Enjoying an Amanda Cross Mystery

The last Amanda Cross mystery was published over 10 years ago - but I’ve discovered them recently. I just finished my third - and favorite so far: Sweet Death, Kind Death. It was published in 1984. As I read it I realized that I am enjoying it more now because of the growing up I’ve done over those 30 years. It is easier to identify with the victim - a woman in her late 50s that believed in women’s lives ‘beginning again just when it was supposed to be over.’ It is counter to what our culture tells us but more and more women in 2013 - boomers - are discovering the 'beginning again' path for themselves.

Another appeal is that the author was an English professor (Amanda Cross was a pen name for Carolyn Gold Heilbrun) and the sleuth in her books, Kate Fransler, is an English professor. What fun to have an imagined set of stories as tangents of a real life! The settings are college campuses and include the challenges that female college professors encountered (or at least the three novels I’ve read so far do…but they are all from the mid-80s or earlier).

I even like the liberal use of quotations from literary sources. They always seem just right for their placement in the story. The dialog is witty - and intellectual…probably realistic for groups of academics.  Before I pass my copies of the books on, I’ll have to glean some favorite quotes (either Heilbrun or her quotes from others).

Not all the books are in print. I have gotten my set from paperbackswap. I have 11 more of the mysteries to savor this winter!