A MASCULINE ENDING

by Joan Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1988

Jolly good debut, taking impertinent, witty swipes at tenure infighting, linguistic nit-picking, and feminist literary collectives. London University professor of literature Loretta Lawson, in Paris to attend a conference, returns late to her borrowed apartment to find somebody burrowed under the blankets in the adjoining bedroom. Next morning: no body, but a thoroughly bloodied bedsheet. Murder? Loretta's not sure, but follows up the one clue: a review copy of Toby MacGregor's criticism of Dickens. Back home, Loretta asks estranged husband John Tracey, an investigative report, for help, as well as her feminist chum Bridget, an Oxford don (""I saw you through your first marriage, so the least I can do is see you through your first murder investigation""). Soon, Loretta is breaking and entering don Hugh Puddephat's apartment, mildly flirting with Bridget's ex-lover (who masterminded that break-in), and unearthing old scandals: Puddephat's divorce (his wife Veronica made homosexual accusations); his best student's suicide (she loved him; he jilted her); a tenure matter (Theo Sykes'); the master's wife's affair (Sykes' again); and more--Jamie Baird's photograph in Hugh's drawer, for instance. Was the body Hugh's? Maybe. He was one of only six scheduled to review that book and he's gone missing. After a short affair that challenges her feminism (older woman/ younger man), an after-the-funeral evening with Veronica, much egoism from Tracey and flippancy from Bridget, Loretta returns to Paris for a confrontation with the killer, who slips away after a tell-all lunch. Lively, literate heroine, droll views of Oxford, and a lack of pedantry Amanda Cross would do well to emulate. Give it an A-.

Pub Date: March 1, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION