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Pigs, poisoned cornbread, a feminist network, and a university tainted by corporate values. First in the Emily Addams Food for Thought Series.
One of the 18 funniest books to come out this spring. MediaBookBub.Com Emily Addams, foodie professor of women's studies at Arbor State--a land grant university in Northern California--finds herself an unlikely suspect in the poisoning of a man she barely knows: Professor Peter Elliott of Plant Biology, the hotshot developer of a new genetically modified corn.
How did her cornbread end up in his hand as he lay in the smelly muck of a pig's pen?
As Emily and her colleagues try to identify who and what has poisoned Peter, they also struggle to keep a new and corporate-minded administration from defunding the women's and ethnic studies programs.
In the process of solving the mystery, Emily and her network deepen their ties to each other--and uncover some of the dark secrets of a university whose traditionally communal values are being polluted by a wave of profit-fueled ideals.
Oink comes with recipes.
-It has been said that the comic campus novel is no more (things in higher education are verging on the tragic), but Oink proves otherwise.-
--Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber, authors of The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy
One of the 18 funniest books to come out this spring. MediaBookBub.Com Emily Addams, foodie professor of women's studies at Arbor State--a land grant university in Northern California--finds herself an unlikely suspect in the poisoning of a man she barely knows: Professor Peter Elliott of Plant Biology, the hotshot developer of a new genetically modified corn.
How did her cornbread end up in his hand as he lay in the smelly muck of a pig's pen?
As Emily and her colleagues try to identify who and what has poisoned Peter, they also struggle to keep a new and corporate-minded administration from defunding the women's and ethnic studies programs.
In the process of solving the mystery, Emily and her network deepen their ties to each other--and uncover some of the dark secrets of a university whose traditionally communal values are being polluted by a wave of profit-fueled ideals.
Oink comes with recipes.
-It has been said that the comic campus novel is no more (things in higher education are verging on the tragic), but Oink proves otherwise.-
--Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber, authors of The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy
- GenresMystery
233 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2017
21 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Newton
2 books4 followersJ. L. Newton is Professor Emerita at a land grant university. She is at work on another mystery and lives in California where she tends her garden and cooks for family and friends.
Also see Judith Newton
Also see Judith Newton
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 26, 2017
I think this book tried to tackle too many topics: murder mystery, women in stem, fight for humanities, university politics. Consequently, it was all over the board and lost momentum. If the author had tried to tackle just one subject, two at the most, it would have been significantly better because the writing style was very good.
I had to read this for my January's book group discussion, so I stuck with it. Otherwise, I would have abandoned it.
I had to read this for my January's book group discussion, so I stuck with it. Otherwise, I would have abandoned it.
April 18, 2017
It’s always a delight to meet a protagonist that embodies my own values. Emily Addams a professor of women’s studies at Arbor State University, in Northern California has spent her career building community and fighting injustice. Her preferred community building tools—cooking and eating. But Emily is going to need more than a corn and cherry scone to fight the corporatization of the university as corporate funding is allocated to the sciences, and the small interdisciplinary programs are defunded or eliminated.
To complicate matters, Emily learns Professor Peter Elliott, has been found poisoned in one of the school’s pigpens. Rumor says a group opposing genetically engineered crops is behind the poisoning as Elliott is researching GMO corn and a staunch supporter of Syndicon, the major GMO seed controller and research funder at Arbor State. Emily’s date, a math professor, tells her Elliot had cornbread clutched in his hand and she becomes a suspect when it’s learned the cornbread contains goat cheese and caramelized onions—Emily’s signature recipe, minus the pesticides baked in.
She rallies her community with food and camaraderie to investigate what really happened and through her perceptive mind, and dogged investigation she courageously does what she must to prove her innocence and save her fellows and their programs.
Author J.L. Newton makes a good case for community and a potential better way to feed the world, punctuating her points with delectable recipes at the end of each chapter. Her language is both accessible and intelligent, Emily and her colleagues sound like professors, parents and friends in realistic dialog and witty narration. I appreciated the thoughtful and often humorous look at two important themes, the corporatization of campuses and GMOs. Newton does not support corporate influenced universities, but she does make a case for the potential for GMO foods to feed the world. Respected scientific societies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization, have concluded that the GMO crops on the market are safe to eat. Even pundit Michael Pollan says the technology itself may not fundamentally pose a greater health threat than other forms of plant breeding. “ I think most of the problems arise from the way we’re choosing to apply it, what we’re using it for, and how we’re framing the problems that it is being used to solve.”
Cozy mystery fans and fans of food novels will enjoy the twisting plot and the delicious dishes shared throughout the novel as well as the vivid sense of place Newton has created. At times her description becomes lush and lyrical as she details the flora and fauna, the climate and the bucolic campus. Emily Addams is a new voice many will identify with.
To complicate matters, Emily learns Professor Peter Elliott, has been found poisoned in one of the school’s pigpens. Rumor says a group opposing genetically engineered crops is behind the poisoning as Elliott is researching GMO corn and a staunch supporter of Syndicon, the major GMO seed controller and research funder at Arbor State. Emily’s date, a math professor, tells her Elliot had cornbread clutched in his hand and she becomes a suspect when it’s learned the cornbread contains goat cheese and caramelized onions—Emily’s signature recipe, minus the pesticides baked in.
She rallies her community with food and camaraderie to investigate what really happened and through her perceptive mind, and dogged investigation she courageously does what she must to prove her innocence and save her fellows and their programs.
Author J.L. Newton makes a good case for community and a potential better way to feed the world, punctuating her points with delectable recipes at the end of each chapter. Her language is both accessible and intelligent, Emily and her colleagues sound like professors, parents and friends in realistic dialog and witty narration. I appreciated the thoughtful and often humorous look at two important themes, the corporatization of campuses and GMOs. Newton does not support corporate influenced universities, but she does make a case for the potential for GMO foods to feed the world. Respected scientific societies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization, have concluded that the GMO crops on the market are safe to eat. Even pundit Michael Pollan says the technology itself may not fundamentally pose a greater health threat than other forms of plant breeding. “ I think most of the problems arise from the way we’re choosing to apply it, what we’re using it for, and how we’re framing the problems that it is being used to solve.”
Cozy mystery fans and fans of food novels will enjoy the twisting plot and the delicious dishes shared throughout the novel as well as the vivid sense of place Newton has created. At times her description becomes lush and lyrical as she details the flora and fauna, the climate and the bucolic campus. Emily Addams is a new voice many will identify with.
August 1, 2017
JL Newton has produced an exceptional cozy mystery centering around the death of a professor on a University Campus fraught with internal fighting amongst the various departments. Newton makes the reader care about the protagonist, Emily Adams, especially in light of her lovely recipes and her potential new romantic interest. The mystery itself is first rate, and I did not see the end coming! A great novel I enjoyed coming back to each night! Can't wait for Book 2!
abandoned
October 28, 2018I hated this and refused to finish it.
March 15, 2018
Why would I finish a book I didn't like?
To see how much worse it could get.
J.L. Newton simply tries to cover too much territory in this novel.
Emily, a professor of Women's Studies at a small college, becomes a suspect in the poisoning of an plant biologist colleague after he is found face-down in the mud holding a piece of the type of cornbread Emily provided for a reception the night before.
Yes, Professor Peter poisoned in a pig pen. Oink, indeed!
Emily manages to interview all of the other suspects, and - of course - she identifies the perpetrator before the police do.
But the poisoning is just one of the equally developed plots. The Women's Studies program, as well as ethnic studies programs, are threatened with downsizing / absorption / elimination. Newton works in some passionate speeches about the need for humanities programs.
Professor Peter has been developing GMOs, working for both the college and a private company. His work leads to two subplots: the pros and cons of GMOs, and the issue of double-dipping from a college and a company. A sidebar of the farming issues brings up a brief but intense description of the problems faced by Native Americans who are losing their land and culture.
Another part of Emily's brain considers the pressures on women who teach at colleges. Women do everything that their male counterparts do, but they also raise children (because men don't?) and they must work harder to earn promotions, especially in the humanities. To demonstrate Emily's bonding with her daughter Polly (Who names a baby Polly in the 21st Century?), Newton gives us multiple pages about their preparing a polenta dish, visiting a farm market, and visiting town for Halloween.
Speaking of polenta: Emily is obsessed with corn. Her focus in Women's Study is the role of food in culture, and she is currently focusing on corn. The book has a long digression about Emily's trip to the south and her discovery of shrimp and grits. Halfway through the book, she decides to take a long afternoon to write an article about shrimp and grits! Emily often takes food when she visits friends; the recipes are provided in the novel, and they all contain corn - except for the Halloween cupcakes that use candy corn. Further evidence of the corn obsession comes from Emily's observation after a table of hors d'oeuvres crashes at a reception. "The blini I had so admired ... lay in an orange, white, and blue-brown heap all over the floor. Too bad. They were made of corn and I hadn't had a chance to try them." (No worries. The recipe appears at the end of the chapter.)
Emily has time to write an article about shrimp and grits as an aspect of American culture. She spends time with her daughter, socializes with friends, attends lots of committee meetings and receptions, goes to programs presented by other departments, dates a little bit, interviews the other suspects, and takes walks alone or with a friend.
Once or twice she mentions teaching a class, but she doesn't seem to prepare for class, respond to student work, or keep office hours.
Have you read Twain's description of James Fenimore Cooper's literary offenses? I might be veering into that territory, without the wit.
Here's a major offense: spoilers! Newton explains the irony of Susan Glaspell's story "A Jury of Her Peers," and she reveals the secret of "The Sixth Sense." Who does that?
And here's a minor offense: anachronism. The book has a 2017 copyright and is set in current times, but a character keeps important research information on CDs, rather than on flash drives.
I encourage you to add your own complaints in the comments.
Because Oink is labeled "Food For Thought Mystery #1," I believe that Newton has planned a series. Why else would she introduce so many characters (Miriam?) and leave us wondering about the 3 AM phone calls?
To see how much worse it could get.
J.L. Newton simply tries to cover too much territory in this novel.
Emily, a professor of Women's Studies at a small college, becomes a suspect in the poisoning of an plant biologist colleague after he is found face-down in the mud holding a piece of the type of cornbread Emily provided for a reception the night before.
Yes, Professor Peter poisoned in a pig pen. Oink, indeed!
Emily manages to interview all of the other suspects, and - of course - she identifies the perpetrator before the police do.
But the poisoning is just one of the equally developed plots. The Women's Studies program, as well as ethnic studies programs, are threatened with downsizing / absorption / elimination. Newton works in some passionate speeches about the need for humanities programs.
Professor Peter has been developing GMOs, working for both the college and a private company. His work leads to two subplots: the pros and cons of GMOs, and the issue of double-dipping from a college and a company. A sidebar of the farming issues brings up a brief but intense description of the problems faced by Native Americans who are losing their land and culture.
Another part of Emily's brain considers the pressures on women who teach at colleges. Women do everything that their male counterparts do, but they also raise children (because men don't?) and they must work harder to earn promotions, especially in the humanities. To demonstrate Emily's bonding with her daughter Polly (Who names a baby Polly in the 21st Century?), Newton gives us multiple pages about their preparing a polenta dish, visiting a farm market, and visiting town for Halloween.
Speaking of polenta: Emily is obsessed with corn. Her focus in Women's Study is the role of food in culture, and she is currently focusing on corn. The book has a long digression about Emily's trip to the south and her discovery of shrimp and grits. Halfway through the book, she decides to take a long afternoon to write an article about shrimp and grits! Emily often takes food when she visits friends; the recipes are provided in the novel, and they all contain corn - except for the Halloween cupcakes that use candy corn. Further evidence of the corn obsession comes from Emily's observation after a table of hors d'oeuvres crashes at a reception. "The blini I had so admired ... lay in an orange, white, and blue-brown heap all over the floor. Too bad. They were made of corn and I hadn't had a chance to try them." (No worries. The recipe appears at the end of the chapter.)
Emily has time to write an article about shrimp and grits as an aspect of American culture. She spends time with her daughter, socializes with friends, attends lots of committee meetings and receptions, goes to programs presented by other departments, dates a little bit, interviews the other suspects, and takes walks alone or with a friend.
Once or twice she mentions teaching a class, but she doesn't seem to prepare for class, respond to student work, or keep office hours.
Have you read Twain's description of James Fenimore Cooper's literary offenses? I might be veering into that territory, without the wit.
Here's a major offense: spoilers! Newton explains the irony of Susan Glaspell's story "A Jury of Her Peers," and she reveals the secret of "The Sixth Sense." Who does that?
And here's a minor offense: anachronism. The book has a 2017 copyright and is set in current times, but a character keeps important research information on CDs, rather than on flash drives.
I encourage you to add your own complaints in the comments.
Because Oink is labeled "Food For Thought Mystery #1," I believe that Newton has planned a series. Why else would she introduce so many characters (Miriam?) and leave us wondering about the 3 AM phone calls?
March 14, 2017
This book was great fun! I thoroughly enjoyed it, had a hard time putting it down. I could easily put myself in the shoes of the protagonist, and couldn't wait to see how the "who dun-it" unfolded. Throughout, Newton weaves in a critique of the corporatization of higher education, but skillfully does so without sounding like she's giving a lecture. And I loved the recipes throughout, I'll be trying some of them out. Anyone who is interested in mysteries, strong women characters, and/or good food will love this book like I did.
May 24, 2017
This is a fun and easy read. Some of Newton's criticisms of the university become heavy handed and not necessary to the plot. She tries to make the novel about both the death of the humanities and a mystery novel. Unfortunately, there's not enough room to make it both. Because the politics of post-secondary education are necessarily complex, she would have been better off just writing the mystery novel.
January 8, 2026
Oink is an unusual and often entertaining campus mystery that blends academic satire, food politics, and feminist community-building. The premise poisoned cornbread, pigs, and a corporate-leaning university administration signals early on that this novel is less interested in procedural realism than in cultural critique.
Emily Addams is a likable and principled protagonist, and the novel’s greatest strength lies in its depiction of collegial networks and collective resistance. The feminist friendships and alliances feel genuine, and the anger at the erosion of public university values under profit-driven leadership is sharp and well-earned.
At times, the mystery itself feels secondary to the novel’s thematic concerns, and the pacing can be uneven. Still, the book’s humor, clear point of view, and commitment to questioning power structures make it an engaging read especially for anyone familiar with academic life or campus politics.
I’m an author and enjoy connecting with fellow writers and readers.
contact.nk.jemisin@gmail.com
Emily Addams is a likable and principled protagonist, and the novel’s greatest strength lies in its depiction of collegial networks and collective resistance. The feminist friendships and alliances feel genuine, and the anger at the erosion of public university values under profit-driven leadership is sharp and well-earned.
At times, the mystery itself feels secondary to the novel’s thematic concerns, and the pacing can be uneven. Still, the book’s humor, clear point of view, and commitment to questioning power structures make it an engaging read especially for anyone familiar with academic life or campus politics.
I’m an author and enjoy connecting with fellow writers and readers.
contact.nk.jemisin@gmail.com
February 15, 2020
I really had to force myself to get through this book. I rarely ever abandon books but Oink came close. The author came across through the protagonist of this novel as being disgruntled with office politics in their former profession, writing a manifesto thinly veiled as a mystery novel. The mystery itself was not well designed. The main clue was a piece of cornbread that a bystander happened to notice in the victim's hand when he was found in mud and mention on a first date?!?!?! The amateur sleuth Emily Addams has a preachy, vigilante complex that made her a bit unlikeable. Introduced are too many different characters that lacked development. And many stale mystery tropes were used 'Why not call the lady I briefly met that asked me invasive questions before I call the cops?'
January 26, 2018
A delightful blend of mystery, romance, and eighteen mouth-watering corn-based recipes makes Oink a delightful ride through a midwestern university campus. The professor died in the agricultural department's barn from ingesting cornbread. (Not a spoiler alert, since this is announced on page 18. Populated with arrogant, manipulative, and deceitful professors and enough political machinations to satisfy any mystery reader, Oink showcases a single middle-aged woman professor's determination to change the character of academia at the same time she solves this whodunit. Can't wait for the next mystery in the series by J.L. Newton.
May 22, 2018
Peter Elliott, a GMO researcher and corporate toady, is found in a coma with a piece of tainted cornbread in his hand. Women's studies professor Emily Addams, who is trying to help unite the ethnic studies departments to save them from university cost cutting measures, realizes that it's the cornbread she brought to a potluck--but Elliott wasn't at the potluck. Emily doesn't want to be a suspect, and she doesn't want to cause any of her friends to be under suspicion, either. So she decides to look into the case herself, with the help of some of the women on campus who sympathize with her ideas.
February 12, 2020
A fun little novel. No lurking, deranged, murderous villain. Emily is a professor of "woman's studies" who enjoys the company of others and baking with corn. There are recipes between each chapters, wonderful. Her recipe for "corn bread" has been singled out as the food that has poisoned a professor. She goes on a journey of detective sleuthing to clear her name, and her favorite dish of "corn bread"!It was a fun and enjoyable read. Enjoy. Later. Keep Reading.
August 28, 2018
It tried to cover a lot of issues that are all definitely important, but it felt like a bit much (at times maybe a bit preachy). Emily seemed fixated on the fact that she would never make corn bread again and that got a little annoying. It was still an okay read
March 4, 2020
I consider this a cozy mystery. Nothing too scary, not very riveting, just a nice story to read before bed. The recipes at the end of every chapter look good too. I’ve copied a couple to try in the future.
July 23, 2017
Fun for Davis readers but a hokey plot.
December 28, 2017
I'm delighted this promises to be the first of a series, as Emily Addams, JL Newton's protagonist who heads the Women's Studies program at a rural land grant college, is complicated and fun—and a great cook. Those who have witnessed university politics will particularly enjoy this cozy mystery, heightened by a poisoning, love affairs, and an English professor who catches on fire at a faculty gathering. Who wouldn't love to see that?? The rich information in this about corrupted academic research is relevant and informative, all subtly delivered via diverse female characters who enliven a tale of payola with a countering alliance. These are characters well worth revisiting in new tales.
April 17, 2017
Emily Addams is a professor of women's studies at Arbor State University, caught up in college administration politics and trying to keep her department alive and not swallowed up into another department. In the middle of all of that, a plant biology professor is found unconcious (poisoned) in the hog barn after eating a piece of corn bread, presumably baked by Emily.
There is a lot going on in this book, much of which I had a hard time following. Perhaps readers who are more into college administration would have had an easier time with it. A great deal of the happenings revolved around food, and the author supplied recipes throughout the book. Quite frankly, those recipes looked pretty good!
There was some humor, some mystery, some debating about genetically modified foods, and so much more.
*Disclosure: An advance reader copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.
There is a lot going on in this book, much of which I had a hard time following. Perhaps readers who are more into college administration would have had an easier time with it. A great deal of the happenings revolved around food, and the author supplied recipes throughout the book. Quite frankly, those recipes looked pretty good!
There was some humor, some mystery, some debating about genetically modified foods, and so much more.
*Disclosure: An advance reader copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.
December 13, 2017
Newton captures the land grant college, its faculty and politics, making it the perfect scene for a potential murder. Like Agatha Christie, she develops a cast of characters with diverse motives who just might've done the deed. Yet this cozy is completely contemporary, with modern concerns such as the need to diversify faculty and the role of GMOs in our food. Sprinkled throughout her spot-on descriptions of scenery and personalities are recipes for corn-based dishes, keeping the reader salivating. In the end, she's cooked up quite a meal of a mystery, perfectly seasoned and most satisfying.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews