Susan Lombardi is a professor of education at a college in Connecticut. When her old friend Elaine calls looking for favors, trouble is not usually far behind. This time it seems simple enough—Shauna, one of Elaine’s former students who is now a teacher herself and who helped Susan in Deadmistress, wants Susan to come into her class as an observer.  She won’t say why, just that strange things are going on and she wants Susan’s opinion, free of preconceptions. Susan finds some things that are certainly weird and possibly even pointedly so, but it’s tough to figure out how serious they are until they figure out who is behind them. A misguided or socially inept juvenile student is one thing, a fellow staff member with a message or obsession quite another. And that’s before murder becomes part of the picture.

Meanwhile, strange things are making life at home unsettling too. Susan’s husband Michael "Swash" Buckler became a complete househusband when an inheritance and a knack for online investment made that possible. Deeply satisfied working his magic in the kitchen and on his computer, he even buys gourmet ingredients online rather than go outside to shop. It’s not agoraphobia; it’s just an alternate lifestyle that works for them. Then Susan arrives home one night to find the expected tantalizing dinner smells, but no one hovering over them with a wooden spoon. Swash hasn’t gone far, but the fact that he’s gone anywhere is a bit of a shock, even before she finds out why. Is this just a midlife crisis sort of thing or a real change in their lives?

A big part of why I really like Carole Shmurak’s Susan Lombardi mysteries is how real they feel. They’re filled with unique but highly believable real world people having believably real world bickers and connections and small traumas, even if the experiences aren't exactly commonplace. For example, amongst the above capital P problems we have Susan and Elaine’s experiences trying to find a new restaurant to meet in, their not quite bickering over Susan’s opinion of Elaine’s current SO, and a taste of Shauna’s teaching skills that makes me wish I’d had her for a teacher.

Recommended as a short, fast, smoothly readable story that is blessedly sui generis and not just another copycat of whatever the latest marketing recommendations are. Try it for yourself.