Book Review: The Northbury Papers

Reviewed By: Dawn Dowdle

The Northbury Papers     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Joanne Dobson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Professor Karen Pelletier # 2
Bantam; 1999; 352pp.

This is the 2nd in this series. I like this series but I wouldn't say it is my favorite. I enjoy that it is set on a college campus, but I think sometimes the story gets bogged down with too much literary detail. It is definitely a cozy.

Karen Pelletier is an untenured English professor at Enfield College. In this book she stumbles upon a ancestor of Serena Northbury and begins researching Ms. Northbury's life and writings. When the ancestor is murdered, she once again assists Lieutenant Piotrowski.

I like the characters in this book as well as the setting. I would like to see her interact a little more with Lieutenant Piotrowski (I think there could be a love interest) and less with Avery Mitchell (the college president). I like the fact that Prof. Pelletier had a rough life and yet was able to get it together with a lot of hard work.

I was pretty close to knowing exactly who did the murders and why fairly early in this story. Mostly that had to do with the fact that there weren't as many characters in this story.

I am planning to read The Raven and the Nightingale (the 3rd in this series) next and will let you know what I think.

Dawn Dowdle

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Dawn Dowdle

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