Book Review: Shadows on the Ivy

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Shadows on the Ivy     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Lea Wait
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Antique Print Mysteries
Scribner, August 2004, $24.00 256 pp.

Maggie is a professor of history at Somerset County Community College, but she toils during her time off working on her antique business where she specializes in rare prints. Right now Maggie is attending a social function being given by Dorothy and Oliver Whitcomb, major contributors to the college and the moving force behind Whitcomb House, a dormitory for unwed single parents and their children. The six lively students have their fees, book and any incidentals including childcare paid for.

The six students are also at the party but Sarah becomes ill and falls into a coma; she is rushed to the hospital where the doctors discover she was poisoned. They believe there was nicotine in the spicy drink she was having. A couple of days later another student is poisoned and is found in the House by one of the children. Tiffany was wilder than Sarah was and some of the mothers believe she was blackmailing someone. The case becomes personal when Maggie’s office is trashed and someone tries to break into her home. To save Whitcomb House Maggie decides to see if she can discover who the killer really is.

SHADOWS ON THE IVY is very different from the other “Antique Mystery” book because this story concentrates on the heroine’s life as a professor while the other works showcased the protagonist as an antique print dealer. Thus, this novel displays a completely different side of Maggie that readers will like. Lea Wait has written an exciting and entertaining academic mystery that provides a whole different meaning to study time.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner