Debts of Dishonour

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Set at St. Agatha's, a fictional Cambridge University college, Paton Walsh's bland academic cozy will appeal most to readers enamored of the culture of British higher education and conversant in its vocabulary. Others may find that the task of navigating unfamiliar surroundings presents too little payoff. Like many amateur sleuths before her, college nurse Imogen Quy strides blithely into dangerous situations, in this case attempting to learn whether Sir Julius Farran, a wealthy businessman and college benefactor, fell to his death accidentally or was pushed. Her investigation, fueled by information her students tell her in confidence, proceeds through multilayered adulteries and financial shenanigans that rival Enron and put the college at risk of bankruptcy. Like the two earlier Imogen Quy mysteries (The Wyndham Case and A Piece of Justice), this story is entirely plot driven and, except for one genuine surprise, that plot is largely unengaging. Paton Walsh, a prolific author of children's books, is best known in the mystery field for her posthumous collaborations with Dorothy Sayers. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.