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Rex Graves Mystery #3
Phi Beta Murder
Book 3 in the Acclaimed Red Graves Mystery Series Scottish barrister Rex Graves will never understand why the devil his son Campbell chose to go to college in Florida rather than attending university in bonny Scotland. During Rex's visit across the pond, tragedy strikes when a student is found hanging from a rope in his locked dorm room. Did the poor lad commit suicide, or was it murder? With one student dead and his own son in danger, Rex Graves vows to learn the truth. In between trying not to worry about Campbell and trying to please his new love, Helen d'Arcy (while keeping ex-girlfriend Moira at bay), Rex conducts his own investigation. What he finds is a maze of sordid secrets in the university's not-so-hallowed halls. Praise for the Rex Graves mystery series by C. S.
"A winner...a must for cozy fans."― Booklist (starred review) "A clever variant on the locked room mystery. With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery."― Mystery Scene Phi Beta Murder is not affiliated or associated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society or any of its members or affiliated organizations.
"A winner...a must for cozy fans."― Booklist (starred review) "A clever variant on the locked room mystery. With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery."― Mystery Scene Phi Beta Murder is not affiliated or associated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society or any of its members or affiliated organizations.
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2010
11 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Challinor
19 books67 followersC.S. Challinor was raised and educated in Scotland (St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh) and England (Lewes Priory, Sussex; University of Kent, Canterbury: Joint Hons Latin & French). She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She now lives in Southwest Florida. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild, New York, and writes the critically acclaimed Rex Graves cozy mystery series featuring Rex Graves, Scottish barrister-sleuth.
CHRISTMAS IS MURDER, the first in the series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. This title is also available in large print hardcover through Thorndike Reviewer's Choice. The fifth in the series, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. JUDGMENT OF MURDER, #8, the newest Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released on November 8, 2016, to highly favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.
Please note, the covers shown on Goodreads for MURDER IN THE RAW and PHI BETA MURDER are the old covers. These two titles have since been recovered for subsequent editions, print and digital.
CHRISTMAS IS MURDER, the first in the series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. This title is also available in large print hardcover through Thorndike Reviewer's Choice. The fifth in the series, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. JUDGMENT OF MURDER, #8, the newest Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released on November 8, 2016, to highly favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.
Please note, the covers shown on Goodreads for MURDER IN THE RAW and PHI BETA MURDER are the old covers. These two titles have since been recovered for subsequent editions, print and digital.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 10, 2019
I recently moved to Pennsylvania and I anticipate attending a local bookclub in my rural area which focuses on mystery writers. The theme for this month is entitled “Deviant Detectives” which is interesting enough, but the organizers had also given a list of suggested authors, a list upon which many names were unfamiliar to me. I finally chose an author who had a couple trade paperbacks on the shelves in my small community library—C. S. Challinor.
The back copy did not introduce the author, so after skimming a page or two of the mystery which begins with the memorable line, “…the volcanic formation of Arthur’s Seat resembled a pair of buttocks,” I guessed the author to be a Scottish male. Wrong. The main character is a Scottish male barrister but the author is female, from Bloomington, Indiana. Later I would have reason to question the choice of a male protagonist by the author.
While I ended up enjoying what the author wanted to do—create a locked door mystery— the male viewpoint was not a natural fit and exposed some stereotypes the author leaned on to give depth and interest to the detective. Challinor might have done better with a strong female lead. This third in the Rex Graves series was published in 2010.
Rex Graves has a son, Campbell, attending university at a small liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Florida. On the very day Rex arrives at his son’s dorm, a student the floor below is found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room. Rex starts asking questions and notices some inconsistencies in explanations given by the student’s peers.
Perhaps because Challinor is new to me, or perhaps because her characters acting differently than I would have were I in their place, I found myself questioning the voices of the characters, rankling a little when I felt the author was putting on a Scottish man’s knowledge of Florida, even a father’s attitude towards his son.
Instead I would rather talk about what I liked about this novel and that would be Rex himself. He has a level of compassion for youthful mistakes that is reassuring and his attitude towards those who are bullied at school is supportive. If at first I was horrified about the way he spoke with Moira, his old flame who had just returned from Iraq, I later determined that Rex had a reason for his emotional distance from her that may have played out earlier in the series.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what I have come to see as unconscious racism in the novel that positively jump out at me now that I’ve spent several years trying to see my own biases. The author relies on racial stereotypes when describing the one black character in the novel, i.e., “grace of a panther” and “a smile…the dazzling whiteness of halogen bulbs.” And she describes Jacksonville black neighborhoods as the probable source of the crime found in the city. Small cuts, but they still bleed.
Aside from this, a key clue in the novel revolved around something that appears to me to be an authorial and editorial oversight: a button from a hoodie. In all my years I have never seen a hoodie with buttons. They are either pull-overs or zippered. Surprising that such a glaring offense would get through the numerous checks an author must have to curb their worst tendencies while fictionalizing.
This mystery made me question what I like about mystery series and I began to list the things I look for: an author who sees the bad in human circumstance but who still creates a lead character with a strong moral compass; motivations I recognize; lack of triviality when dealing with matters of life and death; a sense of humor; an author who is not sloppy—may misdirect but who does not obfuscate.
One of my favorite crime-solving duos would be Hap and Leonard, a series created by Joe R. Lansdale and set in Texas. The pair, a gay black war veteran and a white working-class draft dodger who have been best friends since childhood, embody all the things I love in mysteries and/or crime novels including the contradictory pairing of sincerity and a deep humor. The series was turned into a SundanceTV series (starring Michael Kenneth Williams and James Purefoy) for three seasons.
C.S. Challinor has been a successful author since at least 2008 and now has eight books in the Rex Graves series. Her publisher, Midnight Ink, a division of Llewellyn better known for New Age titles, is based in Minnesota. Llewellyn recently announced it plans to close Midnight Ink in August 2019, citing lack of sales. Three editors will lose their jobs as a result of the closing. First launched in 2005, Midnight Ink had a 15-year run.
Rex Graves did not rank as a "Deviant Detective" by his own words: the most illegal thing he'd ever done was to assist someone with a break-and-entry. I guess I would put Janet Evanovich on the list. See what you think about the other authors mentioned:
Betty Webb
Harry Kemelman
Peter Ellis
Parnell Hall
Gillian Roberts
Joanne Fluke
Aaron Elkins
Sarah Andrews
The back copy did not introduce the author, so after skimming a page or two of the mystery which begins with the memorable line, “…the volcanic formation of Arthur’s Seat resembled a pair of buttocks,” I guessed the author to be a Scottish male. Wrong. The main character is a Scottish male barrister but the author is female, from Bloomington, Indiana. Later I would have reason to question the choice of a male protagonist by the author.
While I ended up enjoying what the author wanted to do—create a locked door mystery— the male viewpoint was not a natural fit and exposed some stereotypes the author leaned on to give depth and interest to the detective. Challinor might have done better with a strong female lead. This third in the Rex Graves series was published in 2010.
Rex Graves has a son, Campbell, attending university at a small liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Florida. On the very day Rex arrives at his son’s dorm, a student the floor below is found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room. Rex starts asking questions and notices some inconsistencies in explanations given by the student’s peers.
Perhaps because Challinor is new to me, or perhaps because her characters acting differently than I would have were I in their place, I found myself questioning the voices of the characters, rankling a little when I felt the author was putting on a Scottish man’s knowledge of Florida, even a father’s attitude towards his son.
Instead I would rather talk about what I liked about this novel and that would be Rex himself. He has a level of compassion for youthful mistakes that is reassuring and his attitude towards those who are bullied at school is supportive. If at first I was horrified about the way he spoke with Moira, his old flame who had just returned from Iraq, I later determined that Rex had a reason for his emotional distance from her that may have played out earlier in the series.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what I have come to see as unconscious racism in the novel that positively jump out at me now that I’ve spent several years trying to see my own biases. The author relies on racial stereotypes when describing the one black character in the novel, i.e., “grace of a panther” and “a smile…the dazzling whiteness of halogen bulbs.” And she describes Jacksonville black neighborhoods as the probable source of the crime found in the city. Small cuts, but they still bleed.
Aside from this, a key clue in the novel revolved around something that appears to me to be an authorial and editorial oversight: a button from a hoodie. In all my years I have never seen a hoodie with buttons. They are either pull-overs or zippered. Surprising that such a glaring offense would get through the numerous checks an author must have to curb their worst tendencies while fictionalizing.
This mystery made me question what I like about mystery series and I began to list the things I look for: an author who sees the bad in human circumstance but who still creates a lead character with a strong moral compass; motivations I recognize; lack of triviality when dealing with matters of life and death; a sense of humor; an author who is not sloppy—may misdirect but who does not obfuscate.
One of my favorite crime-solving duos would be Hap and Leonard, a series created by Joe R. Lansdale and set in Texas. The pair, a gay black war veteran and a white working-class draft dodger who have been best friends since childhood, embody all the things I love in mysteries and/or crime novels including the contradictory pairing of sincerity and a deep humor. The series was turned into a SundanceTV series (starring Michael Kenneth Williams and James Purefoy) for three seasons.
C.S. Challinor has been a successful author since at least 2008 and now has eight books in the Rex Graves series. Her publisher, Midnight Ink, a division of Llewellyn better known for New Age titles, is based in Minnesota. Llewellyn recently announced it plans to close Midnight Ink in August 2019, citing lack of sales. Three editors will lose their jobs as a result of the closing. First launched in 2005, Midnight Ink had a 15-year run.
Rex Graves did not rank as a "Deviant Detective" by his own words: the most illegal thing he'd ever done was to assist someone with a break-and-entry. I guess I would put Janet Evanovich on the list. See what you think about the other authors mentioned:
Betty Webb
Harry Kemelman
Peter Ellis
Parnell Hall
Gillian Roberts
Joanne Fluke
Aaron Elkins
Sarah Andrews
August 11, 2020
A locked room mystery! C. S. Challinor’s Phi Beta Murder (Rex Graves Mystery #3) has Scottish barrister Rex Graves visiting his son, Campbell, at university in the USA. Rex has no idea why his son chose a university in the state of Florida versus studying in ‘bonny’ Scotland, but Rex is on his way to visit his son in Florida, but he certainly does not expect to be the one to burst open the dorm room in Campbell’s dorm to see a young man hanging from the ceiling. Just what is happening, and is his son heading for trouble? Rex had planned to visit his son, and hopefully, the two of them were going to check out The Florida Keys. Rex certainly was not about to get involved in this young man’s suicide, but he does. The author does a bang-up job with this locked room mystery - ‘real’ characters, deep emotions, and a setting in Florida. It all rings true. Well done! 4.5 stars.
February 25, 2021
Rex visits his son in Florida, and witnesses a suicide. Or was it? Hired by the boy's parents, Rex investigates what really happened.
Book 3 got two stars for going back to the whodunit. But......
Rex was upset his son spent all night with his gf and slept on the ride north. Mighty funny coming from a character who does the same this with the 'lass' he's seeing.... Make up your mind author.
The author must have been motherless the way she thinks men gawking at women is acceptable.
Oh here we go, a token 'black' person was just dropped. And to think I thought this author didn't bother with mentioning the color of a person's skin when she talked about the woman with the tight black curls. I assumed she was African American in my head. Nope, it would've been mentioned....
To think I've already read two books in this series and not one person of color was in them! Because the author would have pointed it out....
The girls backsides were "impressive assets"? Ew, this guy is old enough to be their father...
Here's to hoping this female author, at some point in her life, gets over her sexist mindset.
Book 3 got two stars for going back to the whodunit. But......
Rex was upset his son spent all night with his gf and slept on the ride north. Mighty funny coming from a character who does the same this with the 'lass' he's seeing.... Make up your mind author.
The author must have been motherless the way she thinks men gawking at women is acceptable.
Oh here we go, a token 'black' person was just dropped. And to think I thought this author didn't bother with mentioning the color of a person's skin when she talked about the woman with the tight black curls. I assumed she was African American in my head. Nope, it would've been mentioned....
To think I've already read two books in this series and not one person of color was in them! Because the author would have pointed it out....
The girls backsides were "impressive assets"? Ew, this guy is old enough to be their father...
Here's to hoping this female author, at some point in her life, gets over her sexist mindset.
June 14, 2013
C S Challinor's sojourns in Scotland and England and residency in Florida, her academic background, ear for language and love of the classic age of whodunits all contribute greatly to the authority of this novel. She writes sympathetically about individuals from one culture adapting to another, about the struggles and stresses of students coping away from home and the bemusement of their elders trying to get to grips with modern mores. And, for the mystery aficionado, she sprinkles the text with clues and red herrings in equal measure in best whodunit tradition. Phi Beta Murder is a fine page-turner given a sense of urgency by predetermined time-constraints and the cloistered and claustrophobic atmosphere of a second-rate Florida college where a student is found hanged. Add to that a list of dramatis personae and a taster for a sequel and you have a hugely enjoyable piece of bedtime fiction.
A confession: I'm not a great fan of mysteries, especially when they're self-declared cozy mysteries, a sub-genre paying homage to classic detective writers like Agatha Christie. In common with many critics characterisation can often seem mechanical and the individuals mere pawns in the plot-led story; in this sense their weakness is their strength, exactly as candy-floss, while not providing proper nutrition, nevertheless gives you the pleasure that comes with a sugar-hit. What gives Challinor's locked-room mystery its real meat, however, is the back story of Rex Graves, Scottish QC and amateur sleuth, and his all-too-human attempts to cope with family and relationships and what fate throws at him. Unlike the mystery plot there are no simple solutions to life's conundrums, and one really warms to this well-observed middle-aged male adrift in a sea of emotion.
A final observation: there must be few detective stories, let alone tales set in Edinburgh, with as arresting an opening sentence as "From Blackford Hill, the volcanic formation of Arthur's Seat resembled a pair of buttocks." If that doesn't grab your attention, I suspect nothing much will.
http://wp.me/p2oNj1-p6
A confession: I'm not a great fan of mysteries, especially when they're self-declared cozy mysteries, a sub-genre paying homage to classic detective writers like Agatha Christie. In common with many critics characterisation can often seem mechanical and the individuals mere pawns in the plot-led story; in this sense their weakness is their strength, exactly as candy-floss, while not providing proper nutrition, nevertheless gives you the pleasure that comes with a sugar-hit. What gives Challinor's locked-room mystery its real meat, however, is the back story of Rex Graves, Scottish QC and amateur sleuth, and his all-too-human attempts to cope with family and relationships and what fate throws at him. Unlike the mystery plot there are no simple solutions to life's conundrums, and one really warms to this well-observed middle-aged male adrift in a sea of emotion.
A final observation: there must be few detective stories, let alone tales set in Edinburgh, with as arresting an opening sentence as "From Blackford Hill, the volcanic formation of Arthur's Seat resembled a pair of buttocks." If that doesn't grab your attention, I suspect nothing much will.
http://wp.me/p2oNj1-p6
October 1, 2010
Characters seemed static for the rich backgrounds to explore. Some were just plain annoying! The premise that a Scottish attorney could question people so easily just didn't seem plausible. It wasn't a bad read, and it was a mystery with an academic setting, so I finished it.
February 20, 2023
Scottish barrister Rex Graves heads to Florida where his son, Campbell, is attending college. Their last phone conversation has led him to believe that something is bothering the young man and he's looking forward to some father-son time. Maybe Campbell will confide in his old man. But Rex has just arrived when something more serious crops up. The RA for Campbell's dorm is found dead behind a locked door--an apparent suicide. When Dixon Clark's parents learn that Rex was first on the scene (he broke in the door) and that he has a law background, they ask him to investigate. Initial conversations with Campbell and his friends lead him to believe that there is more to the death than meets the eye. But that means there is a murderer loose on campus and he fears his son may be in danger as well.
To make things even more complicated, Rex's ex-girlfriend, Moira, shows up. She tried to talk to Rex before he headed for the States, but he wasn't having any. She left him behind in Scotland to do charitable work in the middle east...and took up with another man out there. Now that that man has left her, Moira thinks they can just pick up where they left off. But Rex has moved on to another relationship and isn't interested. But Moira is ready to do what she has to in order to get Rex back...
Juggling an investigation and an insistant ex is difficult enough when one is at home, but handling matters in another country adds an extra element of challenge. Fortunately, Rex has experience in amateur investigations and his instincts lead him to conversations with the right people. Now he just has to find the evidence to back him up...
Challinor gives us an interesting twist on the locked room mystery and does a pretty good job with red herrings and clue placement. And I do appreciate a mystery with an academic bent to it. The plot itself is a good one, but I wasn't taken with the whole Moira side-story. I'm not a big fan of so much personal conflict in the lives of the lead detectives--which is probably why I prefer Golden Age mysteries. The conflict is always centered on the mystery, providing motives and red herrings. The detective is there to do just that--detect. It's nice for the detectives to have a bit of depth to their character but ongoing emotional drama doesn't generally add to a mystery for me (there are some exceptions), especially when it doesn't really add to the story. And I don't feel like Moira adds much here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
To make things even more complicated, Rex's ex-girlfriend, Moira, shows up. She tried to talk to Rex before he headed for the States, but he wasn't having any. She left him behind in Scotland to do charitable work in the middle east...and took up with another man out there. Now that that man has left her, Moira thinks they can just pick up where they left off. But Rex has moved on to another relationship and isn't interested. But Moira is ready to do what she has to in order to get Rex back...
Juggling an investigation and an insistant ex is difficult enough when one is at home, but handling matters in another country adds an extra element of challenge. Fortunately, Rex has experience in amateur investigations and his instincts lead him to conversations with the right people. Now he just has to find the evidence to back him up...
Challinor gives us an interesting twist on the locked room mystery and does a pretty good job with red herrings and clue placement. And I do appreciate a mystery with an academic bent to it. The plot itself is a good one, but I wasn't taken with the whole Moira side-story. I'm not a big fan of so much personal conflict in the lives of the lead detectives--which is probably why I prefer Golden Age mysteries. The conflict is always centered on the mystery, providing motives and red herrings. The detective is there to do just that--detect. It's nice for the detectives to have a bit of depth to their character but ongoing emotional drama doesn't generally add to a mystery for me (there are some exceptions), especially when it doesn't really add to the story. And I don't feel like Moira adds much here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
October 16, 2023
"Readers meet up once again with Rex Graves in the third mystery to follow the Scottish barrister with a knack for getting involved in the ultimate crime. Rex is on his way out of the beautiful Scottish countryside leaving behind Helen his new woman-friend and his mother to visit his son on the campus of his American college. Campbell Graves is supposed to be enjoying life at Hilliard University in Jacksonville Florida but lately on the phone he's sounded rather distant and Rex wants nothing more than to see his son and make sure everything is all right. Unfortunately for Rex his bad luck continues: the day he steps on campus is the day a young man is found in his locked room hanging from the ceiling. And Rex finds himself immersed in the questions surrounding the young man's death. Murder or suicide ends up being a very hard call to make as a plethora of students teachers and all-round strange sorts seem to come out of the woodwork.
While all this is going on Rex's ex-girlfriend flounces across his already messed-up world. Moira Wilcox is a woman who once had Rex's heart. She is back from a horrible time in Iraq filled with death-defying experiences and wants nothing more than to get back together with the one man she could always count on. Soon Rex must split his time between worrying about his son, solving a crime that seems to involve a million people with a million different agendas, and trying to balance his love life without losing people in the process.
Humor and well-written characters add to the story as does some reflection on the causes of suicide. A wonderful read and great plot for cozy mystery lovers."--Foreword Magazine
While all this is going on Rex's ex-girlfriend flounces across his already messed-up world. Moira Wilcox is a woman who once had Rex's heart. She is back from a horrible time in Iraq filled with death-defying experiences and wants nothing more than to get back together with the one man she could always count on. Soon Rex must split his time between worrying about his son, solving a crime that seems to involve a million people with a million different agendas, and trying to balance his love life without losing people in the process.
Humor and well-written characters add to the story as does some reflection on the causes of suicide. A wonderful read and great plot for cozy mystery lovers."--Foreword Magazine
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2013
Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I did find there were a few too many characters that led to some confusion. With the killer, I felt the author ran a play out of the playbook of the "Castle" writers where the least visible person was the culprit, and I didn't feel that played very fairly with the reader.
Also, not really sure I could fully buy into Rex and the way he was portrayed. There was one instance toward the end of the book that really bugged me where Rex was admiring the rear-ends of some co-eds. I know men will be apt to do that, but honestly, with the type of character this guy was portrayed as earlier in the book, I felt it was out of character and definitely unnecessary.
Overall, I'm not sure if I'll read this author again. I may try to see if any other books are better characterized or written, but the characterization coupled with a bit of overwriting in the middle make me a little less willing to put the author on my to-read list again.
Also, not really sure I could fully buy into Rex and the way he was portrayed. There was one instance toward the end of the book that really bugged me where Rex was admiring the rear-ends of some co-eds. I know men will be apt to do that, but honestly, with the type of character this guy was portrayed as earlier in the book, I felt it was out of character and definitely unnecessary.
Overall, I'm not sure if I'll read this author again. I may try to see if any other books are better characterized or written, but the characterization coupled with a bit of overwriting in the middle make me a little less willing to put the author on my to-read list again.
November 1, 2014
This is the second book in the Rex Graves series I have read. Graves is a QC in Edinburgh and solves crimes as a sideline. His son, Campbell, is a college student in the US and Graves pays him a visit when a suicide occurs.....or is it? One of the male students is found locked in his dorm room and it appears that he has hanged himself. The deceased parents ask Graves to look into the situation as the boy was not a suicidal type and this leads to a controversial student web site, drugs, and even kleptomania. This book is very short and even so is padded out with descriptions that do not move the story forward......something like this (although it is not a quote from the book... "He sat on the hillside and untied his shoes and wondered if he should buy a new pair. Later, he put his shoes back on, walked down the hill and entered the house. He decided to go to bed." I don't need to know that since it is meaningless in the scheme of things and obviously is used to squeeze a few more pages between the covers.
When I read the first book, I remember saying basically the same thing about the padding but thought I would give the author another go. But it just became irritating, so I am probably not going to read the rest of the series.
When I read the first book, I remember saying basically the same thing about the padding but thought I would give the author another go. But it just became irritating, so I am probably not going to read the rest of the series.
August 11, 2019
In this book Rex Graves goes to visit his son in an American university. Another student commits suicide, or was it suicide? Rex does the investigation.
This series is right now my favorite mystery series that I am reading. This book is not a disappointment. Again we have an interesting story with a lot of people involved who all may be guilty which makes us all wonder about what happened and I didn't guess it until the end. .
This is also the series where I really don't mind reading about Rex's own story. The events make us stay interested. And he is a great character who is easy to like.
This book touches the subject of freedom of speech on college campus. This is a pretty big topic in America now. But this book was written in 2010 before it all began here. It is also different, it talks about the line where this speech endangers others, not voicing an opinion that isn't mainstream. Apples and oranges.
And the suicide theme also plays a big role in this book. Very well done. It was a really fun and fast read.
This series is right now my favorite mystery series that I am reading. This book is not a disappointment. Again we have an interesting story with a lot of people involved who all may be guilty which makes us all wonder about what happened and I didn't guess it until the end. .
This is also the series where I really don't mind reading about Rex's own story. The events make us stay interested. And he is a great character who is easy to like.
This book touches the subject of freedom of speech on college campus. This is a pretty big topic in America now. But this book was written in 2010 before it all began here. It is also different, it talks about the line where this speech endangers others, not voicing an opinion that isn't mainstream. Apples and oranges.
And the suicide theme also plays a big role in this book. Very well done. It was a really fun and fast read.
May 17, 2019
A combination of a cozy and a Sherlockian mystery. Rex is concerned about his son Campbell, who seems to be stressed out about something. So he decides to go visit him at his college. And, of course, a dead body is discovered. Can Rex figure out what happened? There are some personal issues thrown in to cause more distractions. There are a number of current social issues throughout the book, with some subtle digs about U.S. culture.
March 19, 2023
I did not enjoy this one as much as previous installments. A large part of it reads like a PSA on suicide or addiction. Facts weren’t blended into the story well. That being said, it was enjoyable to see Rex’s fatherly side and meet his son. I did not enjoy meeting Moira, however. PTSD aside, she was whiny and weak, not at all as she was described in previous books. And for me, the ending was just too happy and hunky dory. Unrealistic.
May 8, 2025
I would definitely give it a 3.5 or 3.75 if I could. I really like this author and a series of books. Very fast read the story doesn’t get too complicated or wrapped up, but it is very engaging. I like reading about the Scottish barrister and his adventures! A fun read, and i’ll be reading the next book in the series next!
September 14, 2019
Once again a interesting premise, lots of suspects and dogged work by Rex to find the culprit. What more could you ask for?
May 4, 2025
A little too pat for my taste, and I don't believe the solution to the locked room.
Read
June 18, 2025pure escape, fun read, enough mystery to entertain and nothing brutal or violent.
March 28, 2025
really enjoyed reading this, liked the character development of the MC!
October 6, 2019
Scottish barrister Rex Graves visits his son Campbell in Florida—one of Campbell’s fellow students has apparently committed suicide by hanging. The parents ask Rex to investigate because school administration doesn’t want to cause waves. While trying to discover the truth of the matter, Rex’s ex- girlfriend Moira shows up, suffering from depression and attempts suicide in his motel room. Fans of British cozies will enjoy this mystery in the style of Agatha Christie.
December 23, 2013
Book 3 in this series of stories was not a let down at all. The author is doing a great job at creating new scenes and destinations for Rex, the main character, in each story & he keeps the characters involved in the story pretty fresh as well; or as fresh as is possible when writing a story.
At first I wasn't sure if this story would be to my liking; I mean it takes place on a college campus and those can be a bit boring but the author did a wonderful job of creating likeable and of course just as importantly unlikeable characters throughout the college campus. The story had enough twists and turns in it to keep you guessing as a couple of times I found myself thinking of someone as the culprit only to end up being someone you didn't think of at all.
At first I wasn't sure if this story would be to my liking; I mean it takes place on a college campus and those can be a bit boring but the author did a wonderful job of creating likeable and of course just as importantly unlikeable characters throughout the college campus. The story had enough twists and turns in it to keep you guessing as a couple of times I found myself thinking of someone as the culprit only to end up being someone you didn't think of at all.
April 2, 2012
Rex Graves is visiting his son in sunny Florida. When another student in his dorm is found hanging Rex senses that something isn't right, it doesn't "feel" like suicide to him.
Meantime, Moira is back and has followed him to Florida to try and get back together with Rex. Rex is equally determined to break things off permanently and keep his relationship with Helen on track.
Rex has to work his way through American rules, laws and quirks to try and solve the mystery of who killed Dixon, and why.
Loved the interaction between Rex and his son Campbell. It felt real and natural not forced or stupid. I can't wait to read more in this series.
Meantime, Moira is back and has followed him to Florida to try and get back together with Rex. Rex is equally determined to break things off permanently and keep his relationship with Helen on track.
Rex has to work his way through American rules, laws and quirks to try and solve the mystery of who killed Dixon, and why.
Loved the interaction between Rex and his son Campbell. It felt real and natural not forced or stupid. I can't wait to read more in this series.
September 10, 2013
While visiting his son on a Florida campus, Scottish Barrister Rex Graves finds a young man hanging from a noose in one of the dorm rooms. The police think it is suicide, but Rex feels that the campus administration is hiding a secret about the death. To complicate matters, Rex’s ex-girlfriend, Moira, shows up and vows to win him back. Trying to placate Moira, field phone calls from his current girlfriend, and protect his son from harm, Rex finds sordid secrets and sinister events unfolding at the University.
March 9, 2016
Challinor writes almost textbook examples of "cosy" mysteries, which is not damning with faint praise. He has a good protagonist in Scottish barrister Rex Graves, who (this time) gets enmeshed in a mystery at a Florida college where his son is studying. I had to overlook the rather absurd way he starts investigating the crime as if he were deputized by the police; all the suspects cooperate with him, no questions asked. Still, it's solidly written, and while the puzzle is a bit too intricate it is entertaining.
April 26, 2010
Scottish barrister Rex Graves is visiting his son, who attends college in Florida. His first evening there, Rex discovers a suicide in the room beneath Campbell's. As though that weren't enough of a shock, his ex-girlfriend shows up and wants to make up with him, although he's moved on. He agrees to find out what drove a quiet resident advisor to suicide, but his investigation turns up more than he'd expected.
January 1, 2013
It's an okay read.
February 1, 2014
Wish that there had been a little more attention to detail re names of frats and antidepressants, but it was still a fun quick read and a good mystery.
February 17, 2014
Deinitely a series to pursue but a little light. Enjoyable afternoon read.
March 2, 2014
Rex goes to Jacksonville, Fla. to visit his son at college and gets involved in investigating an apparent suicide of a student in the dorm. This is a pretty good series.
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March 8, 2019I was saddened that the author felt the need to include a racist remark near the end of the book.
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