This was a re-read of a book I'd read years ago, the first in a series that takes place on a private, catholic college campus. Our MC is a professor of English literature and the formula is fairly basic: she's an unwitting suspect in a campus murder, and the investigating detective is a tall slab of gorgeous. Peril and protection follow.
Same old, same old right? Yes, and no. When Barbieri wrote this 14 years ago, this formula wasn't yet so much a formula as it was a trend, and as such, this book doesn't feel derivative - at least not to me. This story was written before 'cozy' became synonymous with 'fluffy' and 'vapid'. So we have likeable characters we genuinely cheer on, that are going through some rather heavy duty events involving very real violence. When the MC sees crime-scene photos, she passes out, then vomits all over the detectives shoes - twice. But instead of being played for laughs, the author makes us feel the mc's embarrassment - and the detective's embarrassment for her.
The plotting was good; not spectacular, but this is a first book, and it was adequate enough that I didn't guess the culprit. The author did well with presenting an array of viable suspects, and when it came down to it, the solution made sense.
I'm glad I re-read this; I'd forgotten why I loved cozies so much; it's nice to see that what I fell in love with is not the derivative nonsense cozies have become today. Of course, I now want to re-read the entire series.