This book recently toured with Great Escapes Book Tours.
I was unable to post my review on my assigned date.
Today, I am posting the review I should have posted on that day.
Murder off U Street (The Academic Mom Mysteries)
Mystery/Amateur Sleuth
2nd in Series
Setting – Washington D.C.
Publisher : Speaking Volumes, LLC (February 12, 2025)
Paperback : 232 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8890222282
Digital ASIN : B0DX2H4PYZ
Unruly kids, a meddling in-law, and coverups.
Can this college prof and harried mom uncover
the truth behind a string of suspicious deaths?Washington D.C. Cara Knight needs more hours in the day. Spending half her time chasing after two toddlers, the assistant professor hopes her hand-picked student’s practicum with the Metro Police will boost her bid for tenure. But the promising young woman soon loses the position for interfering in a homicide investigation.
When Cara discovers her protégée’s body in similar circumstances, she hunts for a connection while struggling to survive the nasty new dean’s scrutiny. With the help of her sidekick mother-in-law, can Cara chase down the culprit before the next victim lands in the morgue?
Murder off U Street is the gripping second book in the Academic Mom Mysteries. If you like relatable characters, high stakes with a splash of humor, and exploring the nation’s capital, then you’ll love Jacque Rosman’s new riveting read.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Raising two toddlers isn’t easy, and even harder when you are an assistant professor working to get tenure. Cara Knight has her hands full.
One of her students, her protégée, was doing an internship with the Metro D.C. Police Victim Services, but lost her spot for interfering in a homicide investigation, which puts Cara in a tenuous position with both the college and the police.
Then Cara finds the student’s body, killed in a similar way to the previous homicide. This could be bad for the school and Cara. Cara decides to investigate the deaths herself, and her mother-in-law arrives in town just in time to help her.
Will these women get to the truth and solve the rash of suspicious deaths? Or has Cara taught her last class?
Cara Knight is a professor at the Virginia University Department of Social Work and mom of two young children, which means even before sleuthing, she was excellent at multitasking. She has a very supportive husband, but he has a high-pressure job as well. I appreciated that they are a typical American family trying to get through life. I loved how close Cara was to her mother-in-law. She meddled, but her heart was in the right place and helped Cara in many ways. The visit helped her too.
Emily Vinter, Cara’s protégée, was a terrific student and should have been a perfect fit for the intern position with the police. Then she fell hard for one of the patrol officers and got close to a victim of domestic abuse, and was counseling her. A couple of weeks later, the woman was found dead of an apparent suicide. That just didn’t sit right with the woman Emily had gotten to know. Soon thereafter, Emily was fired from her internship. Cara was worried and went to her home and found Emily dead, another apparent suicide. Again, this character was well-fleshed out, and I was easily invested in her life.
Ms. Rosman encased her characters in a complicated mystery. With the deaths ruled suicides, the police have closed the cases and their minds. Enter Cara with her knowledge and determination, with her feisty sidekick. The mystery was very well-plotted and entertaining. Academia had taught Cara well. She followed the clues sensibly and asked the right questions to get the answers she needed. That being said, there were plenty of suspects, but the actual killer wasn’t even on my radar or Cara’s. The reveal was shocking and suspenseful. The police made me a little crazy, though.
I really liked the Academic Mom theme and the realistic characters of Murder off U Street. The story had a great flow and a solid mystery to solve. I have not read book one in this series,
Deaths in this story are at first classified as suicide, which could be a trigger for some people. I appreciated that the author let me know so I could prepare myself before I started reading.
I voluntarily reviewed this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy.
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About Jacque Rosman
When Jacque Rosman (Jacqueline Corcoran) isn’t crafting whodunits, romances, or textbooks, she’s navigating her own commute through four states to her professor job, dealing with her rescue chihuahua’s separation anxiety, and embracing, like her amateur sleuth, the beautiful chaos of family life with her husband and two children outside Washington D.C. MURDER IN GEORGETOWN and MURDER OFF U STREET kicks off the Academic Mom Mysteries, bringing readers a relatable humorous heroine who solves crimes between grading papers and making dinner.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.”
