A class on murder

Set at Oklahoma's Pursley University (aka PU), Gibson's entertaining mystery debut introduces psychology professor Ronnie Raven, who's half-Cherokee and half-Irish. When Ronnie storms into the office of a most unlikable colleague, Weldon Crutchfield, to yell at him, she finds Crutchfield dead in his chair with a bullet wound in his chest. One unpleasant cop, Detective Melvin, immediately pegs Ronnie as the guilty party, but there are plenty of other possible perps at PU, and Ronnie means to get to the bottom of things with help from some suspiciously nervous students and her best friend, drama professor Terry Panetta, not to mention a campus cop, Mick LeGrand, who's interested in more than the crime. Getting in her way are the wary department head, Zachariah Bent, and the assailant who gives Ronnie a concussion. Readers will too easily identify the killer, but cozy fans will appreciate the charm and humor. (June) [Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLC