Going Back to School is Murder
The previous book in the Madison Night series ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I was anxious to find out exactly how the series would continue. Teacher’s Threat picked things up and moved them forward wonderfully, and fans will enjoy it.
For those new to the series, Madison is a middle aged decorator who specializes in mid-century modern design. Her love of Doris Day movies (she shares a birthday with the late actress), has inspired her business, but at the end of the previous book, she has lost her inventory as the result of a lawsuit. As this book opens, she is trying to figure out how to restart her business.
When every bank in town turns down Madison’s application for a business loan, she is beyond frustrated. But walking out of the latest bank, she sees a college across the street. Thinking this is a sign, she signs up for their MBA program even though the semester has already started.
The only class that Madison is truly excited about is Radical Business Theory. Her first day in class, Madison becomes the center of attention as her life is used as a case study. But her initial embarrassment fades when she begins to get ideas on what to do with her business out of the discussion.
But then Madison is on hand when that professor dies in his car. Warned by her boyfriend, police captain Tex Allen, to drop out of the program, she persists. Will she find more help for her business? Will she figure out what happened to her professor?
While I highly recommend this book for fans of the series, I wouldn’t recommend you jump in here. Yes, there are the usual comments about character relationships and history that you won’t fully appreciate if you start with this book. But in this case, the murder wars with Madison restarting her business for the main plot of this book. I didn’t mind since I am invested in the series, but if you don’t have the background, you might find that dichotomy boring.
That isn’t to say we don’t have a good mystery to solve. The murder method is ingenious. We have several good suspects, and the solution is surprising yet logical.
I do, however, need to make some timeline complaints. This isn’t anything that truly impacts the story, but I did have some issues following the timeline, which is often the case with Diane Vallere’s books. It seemed a little more pronounced here, especially when it came to the weekend since I think we lost a day in there. A lost weekend day? That is truly horrible, right?
The characters in this series are strong, and that’s the case again. We saw a couple of the regulars, and I enjoyed seeing how Madison’s relationships with them continue to evolve. The suspects were strong as well.
For fans of Doris Day movies, this series has Easter Eggs that are always fun to hunt for. This book actually pulls the set up for a scene from the movie Teacher’s Pet. I was laughing when I realized what Diane Vallere was doing. Yet, she makes it her own and uses it brilliantly to advance the mystery in this book. While those who are familiar with the movie will get a kick out of this, if you’ve never seen the movie, you won’t be missing anything.
As I said at the beginning, fans of the series will want to check out Teacher’s Threat to find out what happens next to Madison. If the series sounds like fun to you, I definitely recommend you start at the beginning and follow Madison’s journey.
Here are the rest of the Madison Night Mysteries.
I like this series but have had issues with timelines with this author before. Thanks for the reminder to get back to this series despite the issues!
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