"Compelling and nuanced academic mystery with a superb cast of characters. A brilliant debut." Ali Bacon Author of In the Blink of an Eye and The Absent Heart When a glamorous music professor is found dead in the carillon tower of Osley College, a small liberal arts college in the Driftless Region of western Wisconsin, Maude Ascham, the new chief of campus police, has her hands full. Her investigation leads to porn-watching students, an angry boyfriend, a betrayed lover, and feuding colleagues. Students, faculty, and staff: all are implicated. When the Dean of Libraries commits a gruesome suicide three weeks later, the investigation becomes more than a matter of murder.
Who is blackmailing James North, the bereaved, ex-hobo English professor and celebrated poet? Why would someone destroy the 175-year-old bonsai of the cantankerous college gardener? Was last December's drowning of a senior music student really an accident? And what of Ariel Ellis, the eccentric, blue-haired barista, who is clearly hiding something behind their theatrical banter; and Esha Larkin, the maps librarian seen weeping on the old library's roof at dawn? Each appears to hold a vital piece of a dangerous puzzle. There is a killer on campus . . . can they be stopped?
Resolute Death offers an intense, immersive tale with masterful plotting. An essential read for those who love an intricately woven mystery that highlights loss, memory, retribution, and found family.