Monday 8 February 2016

A 'Whodunnit' with a great ending!

#Monday Moments with 3rd Degree Murder...by Olga Swan


This was an entertaining story with well rounded characters- some of whom are very colourful. there are a few that I wanted to stamp on their feet or give them a smack in the face, and I'm a pacifist!

Here are my thoughts on this interesting 'who dunnit'.


Behind the scenes at the university in 3rd Degree Murder, the goings on make me glad to have been on the student side. There were lots of references to the admin processes which were poignantly reminiscent to me, however, what makes the book a good read is how the ramifications of good and bad decision making in the upper echelons affects both students and administrators. Revenge, post decision making, is sometimes also moulded by religious traditions in the book, the characters coming from a range of religious backgrounds.
It’s clever to have chosen the experienced student situation that Maliha is in which gives her more freedom of movement compared to a first year who would typically be in the larger class situation. I also like how another of the main characters, Jenny, is in a more basic admin job because it gives the author the opportunity to demonstrate how not all of the lecturers are capable of doing the whole job properly—and can even be a charlatan. The home life of the main characters is well done as it gives the person a background which has created who they are in themselves and how they interact with others. There are other characters who give you pause for thought when it comes to revenge on Professor Axel Sloan.  Did the only baddie get what he deserved? A read of the book is the only way to find out!

Something jarred with me regarding the verb tense structure – though on a second reading that may not be a problem. 

I gave this book 4 and 1/2 stars on Amazon and Goodreads. 

Slainthe!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much Nancy for such a wonderful review! After working for 30 years in academia, writing 3rd Degree Murder was a very effective way to let off steam about all those injustices suffered in the cause of working towards my retirement. In case you're wondering: yes, there really were lecturers, professors, technicians and cleaners as depicted, but thankfully I personally never succumbed to murdering anyone. For that, literature comes in very handy indeed. Well done Nancy and good luck with your writing career.

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