First published 2001
Professor Peter Shandy gives in to pressure from Jemima Ames, the persistent chairperson organizing Balaclava Agricultural College's biggest fundraising event. She wants him to participate in the Grand Illumination, so he covers his modest brick home with gaudy plastic decorations. The spectacle becomes too much for him, and he flees on a cruise to escape the chaos. When Shandy returns from his ocean getaway, he discovers Jemima's corpse sprawled across his living room floor. Now he faces more than holiday decorations gone wrong. Someone has committed murder in his own home, and Shandy must figure out who killed the woman who dragged him into the fundraising mess. The professor finds himself investigating a crime that hits uncomfortably close to home, both literally and figuratively.
Genres: mystery, thriller, cozy-mystery, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Balaclava Agricultural College
228 pages · Paperback · DuMont