Freshman Murders

by Gerald M. Weinberg

Freshman Murders is a "Nerder Mystery," which means that the detectives who solve these crimes are nerds–brilliant individuals whose social skills may not equal their skills in mathematics, computers, and science.On the terrified campus of Hurlesburg U., Mathematics Professor and former NSA problem-solver Josh Rosemont, finds a young woman’s body in the woods. He is paralyzed by her resemblance to his murdered daughter. As the murders continue, he is enraged into action by an obstructive Dean. Teaming with his cop-turned-anthropologist wife, Carmela, and his four genius grad students, he sets out to prevent another murder.Blending every skill and trick of their professions, Rosy's team hounds a twisted trail of false clues to uncloak the Dean’s sex scandal, decipher incriminating evidence in a billion-dollar swindle, and thwart the serial killer–a deranged student who believes raping and killing a potential suicide is not really murder.But did they catch the real killer?

498 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 22, 2010

About the author

Gerald Marvin Weinberg (October 27, 1933 – August 7, 2018) was an American computer scientist, author and teacher of the psychology and anthropology of computer software development.

Reviews

[Karlo Šmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Bolton said that if you want to improve as software tester, ready all Gerald's books. Despite the fact that this is fictional book, it holds many useful software testing lessons. Story is not predictable and boring, I could not let this book from my hands. Last page has a list of all Gerald's fictional books.

[Melissa Yuan-Innes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Freshman Murders is the debut book in a series about mathematicians who solve murders. An intriguing premise, and I’d never read a book where the protagonist has Marfan’s Syndrome and bilateral hip replacements as well as advanced mathematical knowledge.

I really enjoyed learning how Josh, the protagonist, and his students/followers communicated in mathematical concepts. I felt like I was getting a peek into another world, one that I’d barely glimpsed before, even though I have an advanced degree myself, albeit in medicine.
The ridiculousness of academia also rang true. For example, the Dean tries to diffuse the fact that several young female students were brutally killed and marked on his campus by saying perhaps other people were murdered elsewhere.
I could also relate to the unusual way Josh thought. He was interested in the third murder because it made a mathematical series, which could be off-putting to a layperson.

For me personally, the book has a leisurely pace. For example, Josh shies away from throwing himself into the investigation, because Josh’s daughter was killed, he even though he finds the first body while walking his dog. It’s not until about p. 316, when the Dean asks the faculty to grade the deceased students (should they receive incompletes? Again, a perfect example of academic idiocy) that Josh’s fury drives him to give a dead girl an A+ and truly try and figure out the meaning of the mathematical numbers and Hebrew symbols tattooed on the dead women’s chests.

Overall, if you want to read a new book that breaks the mold, try The Freshman Murders.

[Johnny · Rating 1 out of 5]

For an unknown reason this book was part of the Quality Software bundle by Gerald M. Weinberg. The idea of a "Nerder Mystery" sounds interesting, but this book did not catch my interest.