When Kellan Ayrwick returns home for his father’s retirement, he finds a body in Diamond Hall’s stairwell. Unfortunately, Kellan has a connection to the victim, and so do several members of his family.Soon after, the college’s athletic program receives mysterious donations, a nasty blog denounces his father, and someone attempts to change students’ grades.Someone is playing games on campus, but … on campus, but none of the facts add up. With the help of his eccentric nana, Kellan tries to stay out of the sheriff’s way. But who killed Professor Abby Monroe?
Praise:
★★★★★ – “Fantastic writing and witty dialogue. Awesome.”
★★★★★ – “An exciting, cozy mystery.”
★★★★★ – “Full of twists and turns, and an ending you won’t see coming.”
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Kellan Ayrwick returns to his eccentric Pennsylvania hometown for his father’s retirement party. But before he knows it, Kellan is drawn into a web of intrigue and manipulation, as he tries to figure out why someone would kill the victim.
Kellan has arranged to meet with professor Abby Monroe, because she was doing research for him and his producer for a TV show. But when Abby is found dead on the campus of Braxton College, Kellan feels compelled to find out the truth behind her death. Suspects and red herrings abound as Kellan dodges both the persnickety police chief and his father, who had been trying to get Kellan to work for him at the college. He agrees to take over teaching Abby’s classes until a replacement can be found because he feels obligated to Wesley Ayrwick, his father, and, besides, where better to find out who might’ve wanted the victim dead than to be at the scene of the crime?
There are many plot threads running through this book, from Kellan’s complicated relationship with his family, his parents and one of his siblings, a sister, who are home for the party, his daughter who is at home in California with Kellan’s in-laws, his former friendships with Maggie and Conner who are now also both working at Braxton but they lost touch with Kellan when he moved to California, the chief of police who resents Kellan for interfering in her case, Nana D and her excellent baking, as grandmothers are wont to do. I’d love some of her cherry pie (my personal favourite flavour of pie) or cinnamon rolls and a mug of hot chocolate to enjoy while also enjoying this delightful book. I did feel the chapters went on a little long but my conditioning with previous reading I’ve done has left me with the liking for shorter chapters better but that is not to the detriment of this book or my enjoyment of it. This was the first book I’ve read by James J. Cudney, but it certainly will not be the last. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book. I’m more than looking forward to it, I CAN’T WAIT to read the next book and find out what happens.
I’m finding cozy mysteries a wonderful escape as of late, and this one was no exception. I loved the setting with its academic atmosphere of a small-town college, and the characters are wonderfully colorful. Kellan, who works in LA, is just coming home to Braxton for a short visit–or so he thinks–when murder and mayhem kick in. I love his caustic interactions with the town sheriff and his relationship with his grandmother, who’s a hoot. And what a great cliffhanger ending! Sets you up nicely for the next one.
Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney, the first book in the Braxton Campus Mysteries, has been sitting on my Kindle for way too long, especially considering how good it turned out to be. I really want to read the next book in the series, Broken Heart Attack, right now since this one was so good and it ends with a huge cliffhanger, but I have a few other books on my TBR that I have to get to first.
Speaking of cliffhangers, I have no problem with them, especially when they are so explosive and I totally did not see it coming. And since Academic Curveball is not published from one of the huge publishing companies like Kensington, an author needs as many ways as possible to get readers wanting to come back for more… besides good writing and a great story.
If you are not a fan of cliffhangers, but enjoy cozy mysteries, you should still give this one a read. And since there are six books in the Braxton Campus Mysteries already out, you won’t have to wait to read the next one to see what is going to happen!
So what makes this book so fantastic, besides the well developed characters, wonderful descriptions of the campus, and a mystery with lots of suspects and some red herrings…. For me it was that the main character (who is a man, which is unusual for cozy mysteries) isn’t constantly repeating the clues and same thoughts about the suspects over and over. I love cozy mysteries, but there will be times when I find myself skimming since the protagonist keeps going over the same information. Sure there is some of that in this book, but not nearly as much as a lot of other cozies.
The other wonderful thing about Academic Curveball is the characters, how in depth they are and the dynamic between them, especially Kellan’s family. We don’t get a lot of scenes with Kellan’s mom, but the ones with his father are very layered and realistic. And Nana D is a hoot! I can’t wait to read about more of her antics in future books, as well as Kellan’s daughter, who we only get to know a little bit through Facetime.
I am looking forward to reading more in this cozy mystery series, and highly recommend you give it a try!
I think this is a stand-up triple, to use baseball vernacular. First books in a series require a different angle as so much backstory, and character introduction is involved.
The characters are well-written. Kellen is somewhat typical as a middle child and has a bit of a strained relationship with his parents. Thank goodness for Nana D. She is a hoot! The cast is detailed and diverse.
Without giving away too much of the plot, the mystery builds slowly throughout the story. I was so sure I had the murderer “tagged,” but I was wrong. New characters, each with a possible motive, keep the intrigue high. The story moves along at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages.
The author is upfront about Academic Curveball being the first in a series. You know this means there is a cliffhanger at the end, and it was a big one.
I recommend this book to all lovers of cozy mysteries and clean fiction with a bit of romance.
Academic Curveball is a fantastic setup to the series. We get a little of everything while still solving a murder on campus. There is family drama, relationships, and so much more that you’ll want to know what happens next. I listened to the audiobook for this book and the narrator really makes you feel like you’re part of the story. I look forward to seeing how Kellan’s adventure continues in the series.
Academic Curveball is the second book I’ve read by James J. Cudney and the first of his Braxton Campus cozy mysteries. Having enjoyed his first novel, the standalone family saga Watching Glass Shatter, I was curious to see how he would handle a cozy mystery. I wasn’t disappointed. The characters in Academic Curveball were all well portrayed. I especially liked Kellan, the main character, a widower with a young daughter who was called home for his father’s retirement party as president of Braxton College. Upon his return, Kellan who is currently working for Dark Realities, a television reality crime show, plans to meet Professor Abby Monroe who has material for the second season of his show after his father’s party. Unfortunately, he never gets to do so because Abby’s dead body is found during the party by his father’s assistant Lorraine Candito.
A number of people, some close to Kellan including his own father, are suspects in Abby’s murder, but the murder weapon is missing along with two other items, one that was intended as a gift to Kellan. The motive is believed to have involved the changing of a grade for an athlete so he can compete in a game that a college scout will attend. But when another murder occurs and they find the possible weapon hidden in Kellan’s father’s desk, Kellan has even more reason to solve the case despite the warnings by the town’s female sheriff who refers to him as “Little Arywick.”
Aided by his sassy grandmother, Nana D. and his old school friend Connor who is dating both his sister Eleanor and his college girlfriend Maggie, Kellan sets out to find the person responsible for the murders. Although I had a funny feeling about the character who the killer ended up being, I didn’t know the identity of the murderer until it was unveiled . . . and then it all made sense. What surprised me even more was the cliffhanger at the end of the book that was totally unexpected. I won’t reveal any spoilers, but I love double twists. This one was done exceptionally well. I can’t wait to read the second book where it should be explained. My only criticism of this book was that the plethora of characters were introduced close together which made it somewhat difficult to keep them all straight initially. Otherwise, I highly recommend this series to those who like academic settings, a variety of interesting characters including a male protagonist, and cozy mysteries with lots of subplots and twists.
In addition to being a talented writer, Cudney also has a terrific WordPress blog called This is My Truth Now.
It kept me guessing. I could identify with the main character.
I did like the story and found the characters realistic for the most part and the plot believable. However I did not like the surprise cliffhanger in the last paragraph.
Good read. Highly recommend, especially since the protagonist is a man and most cozy mysteries have a female main character. Sorry to see some of the characters die, but that’s what happens.
In most of the novels I read one thing I enjoy is seeing the characters. The author has done a good job of allowing us all to visualize his characters. Ironic that the main character is involved with the entertainment industry as it is taught in university. The story is strong, maintains throughout the book, the characters mesh wonderfully, even though murder most foul has been committed. No spoilers here. If you want to know about the story, read the book. It is worth it. Strong characters, good story, no major distractions of any kind, an entertaining read set in an area I have visited once in my life which added to my read. Fun story.
Nice to have a cozy mystery with a male protagonist.
Good book. Easy to read with good characters.
Enjoyable light reading.
Couldn’t wait to read the follow up!
Really enjoyed the book.
Exactly how did the murder happen? You’ll have to read it to find out. Father – son conflict, a lesbian couple, and academia at its worst.
It was enjoyable.
I think I can guess how things are going to turn out early in a book, but this one threw me from beginning to end.
I love Nana D!
As a former employee at several universities/colleges, I always enjoy seeing how campus situations are treated. Some of the situations in this book would not be allowed to occur, and the author really needs to get someone to proof/edit his book (grammar issues, missing words,etc.), but all in all this was a good read.