Murder by the Book, Amie Schaumberg (Review by Kristin Kurek)

Literature professor Emma Reilly is invited to a first date at homicide detective Ian Carter’s house. While waiting for Ian to complete dinner, Emma stumbles upon some crime scene photos from an active homicide investigation and immediately recognizes that the victim is posed as Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. She begins to realize that the killer is sending messages through literary symbolism. Ian will not allow Emma to participate in the investigation. But, when another victim is found, Emma takes the situation into her own hands. This book was cover-to-cover fun for a murder mystery and literature lover! Amie Schaumberg took the easy-reading, super-fun murder mystery novel and added haunting and intelligent literary references. She explores how so many of the stories that define classic literature utilize murder and death of women as defining plot points. Truly, so many famous works of literature detail the cruelty of humans to one another. She explores the frequent use of iconography in literature and art. I found these aspects of the novel fascinating! Emma is a female literary-focused Robert Langdon! The prose was a delight to read. The murder scenes were intricately described without being overly graphic or scary. The suspense in this novel was unrelenting. I did find the plot to be a bit predictable. But, the characters were infinitely likeable and the plot infinitely compelling. I had so much fun trying to piece together references to famous scenes in literature. I really enjoyed the challenge. I cannot wait to give copies of this novel to my murder mystery loving literary friends!