MURDER IS ACADEMIC (Maggie Ryan 1968)
An Anthony Award nominee
Vietnam, assassinations and riots. In the spring semester of 1968, a series of brutal attacks draws campus women together to study self-defense and the psychology of rape. Graduate student Mary Beth Nelson struggles to keep the Lords of Death at bay by immersing herself in researching Mayan languages.
Her new housemate, Maggie Ryan, has her own secrets. When murder strikes close to home, Maggie investigates with a little help from her friends.
ABOUT MURDER IS ACADEMIC, A 1986 ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE
“Murder Is Academic treats violation of truth in tandem with assault and rape—true violations of person, mind, and body—and presents a cogent case for the inviolability both of persons and truth. . . .
Maggie Ryan, statistician, proves that one can alter, but, in the final analysis, not suppress data, and that is the murder-mystery writer’s dictum. P.M. Carlson has spent time in academia, obviously, but has emerged with not only a healthy attitude toward female scholarship but also toward the necessary inviolability of truth.” — Susan L. Clark, The Armchair Detective
Excerpt:
An upstate New York university, January 1968: Mary Beth jogged back for her shower with a sense of well-being she’d thought might never return, her body worn and delighted from the good workout. During semester break the gym was almost deserted, eerily vacant. Shead her hand on the big gray door to the locker room stairs when she heard, faintly, the sound of a flute.
She paused, puzzled. Mozart? Here? And proficiently played. She crossed the hall and opened the door to the basketball court. The sound was coming from high in the bleachers, echoing a bit in the vast hall. Mary Beth untied the sweatshirt from her waist, pulled it on, and climbed up the bleachers. Here the acoustics were better. The woman flutist glanced up and then gazed into space as she continued the piece. Nice tone. A blue sweatband held back her black curls. The music wound up and down, sweet and controlled, to its foreordained and perfect conclusion.
Mary Beth watched her take the flute in one hand and lean forward a little to perch her elbows on the back of the seat in front of her. She returned Mary Beth’s look of good-natured appraisal.
“Hey,” blurted Mary Beth, “you’re really very good.”
“Thank you. Glad to meet a fellow spirit. Anima sana in corpore sano.”
Mary Beth pushed a strand of blonde hair from her eyes. “Not so much healthy as thirsty, right now.”
“In soul or in body?”
“Maybe both.” Jesus, what am I saying, thought Mary Beth, suddenly embarrassed.
“Me too.” The flutist stood up and added pragmatically, “Let’s go get a Coke. I’m Maggie Ryan.”
About The Author:
P.M. Carlson taught psychology and statistics at Cornell University before deciding that mystery writing was more fun. She has published twelve mystery novels and over a dozen short stories. Her novels have been nominated for an Edgar Award, a Macavity Award, and twice for Anthony Awards.
Two short stories were finalists for Agatha Awards. She edited the Mystery Writers Annual for Mystery Writers of America for several years, and served as President of Sisters In Crime.
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P.M. Carlson will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop during the tour. So be sure to follow the tour and comment on each stop-the more you comment the more chances you have to win. Head over to view the full list participating.
Thanks for hosting the Maggie Ryan Mysteries!
Sounds like a great book.
Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Thanks, Rita! Even though the plot requires these two women to deal with a rapist and murderer, it’s more about the how these two thirsty souls help each other on their journey toward. wholeness and balance. I thought this excerpt would hint to readers that the story is about friendship as well as murder.