Murder By Degrees

by Ann B. Pearson

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089083508X
• ISBN13: 9780890835081
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Zebra / Kensington
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Forgotten Gem

Zebra Books published Ann Pearson's Murder by Degrees in 1979. Since that time, the book has slipped from of the reading public's mind. This is a shame, because the little book is a tight, exciting mystery with realistic characters and a vivid small-college setting. Murder by Degrees concerns the murder of an unpopular English professor at a small southern college. Each of the other professors is a potential suspect. Zebra's mysteries have an unusual feature in that there are clues not only in the text, but also in the cover art and in the drawings inside the book. (There are six drawings inside Murder by Degrees). Readers will have to decide for themselves how well this idea works, but it is something different. Pearson deftly handles the small-college setting as she paints a picture of Mississippi's fictional Jernigan State and the surrounding community. To southerners, the elements of the setting will "ring true." (Pearson hits the major institutions of small-town southern life: the college, the churches, the beauty salons, the fading homes, and the watering holes). The characters are, if anything, even better than the setting. As the story progresses, the reader learns about the mysteries in each professor's life. The story focuses on Maggie, a young professor who discovers her boss' corpse at the beginning of the book. Though Pearson tells most of the story from Maggie's perspective, Murder by Degrees also uses the viewpoints of a local police officer and another professor at Jernigan State. Pearson deftly disperses the clues in a way that keeps the story moving toward its conclusion. The book contains twenty-nine short, action-packed chapters in just 223 pages. There are also some great quotes (generally from classic literature) at the beginning of each chapter. This adds something to the book; it always seems a waste when authors label their chapters only with numbers. After 30 years, it might take a little work to find Murder by Degrees. For mystery fans interested in a short, fun novel, it will be worth the effort.