moran lead the inquiry.



Crawford goes undercover, which bothers his wife who still has scars from her first cheating husband. He informs her that Paul was Vito Passella, a foot soldier in the Lucarelli mob. Alison begins a bit of uncovers sleuthing finding evidence which point to the former late coach of the Blue Jays being murdered instead of dying from a heart attack. Soon afterward an accusation of sexual misconduct shakes the school. Unable to remain on the bench, Alison’s moral code has her making inquires into what is going on at St. Thomas.



Physical Education, the latest Murder 101 amateur sleuth (see Third Degree, Final Exam and Quick Study), is an entertaining academic cozy. Crawford sums up the tale and series as he believes his wife has good instincts in terms of solving homicides, but poor instincts in terms of not being the next victim. With amusing asides from the protagonist, fans will enjoy stopping at St. Thomas Catholic College for its breathtaking view of the Hudson and academic homicides.



Harriet Klausner

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