For today’s Friday Forgotten Books segment hosted by Patti Abbott, we are supposed to be covering books that we remember being great when we were eighteen to twenty-three. For me, this was the early eighties and at this point in my life, nothing book wise stands out from that time. I remember well going to school and working various on campus jobs, dating the woman who became my wife, but book wise I remember nothing. I am sure I read good stuff, but I have no idea now any specifics.
So, I thought I would approach this entry from an academic setting. What book, featuring college life and the college institution, was crime based and good? A couple came to mind and I finally settled on Carl Brookin’s “Bloody Halls.” Part of an outfit calling itself “The Minnesota Crime Wave” Carl has a number of series going in a variety of writing styles.
If you haven’t read him, pick up anything and it will be a good one. Below is the original review…
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As Director of the Office of Student Life at City College of Minneapolis located in a number of buildings scattered across downtown Minneapolis, Jack Marston knows dealing with older adult students is going to be different and a challenge. This isn’t the normal college experience just because it is a campus-less college. The student population demographic is of older students juggling busy lives and careers, family responsibilities, and other issues with a college schedule. Then too there have been serious problems in the recent past with the Office of Student Life and it is Jack Marston’s job to lead the office forward and through his staff provide strong support services.
Along the way he has found time to begin building a relationship with Lori, a young lady in another department. There are issues there as well and they are trying to keep things as quiet as possible. Not because they are doing anything wrong but because people will talk and gossip can kill your career in a heartbeat in the world of academia.
Jack Marston has also found the time to indulge in his desire to act on stage. The College will be presenting Ibsen’s play, “Enemy of the People” and as Ibsen is a personal favorite, Marston is hoping for some minor role after he auditions. Instead, the young bitter director from the University across town selects him for the major role as Dr. Stockman, the enemy of the people. Marston knows he is overmatched and he also knows he has absolutely no way of getting out of it.
The same is true when the President of the College, Arthur Trammel assigns him the role of police liaison after a student is found murdered and dumped in the lobby of the theater. While Jack Marston would have had some contact possibly with the media once the story gets out, President Arthur Trammel expects him to do far more. Tapped for being discreet and with a mandate to assist the police with their investigation any way possible so that they quickly close the case because there is a fund drive and other issues at stake, Marston has no choice and must accept his new role for however long it takes.
When not working on his role in the play, Marston plays his other role of investigator. He starts with the troubling fact that the entire record of the deceased student has vanished from the computer system. The dead student no longer exists in the system. If he can figure out who did it and why that might point him in the direction of who committed the murder as opposed to the Police who seem to going in other directions. As the days turn into weeks and another death rocks the campus, Marston is led down a trail of lies, office politics, perversion and murder, until a violent confrontation in a snowstorm just outside his office puts everything he has worked for at risk.
Featuring some cutting humor about the joys of working at intuitions of higher learning, this cozy style mystery steadily ratchets up the suspense factor. Jack Marston has more than a cynical humor working for him and readers who work in academia will find themselves often nodding in agreement.
Couple that with an engaging writing style that quickly pulls readers into a world populated with interesting real life characters, a constantly changing mystery full of expected and unexpected twists, and plenty of action as Jack Marston gets out and gets his hands dirty investigating, this read is a real treat to start off the year. As in his other books and short stories, Author Carl Brookins, a member of the “Minnesota Crime Wave,” shows a real talent for story telling.
Bloody Halls
By Carl Brookins
http://www.carlbrookins.com
Echelon Press
http://www.echelonpress.com
Large Trade Paperback
ISBN# 1-59080-570-4
260 Pages
ARC
Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2008, 2010
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