ABD: An Academic Mystery

by Shelley Kirilenko

Jan McCann, a PhD student in German at Willwood University, receives a phone call from her dissertation advisor, Hugo Diener. He urges her to see him at once. By the time she reaches his office, he’s dead. An autopsy determines that Diener died of strychnine poisoning after eating a Mozartkugel, a chocolate that Jan herself has placed in his cubbyhole. She soon realizes she’s been framed. The next day, Jan narrowly escapes an attempt on her life. A lapsed Quaker, she collects her thoughts in a dilapidated Friends meetinghouse, a remnant from the humble past of the now elite university. While sitting on a hard bench in an unadorned room, she is led to seek the truth about the death of her advisor. She relies on non-violent Quaker principles and the loose worldwide fellowship of Friends in pursuit of the murderer. Her investigation takes her from a Quaker meetinghouse to a jazz club in Nigeria, from a masquerade ball in Vienna to a slum in Kiev. What she doesn’t realize is that the key to unlocking the mystery of the murderer’s identity can be found among the pages of her dissertation.

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2013

Reviews

[Gina Mctigue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Mystery!

This book has a lot of action, suspense and history of Quakers. I hope there is another coming and this is a series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jan McCann is a graduate student who has a history of sexual abuse as a child and is estranged from her mother. She has almost completed her Ph.D. dissertation. This is stressful enough, but her academic advisor has just died and her new mentor wants her to start her work over with a different theoretical framework. What follows is a plot that is quite preposterous as a murder mystery. However, I have a theory about the story that Jan has snapped under the pressure and has descended into a hallucinatory state full of increasingly paranoid delusions. Seen this way, the plot not only makes sense but is quite fascinating.

[Eileen Benavidez]

Could not put the book down

ABD was exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a wonderful blend of mystery, drama, glimpses into academic politics, and enough romance to add spice. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a wild ride through an expertly written murder mystery!

[Gayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you would rather kill time then finish your dissertation. your own dissertation.

Another escape for doctoral students. Hard to follow at times with all the jumps from one cliff-hanging moment to the next. No character development. The plot and academic department lack credibility. Overall, escape reading that is ultimately forgettable....unless you happen to like Mozart kugeln.