The Corpse in Oozak's Pond

Peter Shandy #6

by Charlotte MacLeod

On Groundhog Day, Professor Peter Shandy digs into the past, bizarre circumstances around a century-old corpse. Peter is helped mostly by Ottermole and Cronk, with appearances from Grace and Phil Porble.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Cozy, Audiobook, Amateur Sleuth

203 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

About the author

Naturalized US Citizen

Also wrote as Alisa Craig

Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow. Meanwhile I'll just say that I found this to be one of the most entertaining volumes in the Peter Shandy humorous mystery series. Reading the series in order is fun but each volume can stand alone.

This one from the literary talent of Charlotte MacLeod features: A convoluted mystery. Murders. Fraud. Bizarre characters. Bad poetry. Odd ball humor. All taken in stride by Peter and Helen Shandy accompanied by the usual cast.

[Susan in NC · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/2025 reread: 3.5 stars - It’s been a while since I read this, 5+ years, and I didn’t remember much, but it was fun and entertaining, except for the tedious dive into the Buggins family tree. Reread for an upcoming buddy read in the Reading the Detectives group - turns out it was a delightful mid-summer read. I guess this author’s whimsical but literate mysteries from the 1970s and 80s would be considered cozy, but I’ve always appreciated that they aren’t cutesy and twee like I’ve found many modern cozy series.

These mysteries are somewhat dated, pre-cellphone and traditional marriages, affairs are still scandalous but the characters come across as responsible adults - there are strong intelligent women, both good and bad, and real crimes, like murder, fraud, conspiracy, and the characters throw out the occasional ‘damn’ or say a demanding person is ‘bitchin’ about’ this or that. In that way, they remind me of adults I knew and overheard when growing up in the 70s - so relatable.

2019 reread: This outing with Professor Peter Shandy started out strong with the Groundhog Day festivities at Balaclava College being interrupted by the appearance of a dead man frozen in the ice of Oozak's Pond and delivered on the witty, whimsical dialogue and quirky characters I've come to expect and appreciate from Charlotte McLeod. The action got bogged down a bit with the Buggins family tree (the college was founded by Balaclava Buggins), but Shandy sorted it all out in a satisfactory way. Entertaining and fun, one of my favorite series - may be time to try rereading another great MacLeod series, mysteries starring Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The annual Balaclava Agricultural College's Groundhog Day event was in full swing when a body broke through the thin ice on Oozak's Pond. While the students, faculty, and townsfolk were shunted back to their normal daily tasks, Professor Peter Shandy immediately took the lead in dealing with the body and getting him out of the water. The corpse was dressed in old fashioned clothes and had rocks in his pockets. Peter and others thought he looked familiar. He resembled members of the Buggins family (Balaclava Buggins being the most famous as the founder of the College and the town)...and his manner of death resembled the historical tales of Augustus Buggins, who was found dead a century ago in Oozak's Pond with rocks in his suit jacket pockets.

Who is the victim? Is he one of the Trevelyan Buggins' twin sons who left home long ago? Is he one of Elwell Buggins' sons (brothers of Grace Buggins Porble, wife of the College librarian)? And why has old Trevelyan Buggins suddenly put forth a law suit against the College regarding the ownership of Oozak's Pond? Thank goodness Peter's wife Helen knows more about the Buggins family than anyone else, as she is writing a biography of the family. Every little bit helps as Peter investigates the odd happenings in this sixth book in the series.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave the late Charlotte MacLeod a chance to redeem herself after the slipshod ending of Something The Cat Dragged In and the utter silliness of The Curse of the Giant Hogweed. Thankfully, this sixth entry in the Peter Shandy mysteries returns to a better plotted mystery than the last two books, and the book maintains the cerebral humor that endears MacLeod’s books to her readers.

Professor Shandy is called on to investigate the drowning death that emulates that of Augustus Caesar Buggins, killed in 1904; both were murdered and sunk into Oozak’s Pond with pockets weighted with rocks. Unfortunately, no one can identify the newest drowning victim — except to note the astounding Buggins family resemblance. Two more murders follow immediately thereafter, but Shandy, with the help of his wife and “demon reporter” Cronkite Swope, manage to solve the crime. A fun read and a return to former glory.

[Chautona Havig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one might be the best (except maybe for the first).

While this is a play-fair mystery with every bit of info needed for us to figure out who done what and why, I totally missed a couple of things I should have gotten and therefore... nope. She got me almost to the very end. I finally went, "Oh, wait!" But it was really close to when it was all revealed. Like a page or three. The foul language level went down again, so I was happy about that as well. She does such a good job with showing a married couple delighting in each other and in all aspects of marriage without dragging us into intimate moments in an awkward way, why does she devolve a professor into crass language. Shandy didn't use much at ALL in the first. And now it's much more prevalent than the first couple. Still, less now, so maybe we're moving in the right direction.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the benefits of being in the Kindle Unlimited program is having access to mysteries that are now on publishers backlists. This is the 7th book (I read one out of order) I have read in this series, and I have enjoyed this one as much as the others. My favorite of the series is still the first one: Rest You Merry.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with “The Corpse In Oozak’s Pond” after finishing “The Palace Guard”; which was phenomenal. The previous Peter novel too, raised the roof on the unexpected; a medieval fantasy! This time, I did like acquainting a far region of university terrain. Discovering a corpse in that pond would make a fascinating mystery; if it had been the antiquated person the synopsis suggested! Instead of an ancient town figure, this is merely another present day murder. Moreover, the two likeliest identities aren’t anyone we know, nor their relatives. This failed to create circumstances we care about. Peter is off mundanely investigating another crime, that we hope becomes interesting in some way. It doesn’t. Additionally, I find narrating with ‘Shandy’ instead of ‘Peter’ grating.

I felt it stretched things overmuch, to put a university asset in jeopardy; ownership of Oozak’s Pond. Tossing in that unnecessary gimmick spoiled credibility; as if there were no way for this story to generate urgency than to threaten the precious Balaclava realm. Helen played an important role only through research. Proprietary revenue of the pond and identity of the deceased, tie in motives for three murders. They aren’t compelling reasons, especially given the advanced age of two victims. How information is gathered, undoubtedly tricky to siphon out, felt flat too. It amounted to a lucky instance of observation and relying on a drunk’s memory of townspeople Peter doesn’t know.

It’s customary that Charlotte rotates our cast. I appreciate Balaclava’s wealth of characters. I gave three stars because the full-bodied people and community she builds are exceptional. However there are some among them I’d rather see, than Peter. Helen, Sieglinde, and Mr. & Mrs. Dan Stott are grievously underutilized. It is they, who are likeable and make an impact! They would have created a colourful adventure. * Interesting: this is the first paperback without a skeleton on the cover.

[JoeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a mixed review for this one. This is my first book by Charlotte MacLeod and I bought it because it was cheap and well-reviewed. Sometimes the first book in a series isn't the palce to start reading since the author hasn't fleshed out the characters and the locales as fully as they do later. The pacing and the characters made the story engaging and I read it pretty quickly. Most of the characters were pretty likeable, which also helped.

I did find that there were a lot of characters, so many in fact that I think if I had spent any significant time away from the book, I would have had to start again to keep track of who was who. Another thing I didn't like so much was the character names. Many of them were downright silly. Calling the town undertaker Goulson seemed almost like a joke of some kind, but at least it's a real name. The only reference to the name Ottermole I could find was regarding a character in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents.

Another nail in the believability coffin was a man successfully passing himself off as a woman. I've never seen a male actor who could pull it off, and TV drag queens who almost do are also sporting the kind of enhancements (chemical and biological) that weren't happening in this story.

In closing, I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It was an entertaining short read, but I doubt I'll read any more of the series.

[Amit Bikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Prof. Shandy's neighborhood murder mystery, finally resolved by yet another Eureka moment for the agronomy faculty member.

This novel starts off with a generous sprinkling of comedy as the Balaclava Agri college preps to welcome groundhog day and the celebrations are described in a fashion only Charlotte can. Unfortunately, a dead Buggin is found half submerged in the college pond, which is soon mired in a land dispute case. Two more bodies land up in the mortuary soon enough, and Shandy ends up in a number of awkward, yet funny, scenarios, before finally arousing his inner Holmes to bring the sinister plot to an abrupt halt.

More than the plots themselves, Shandy mysteries are focused on the journey that the protagonist endures as he hits the road in search of clues, often accompanied by the chief of Balaclava Junction and a budding young reporter. This specific novel also shines the limelight on Helen Shandy, Prof Shandy's smart and diligent Librarian wife, and an expert on Buggins family tree and history.

All in all, it is a decent murder mystery, less occupied with the reasoning behind Shandy's eventual deductions, and yet keeps the readers engrossed as they embark on this journey through the Seven Forks.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 bk 17. We are back home again for this novel. While the groundhog does his thing, a body floats to the surface next to Beuregard the Groundhog's home pond. A familiar face leads to even more mysteries as the founding families try to discern who he is among four possibilities. The death of the paterfamilias and his wife that evening mess things up further. While the President assigns Helen the task of finding evidence that will through a scurrilous lawsuit out the window (so to speak) he charges Peter with finding out who did them all in and how was the lawsuit involved. A well done mystery that found me writing out a family tree as I sought to beat Peter to the conclusion - he won, by a thread.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Groundhog Day festivities at Balaclave College, a body is found in the pond. Peter Shandy and his wife, Helen, librarian/curator of the College's Buggins Collection, work together to solve the mystery as a Buggins descendent is attempting to sue the college over valuable property. Whose body is it? And is it connected to the lawsuit?

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | Got out of hand | So there was Boatwright and Bainbridge and Trowbridge and Bracebridge, Hesperus and Corydon and Trevelyan and Purvis, Minerva and Persephone and Abelard and Ichabod, and they're all related, with a set of twins, a colour blind sister, and a man disguised as a woman. Don't forget to add in a forged deed, the poetic recitation of a century-old murder being reenacted with smashed teeth and sandpapered fingerprints, a lawsuit, and a lot of moonshine. This one is a miss for me. She didn't make me care enough about the Buggins descendants to care which was alive, which was dead, or even which name belonged to the brother of which woman. She didn't even make the characters care, and these were their own relatives.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a deep or profound book, nor even a well-plotted mystery, but so much fun!

2018/19 reread: Listened to the audiobook narrated by John McLain. As with "Rest you Merry," an amateurish narration detracts from an otherwise fun and silly story.

2024 ebook reread. A couple typos but nothing that ruins the story.

2025 comfort favorite reread.

[Melanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of the Peter Shandy mystery series-- a good offering, though not the very best (which would be Rest Ye Merry). Whether writing as Charlotte MacLeod or as Alisa Craig, this author always turns out an enjoyable read.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte MacLeod and her pseudonym Alisa Craig are my favorite cozy mystery writers, like comfort food to read. I think this is the first I read- and since have read them all -

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixth in the Peter Shandy cozy mystery series set in the 1970s in Massachusetts and revolving around Professor Shandy, an amateur sleuth. The focus is on a murder, a re-enactment from the past.

My Take
It’s still hard for me to believe the setting is in the 1970s. The students are so decent! And MacLeod’s writing makes me think 1950s.

I do have to laugh about Svenson’s penny pinching, all of which gets plowed into salaries, better food and student housing, and lower tuition rates. Just the kind of guy we need these days.

MacLeod pokes fun at a lot of things, including that Massachusetts twang, as one particular native snips up her r’s and uses them up on words like sawring, drawring, and idear. She also likes to make fun of Sieglinde’s love of herring. As for the soda battle at the gas station . . . Hey, it’s high stakes in Balaclava.

That lawsuit has everyone a’tither and harking back to old family stories about the Bugginses. MacLeod does go back in time in The Corpse in Oozak's Pond, going over the family lineage and yes, their stories. I did enjoy the tale of how Balaclava started the college and his passion for farming.

MacLeod uses third person global subjective point-of-view, mostly from Shandy’s perspective. A particularly “interesting” perspective comes at the end with that unexpected reveal.

There’s lots of running around, watching people, and plenty of family stories with a range of characters.

I gotta say, it was a relief to get back to MacLeod’s usual writing in The Corpse in Oozak's Pond.

The Story
The rural town of Balaclava greets Groundhog Day as an excuse for one last cold-weather fling. The students and faculty of the local agricultural college drink cocoa, throw snowballs, and, when the temperature allows, ice skate.

Oozak’s Pond is not quite frozen this year, though, and as the Groundhog Day celebrations reach their peak, the students see someone bobbing through the ice. The drowning victim is long past help, though; he’s badly decomposed and dressed in an old-fashioned frock coat with a heavy rock in each pocket.

First on the scene is Peter Shandy, horticulturalist and, when the college requires it, detective. But solving this nineteenth-century murder will require Helen’s expertise in local history, as Peter dives into a gilded-age mystery that cloaks secrets that remain potent enough to kill.

The Characters
Peter Shandy, a professor of agronomy and compulsive counter, is becoming known for solving mysteries. Helen Shandy, the curator of the Buggins Collections, is his wife ( Rest You Merry , 1). Jane Austen is their cat.

Balaclava Agricultural College was . . .
. . . founded in 1850? by Balaclava Buggins, who invented the Balaclava Boomerang. Nausicaa Buggins was his wife. Their one son, Huxford, was killed in the Civil War.

Habakkuk Buggins had been the father of Abelard and Balaclava. Abelard, Balaclava’s brother, had four children: Ichabod, the poetry-inclined Corydon, Belial (of the Buggins Collection), and a daughter, Durella. She married Fortitude Lumpkin, and Dalbert was their son — he thought of harnessing the water power. Ichabod married Prudence Plover and the house Abelard built as a wedding present is now the house where Trevelyan and Beatrice live. Knightsbridge was Corydon’s nephew and Trev’s father.

That ancient con artist, Trevelyan, and Beatrice Buggins have two sons, twins and a daughter: the fussy Bracebridge “Brace” and the bullying Bainbridge "Bain" and Persephone. Minerva Mink had been taking care of Trev and Beatrice; previously she had worked for Congressman Sills and his wife. Amelia had been Minerva’s aunt. Patter, Potter, Patter, and Foote are attorneys for the heirs of the late Ichabod Buggins.

August Caesar Buggins, a.k.a. Gus, drowned in Oozak’s Pond back in 1904. Henry J Doe had been a mysterious stranger back then.

Today, Thorkjeld Svenson is the president of the college and its head thunderbolt hurler, a descendant of Vikings. Sieglinde is his imposing wife. Birgit is their fifth daughter who is married to a former honor student Hjalmar Olafssen ( The Luck Runs Out ) with a new baby.

Professor Philip Proble is the head librarian; Grace is his wife. She’s also a direct descendant of Balaclava. Lizanne is their daughter. Grace’s brothers are Trowbridge, a geologist, and Boatwright, the captain of a steamer with the Great Magnificent steamship line. Dr Brinkle had been the previous head librarian. Mrs Horrigan (her husband was the comptroller back then) raised the alarm when Grace’s mother keeled over. Judith became Grace’s stepmother.

Professor Daniel Stott is head of the animal husbandry department — he’s married to Iduna ( The Luck Runs Out , 2) . Professor Emeritus John Enderble is an expert on local fauna; Mary is his wife. John has an uncle Elijah, the one with the buttons. Mrs Mouzouka is the head of the cookery department. Pam Waggoner teaches native arts. She lives with Shirley Wrenne and both of them are associate professors. Professor Timothy Ames is Peter’s best friend whose son and wife, Royall and Laurie, have moved in with him ( The Luck Runs Out ). Professor Joad is in the chemistry department. Professor Jim Feldster and his gossipy wife, Mirelle, are the Shandys’ next-door neighbors.

Dr Melchett is the college physician. Dr Fotheringay is another physician. Clarence and Silvester Lomax, brothers, are the joint chiefs of the college security department ( The Luck Runs Out ). Purvis Mink is part of college security; Persephone, a.k.a. Sephy, is his wife. Minerva is Purve’s aunt. Rosalinda is Purve’s mother.

Balthazar is the college’s prize boar. Balaclava Beauregard is the college groundhog. The college Blacks include Odin, Thor, Hoenir, and Heimdallr.

Fred Ottermole is Balaclava Junction’s police chief. Edna Mae is his wife, and they have four children. Budge Dorkin and Frank Lomax (Clarence’s boy) are officers. Harry Goulson is the local mortician and married to Arabella, who writes the paper's society news; Goulson’s Funeral Parlor is one of the oldest establishments.

Mike Woozle has the blue cottage although he’s currently a guest of the state. Oscar Plantagenet owns the gas station. Zack Woozle is related to Mike and married to Marietta Hudson Woozle (Hudson's niece), who’s a proofreader for the Pied Pica Press. Ruthie is Marietta’s friend. Hesperus Hudson had been friends with Trevelyan’s sons and is now the worse for wear. Arbolene Woozle had a red-hot affair.

Mrs Betsy Lomax, who’s related to most everyone in town, cleans for the Shandys and a number of other professors. She’s taken on Professor Ungley’s cat, Edmund — he likes to save the marshmallow for last ( Something the Cat Dragged In , 4). Hilda is Henny Horsefall’s aunt ( Wrack and Rune , 3), and she’s moved to Sweden *eyebrow waggle*. Captain Amos, leaving the Hippocampus behind, has taken over the family farriery at Forgery Point ( The Luck Runs Out ). Yvette is his wife, and it sounds as if the Flackleys are promoting DIY projects. The Flackleys have two sons and a daughter studying animal husbandry. The Jackmans and their four children, who include Dickie and Wendy, are Peter and Helen’s next-door neighbors on the Crescent. Gunnar Gaffson is a property developer with a bad rep ( Wrack and Rune ). Charlie Ross runs a garage where those on the Crescent can leave their cars.

Cronkite Swope is a reporter for the Balaclava County Weekly Fane and Pennon newspaper. His mother’s cousin, Lucy, embroidered some pillowcases for them. Mr Droggins is the editor. I’m not sure how Zack Hoover relates to the story. Erna Milien had an unearned reputation back in the day. The College Arms is a boardinghouse run by Mrs Blore. Jack Pointer seems to be in charge of the turkey coops. Margery tends bar at the Dirty Duck.

Oozak’s Pond, a.k.a. the Skunk Works Reservoir, is an oversized puddle above the methane plant and necessary for the electrical plant to produce. The Wash Pond is famous for having been the “laundry” facilities at the start of the college.

The Cover and Title
The cover has a dark chocolate background with a thin silver banner at the top with the publisher's information in black. Another banner is at the bottom. The author's name is below this in white. The central graphic is two blue overlapping circles with pale blue flowers centered inside. The title is below this in blue. Below this is the series info in white.

The title is literal, as it's The Corpse in Oozak's Pond that starts it all off.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Shandy is back in Balaclava. All's right with the world.

Remember the sit-com about the big-city bar where "Everyone knows your name"? If you live in rural Balaclava County, everyone knows your name. And your mother's name, the man who's listed as your father on your birth certificate and the one who SHOULD have been named. They know who you're married to and who you were married to and who you wanted to marry. If you have anything on the side, they know that, too. If they don't, they'll make something up.

It's cozy, but in an area where everyone (even the cats) are related, crime solving can be tricky. Blood's thicker than water, although that doesn't prevent familial bloodshed.

The students and faculty of Balaclava Agricultural College gather for the yearly ritual of hauling Balaclava Beauregard from his winter den to see if his shadow appears as the sun rises. On February 2 in New England, the snow is deep and it's colder than a banker's heart, but the Balaclava folks are nothing if not hardy. President Svenson drives a sled pulled by four of the famous Balaclava Blacks. Hot chocolate and crullers are dispersed and the bonfire and snowball fights are enjoyed by all.

The festivities take place next to Oozak's Pond, a spring-fed pond that provides the water to run the methane plant that provides electricity for the college. Legend has it that one Augustus Buggins was found in the Pond in 1904, murdered with his body sunk by means of rocks in the pockets of his swallow-tail coat.

History repeats itself when a body is pulled from the Pond. The dead man's clothing, haircut, and long beard date from the time of Augustus's demise. He, too, has been murdered and the rocks in his pocket are eerily like the ones that sunk old Augustus. Has the shade of Gus Buggins come back to haunt the college? Balaclava Junction's Chief of Police Fred Ottermole is on the scene, but he looks to Professor Peter Shandy to find the answers.

Teacher/farmer Balaclava Buggins founded Balaclava College and his descendant Grace Porble is married to the college librarian. Balaclava's brother Abelard Buggins' great grandson and his wife live nearby and their daughter Persephone is married to college security officer Purvis Mink.

Cousins Grace and Persephone are as close as sisters, maybe because both were so much younger than their older brothers. Grace's brothers and Persephone's twin brothers all moved off as young men and there's been no contact for decades.

The discovery of the mystery man in Oozak Pond is followed by the deaths of Persephone's parents. The local doctor decides the elderly couple died on the same night due to natural causes, but that's too much coincidence for Peter Shandy. Almost as shocking as the triple deaths is the news that Abelard Buggins' descendents are suing the college, claiming that Oozak Pond and the land around it belongs to them. Relatives are torn since most are closely connected to the college, but someone wants that land.

President Svenson struggles to keep the poorly-endowed college afloat financially. Losing their source of electricity would be a major blow. He looks to Professor Shandy to figure out what's going on and put a stop to it.

It's a complicated story and even more complex because of family loyalties and feuds. The mystery corpse looks like a Buggins, but which one? And what does it have to do with the lawsuit that threatens the college's security?

I was disappointed in "The Curse of the Giant Hogweed" and delighted to get Professor Shandy back to Balaclava County. MacLeod peopled her fictional county with a fascinating group of characters and I enjoy catching up with them as the series progresses.

Peter Shandy is the perfect amateur detective - intelligent, determined, and resourceful. I love his relationship with Helen Shandy, who's relatively new to the area, but popular and respected. As the curator of papers relating to the Buggins family, she has the inside track on the family's history and how it affects the college.

It's a well-written, witty series and I'm loving it.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

A case of unknown identity begins with the discovery of a corpse floating in Oozak's Pond at Balaclava Agricultural College, during the annual Groundhog Day festivities. Though no one seems to identify the deceased, it's pretty plain to all that he is a descendant of the Buggins who founded the college. Of course, that means a pretty large segment of the population of the surrounding area!

I enjoy this light-hearted series. Yes, there are murders, sometimes more than one, but the underlying humor is ever-present. MacLeod's use of unusual names for characters and the way words are used is fun. The rhythms of the characters' speech patterns remind me, somewhat, of Nicholas Cage's character in the movie, "Raising Arizona."

Yes, I'll continue to the next volume...

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Groundhog Day, a corpse wearing century-old clothes is found in Oozak's Pond at Balaclava Agricultural College, and of course professor Peter Shandy gets saddled with solving the murder. The man looks like a Buggins, the family that founded the college in the 19th century, but local relatives fail to identify him--not actually that surprising, since several cousins of around the same age left home as young men and never came back, so it could be any one of them. Then, an elderly Buggins couple is murdered, and things are getting more complicated for Shandy. Plus there's the Buggins' lawsuit against the college, claiming Oozak's Pond belongs to them--and since it supplies the electricity for the whole town, via the methane plant, that's kind of a problem. Peter's got his hands full with this one!

This is a fun series, and this book is no exception, though it could use more Thorkjeld Svenson! And maybe fewer Bugginses and their differently-named relatives, because I was so confused about who was who, even with their distinctive names (Bracebridge, Boatwright, Bainbridge, etc.). I did think there was maybe some prejudice in this against country people who might fall under the stereotype of "backwoods", which was a little uncomfortable to read, but the author does skewer overly-educated people in other books, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. Perhaps the word I'm looking for is dated!

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A corpse, looking very much like one of the Buggins family, the family lf Balaclava Buggins, who founded Balaclava Agricultural College, shows up in Oozak's Pond during Groundhog Day celebrations. At the same time, the other branch of the family has started legal proceedings against the college, claiming the the land around Oozak's Pond was won by their ancestor in a bet, and the college owes them for more than a century of the land's use (a problem, since the college and town rely on this pond as part of how they generate electricity). Both of these issues fall into Peter Shandy's lap. He must find out who was in the pond and how they died, and working with librarian wife Helen determine if the legal suit has merit.

The Corpse in Oozak's Pond adds yet another group of characters to the growing assortment from pervious book, this time a number of the folks living in the even more rural areas around town. Perhaps the main negative of the book is the Buggins family, where there are too many with similar names to at times keep track of (though MacLeod does include a family tree at the front of the book, that I had to refer to several times).

Overall, a tad weaker than the previous books in the series (if Goodreads allowed fractional rating, I'd probably have rated this 3 1/2 stars rather than the 4 I've given previous books). But still a lot of fun.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Not my favorite in the series but way better than the previous installment. I have a hard time listening to these on audio because the names of the characters are often times so similar to one another, especially when speaking of family members, that I find it impossible to keep track. That was sadly the case in this one and while I finished the book, I can't say that I truly followed the motive and method of the murder, let alone who was actually killed. Suffice to say, a man was found floating in the pond on campus, the same pond that is the subject of litigation between the college and a neighboring family. The family claims that the land that the pond is on was actually won by their late, great ancestor in a poker game from the founder of the college so they want fair payment for the use of the land. Then, suddenly, members of the suing family start dying, including the elderly parents and the man floating in the pond. They were killed by the son, who was presumed to be dead, I think, and the man in the pond was a cousin. He was killing them all so that there would be fewer people that he would have to share the proceeds of the lawsuit with. I've been listening to these via audible plus and they are leaving the catalog soon but I am not sure that I will bother trying to finish them all since the last 2 have not been stellar.

[PR · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many Latin and Roman and silly names! She mixes them up so much you are not sire where you are...

Not her best effort. Could easily have skipped this one if I had known in advance!
So many cliches ...funny though they be, sometimes they get a bit too, too much.
So many silly names, Bainbridge, Bracebridge, Towbridge other bridges...family names like Scrope, and Stott and Zazzle. and others...can't remember more at this point and I lost track of who was who/whom and who did what...very confusing...
She is a whiz with the most bizarre names for people and kinds and fictional.historic personages...it is staggering.
This particular book simply did Not ' suit NY fancy', 'float my boat', ''shiver my timbers',... I think you probably 'get the picture'!
I hope her next one does all of that and more!
I do love her sense of humor, her use of language, her use of Latin phrases, ( an education in itself), so often she really writes Funny!
I love most of her books...no one can be brilliant all of the time, in print...
She has much to be proud of...I wish I had known her...she must have been a wonderful dinner companion!
Ah, well...on to Book 7!

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

#6 in the Peter Shandy professor at Balacava College in a rural small Massachusetts farming community mystery series. More mystery on the light side with a lot of tongue in cheek story line and characters.

Opens on February 1. The next day at the college’s Groundhog Day celebration, a body is discovered floating in the pond that provides water and helps generate electricity for the school. Shortly there after, a suit is filed claiming ownership of the pond and money for damages. The body turns out to be both unidentified and a murder victim. Soon there are 2 more murders and it is up to Shandy to sort things out. To do this, he has to work his way through the extensive interfamily relationships and long lost relatives making up the community and going back into local history. Just another normal situation for Shandy and features his usual generations of many possible explanations and possible suspects along the way before working everything out.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a mystery where there is a surprise ending, and I freely admit that although there were enough clues that I should have been suspicious of at least one of the characters, I was so diverted by the author's sleight of hand, that I missed everything except I thought this particular character was brash and tedious. Actually, quite a complicated mystery, as there were so many things to sort out, not the least of which were the twins Bracebridge and Bainbridge.

Just an aside. When I took creative writing classes, we were always told not to use names that would confuse the reader, so as far as possible, don't even begin two characters' names with the same first letter/same sound. Thank goodness there was a family tree at the beginning of the story because the three-generation history of the Buggins family in Balaclava County (all those Bs!) is important to the plot.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written long enough ago that characters’ brothers lied about their age to enlist for WWII, and nobody had noticed that plastic doesn’t biodegrade, so they just throw a plastic comb on the ground when they’re done with it. 😱 The most shocking things about old books are always what they take for granted.

I gave this five stars not for a logical plot or literary quality, but for sheer effervescent amusement. It’s not realistic; it’s not gritty; it’s chaotic cozy, and contains truly terrible amateur verse, which we are given ample time to laugh at. I spent the entire book giggling and sharing ridiculous bits with J.

MacLeod plainly enjoyed naming these characters: the family tree at the beginning of the book starts with “Habakkuk Buggins” and goes on from there.

Also, the title is fantastic.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars at least, rounded up to 4 because I get more fond of this series as we go. This one is back to normal, after Ye Olde Excursion into the past in the Hogweed book.
Just like in Something the Cat Dragged in, the one before that, where I learned more about and got more fond of Police Chief Ottermole, in this one we get a better look at Professor Porble (if I'm spelling it right - I listened to the audio book and can't just look it up) and, as always, Peter Shandy basically solves the murders with others only helping.
At one point he laments having to pay for long distance phone calls. Even though I truly appreciate having cell phones and the internet, I grew up in an earlier time and this setting gives me a warm, nostalgic feeling.

[J.L. Rallios · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many names and too much offensive language, especially for a cozy mystery. It was well written and the mystery was pretty good. Peter Shandy, a middle-aged professor with a penchant and a reputation for solving mysteries, sets out to save the college from a lawsuit, identify the murdered corpse that was found in the pond on Groundhog Day, and catch the culprit behind it all. A lot of colorful characters and a lot of banter that's hard to follow. Mystery was convoluted. Not sure if I'll follow this author any longer. She's made some fabulous mysteries, like "The Family Vault," which keeps me hoping. But there are some bombs. This was one of those marginal ones for me.

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Peter Shandy mysteries!

Seriously. Firstly, the setting is unique. I can't think of another cozy mystery set in an agricultural college. Heck, I can't think of any type of book set in an agricultural college. What makes it truly unique is the writing. Charlotte Macleod had a great gift for blending humor and mystery. Her characters, both secondary and primary, are painted with a fine brush. She is a delight. Start with the first book, "Rest you Merry". You won't regret it.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prettty good.

I enjoy Charlotte Mac Leod. But one of my pet peeves is an author who asks a million questions about people who really are not likely to have done the crime. 'Could she have. And then etc etc or could he have and then etc. Etc. Just on and on when the suggestions are ridiculous at best.

[Maureen Hetzel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. This is the sixth book in the series and it is NOT comfortable to those who have missed the first five! I struggled through the first 20% and bailed. It was a long string or names and relationships to the tune of probably 50 names (many from the same family).

Too much palaver about families and relationships and no plot advancement. There WAS a dead body.