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Murder U.
Mild-mannered history professor Clark Miller is the prime suspect in the grisly murders of his estranged wife and her lover. It appears to be an open-and-shut case. With police, and nearly everyone else, convinced of his guilt, Clark has no choice but to try and prove his own innocence. Unfortunately for him, someone else seems determined to keep that from happening, no matter who has to die. As the body count rises, Clark is in a race against time to avoid becoming the next victim.
258 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 15, 2017
The theme of the innocent person wrongly accused of a crime and desperately trying to prove his innocence is a common one in literature, but few people have as tough a time of it as does Clark Miller, the hero of W.D. Sherrill’s entertaining mystery, Murder U. The problem Miller faces is that the real killer is still out there, and the more Miller does to try to clear himself, the more dead bodies show up and the guiltier he appears.
As the title implies, Murder U is set at a small town college campus somewhere in the south, where Miller has been a rather obscure history professor until his wife and the schools’ football coach turn up dead in the locker room, having been killed while in the midst of a different sort of workout. Miller is the prime suspect, but much to the chagrin of the cop in charge of the investigation, there’s not enough evidence to charge him. In the time-honored tradition of obtuse cops in mystery fiction everywhere, he persists in trying to pin the goods on Miller by any means, fair or foul.
Murder U is a tough book to describe briefly, but the best word that comes to mind is amiable. Miller finds himself in deep trouble from the opening page in this book, but I never go a sense of real suspense here. Instead, the author is content to follow Miller around as he tries to extricate himself and the book winds up being rather amusing in a black comic way, as Miller stumbles across one dead body or bad situation after another.
Unlike many amateur sleuth murder mysteries, Miller doesn’t prove to be all that adept at ferreting out the real killer. Instead, readers will be pretty much on their own trying to solve the case, which adds to the book’s charm. The mystery is fairly good, and a lot of readers will have a tough time figuring this one out. I found myself trying to race through the last few chapters to satisfy my curiosity.
Sherrill is a skilled writer, and he manages to poke fun at today’s colleges, particularly the business and politics involved, without Murder U ever becoming downright silly, although the plot is admittedly far fetched. One thing I did not like was Sherrill’s use of the overdone gimmick of starting the book out at the end, with Miller being chased around campus by the killer, with the bulk of the book told as a lengthy flashback from a few days earlier. The attempts to build suspense in this prologue don’t match the considerably lighter later tone in the book, even when things get bad for Miller.
Murder U is a good, entertaining read for cozy mystery buffs. Despite what eventually becomes an enormous body count, the book never gets grisly or hard nosed, and mystery fans will enjoy trying to figure out the identity of the killer. Further, the eventual explanation of the crimes is actually consistent with some of the seemingly bizarre occurrences earlier of the book. Most important, although Clark Miller isn’t really much of a detective, he’s a fun character to build a book around. Murder U gets a passing grade with flying colors.
As the title implies, Murder U is set at a small town college campus somewhere in the south, where Miller has been a rather obscure history professor until his wife and the schools’ football coach turn up dead in the locker room, having been killed while in the midst of a different sort of workout. Miller is the prime suspect, but much to the chagrin of the cop in charge of the investigation, there’s not enough evidence to charge him. In the time-honored tradition of obtuse cops in mystery fiction everywhere, he persists in trying to pin the goods on Miller by any means, fair or foul.
Murder U is a tough book to describe briefly, but the best word that comes to mind is amiable. Miller finds himself in deep trouble from the opening page in this book, but I never go a sense of real suspense here. Instead, the author is content to follow Miller around as he tries to extricate himself and the book winds up being rather amusing in a black comic way, as Miller stumbles across one dead body or bad situation after another.
Unlike many amateur sleuth murder mysteries, Miller doesn’t prove to be all that adept at ferreting out the real killer. Instead, readers will be pretty much on their own trying to solve the case, which adds to the book’s charm. The mystery is fairly good, and a lot of readers will have a tough time figuring this one out. I found myself trying to race through the last few chapters to satisfy my curiosity.
Sherrill is a skilled writer, and he manages to poke fun at today’s colleges, particularly the business and politics involved, without Murder U ever becoming downright silly, although the plot is admittedly far fetched. One thing I did not like was Sherrill’s use of the overdone gimmick of starting the book out at the end, with Miller being chased around campus by the killer, with the bulk of the book told as a lengthy flashback from a few days earlier. The attempts to build suspense in this prologue don’t match the considerably lighter later tone in the book, even when things get bad for Miller.
Murder U is a good, entertaining read for cozy mystery buffs. Despite what eventually becomes an enormous body count, the book never gets grisly or hard nosed, and mystery fans will enjoy trying to figure out the identity of the killer. Further, the eventual explanation of the crimes is actually consistent with some of the seemingly bizarre occurrences earlier of the book. Most important, although Clark Miller isn’t really much of a detective, he’s a fun character to build a book around. Murder U gets a passing grade with flying colors.
March 12, 2021
This nerdy professor, the one that puts his students to sleep when he lectures, finds himself the primary suspect in a double murder involving his wife of more than ten years and the head football coach. Lieutenant Strong knows the professor did it, there is no doubt. Yet the professor claims his innocence. At the memorial service for his wife, he puts up with the scorn or the other mourners present. Afterwards, he found his car spray painted with the word "Killer." Campus security was able to determine who did it. The professor did not press charges, but offered the student to work off the damages by doing yardwork. Before you know it, there is another dead body. Somehow, the professor always seems to be in the vicinity.
Then the story really gets interesting.
An interesting read, I enjoyed this story.
Then the story really gets interesting.
An interesting read, I enjoyed this story.
July 28, 2017
I really enjoyed this thriller/mystery. Set on a campus in Tennessee, a mild-mannered professor is accused of murdering his estranged wife and her lover, the coach of the football team. But not all is as it seems. The story was great, and the twists and turns were really fun to read. I recommend this to any readers that enjoy fun mystery/thrillers.
January 7, 2020
I Murder
What a great little short story. Well done to say the least. Good Characters, just plain great short story, won't want to put it down.
What a great little short story. Well done to say the least. Good Characters, just plain great short story, won't want to put it down.
October 15, 2017
The theme of the innocent person wrongly accused of a crime and desperately trying to prove his innocence is a common one in literature, but few people have as tough a time of it as does Clark Miller, the hero of W.D. Sherrill’s entertaining mystery, Murder U. The problem Miller faces is that the real killer is still out there, and the more Miller does to try to clear himself, the more dead bodies show up and the guiltier he appears.
As the title implies, Murder U is set at a small town college campus somewhere in the south, where Miller has been a rather obscure history professor until his wife and the schools’ football coach turn up dead in the locker room, having been killed while in the midst of a different sort of workout. Miller is the prime suspect, but much to the chagrin of the cop in charge of the investigation, there’s not enough evidence to charge him. In the time-honored tradition of obtuse cops in mystery fiction everywhere, he persists in trying to pin the goods on Miller by any means, fair or foul.
Murder U is a tough book to describe briefly, but the best word that comes to mind is amiable. Miller finds himself in deep trouble from the opening page in this book, but I never go a sense of real suspense here. Instead, the author is content to follow Miller around as he tries to extricate himself and the book winds up being rather amusing in a black comic way, as Miller stumbles across one dead body or bad situation after another.
Unlike many amateur sleuth murder mysteries, Miller doesn’t prove to be all that adept at ferreting out the real killer. Instead, readers will be pretty much on their own trying to solve the case, which adds to the book’s charm. The mystery is fairly good, and a lot of readers will have a tough time figuring this one out. I found myself trying to race through the last few chapters to satisfy my curiosity.
Sherrill is a skilled writer, and he manages to poke fun at today’s colleges, particularly the business and politics involved, without Murder U ever becoming downright silly, although the plot is admittedly far fetched. One thing I did not like was Sherrill’s use of the overdone gimmick of starting the book out at the end, with Miller being chased around campus by the killer, with the bulk of the book told as a lengthy flashback from a few days earlier. The attempts to build suspense in this prologue don’t match the considerably lighter later tone in the book, even when things get bad for Miller.
Murder U is a good, entertaining read for cozy mystery buffs. Despite what eventually becomes an enormous body count, the book never gets grisly or hard nosed, and mystery fans will enjoy trying to figure out the identity of the killer. Further, the eventual explanation of the crimes is actually consistent with some of the seemingly bizarre occurrences earlier of the book. Most important, although Clark Miller isn’t really much of a detective, he’s a fun character to build a book around. Murder U gets a passing grade with flying colors.
As the title implies, Murder U is set at a small town college campus somewhere in the south, where Miller has been a rather obscure history professor until his wife and the schools’ football coach turn up dead in the locker room, having been killed while in the midst of a different sort of workout. Miller is the prime suspect, but much to the chagrin of the cop in charge of the investigation, there’s not enough evidence to charge him. In the time-honored tradition of obtuse cops in mystery fiction everywhere, he persists in trying to pin the goods on Miller by any means, fair or foul.
Murder U is a tough book to describe briefly, but the best word that comes to mind is amiable. Miller finds himself in deep trouble from the opening page in this book, but I never go a sense of real suspense here. Instead, the author is content to follow Miller around as he tries to extricate himself and the book winds up being rather amusing in a black comic way, as Miller stumbles across one dead body or bad situation after another.
Unlike many amateur sleuth murder mysteries, Miller doesn’t prove to be all that adept at ferreting out the real killer. Instead, readers will be pretty much on their own trying to solve the case, which adds to the book’s charm. The mystery is fairly good, and a lot of readers will have a tough time figuring this one out. I found myself trying to race through the last few chapters to satisfy my curiosity.
Sherrill is a skilled writer, and he manages to poke fun at today’s colleges, particularly the business and politics involved, without Murder U ever becoming downright silly, although the plot is admittedly far fetched. One thing I did not like was Sherrill’s use of the overdone gimmick of starting the book out at the end, with Miller being chased around campus by the killer, with the bulk of the book told as a lengthy flashback from a few days earlier. The attempts to build suspense in this prologue don’t match the considerably lighter later tone in the book, even when things get bad for Miller.
Murder U is a good, entertaining read for cozy mystery buffs. Despite what eventually becomes an enormous body count, the book never gets grisly or hard nosed, and mystery fans will enjoy trying to figure out the identity of the killer. Further, the eventual explanation of the crimes is actually consistent with some of the seemingly bizarre occurrences earlier of the book. Most important, although Clark Miller isn’t really much of a detective, he’s a fun character to build a book around. Murder U gets a passing grade with flying colors.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews