The Medusa Murders

By Joy Ann Ribar

Professor Bay Browning has more snake problems than the Garden of Eden in this twisted mystery. The English Literature instructor is busy preparing for a new semester when a serial killer, known as Medusa, bites her quiet life in the behind. A wild ride ensues when Bay and her grifter sister, Cass, assist a perturbed Detective Downing with the investigation. What else can the sisters do, once they become Medusa's targets? Will the slithering trail of mythology, art history, and family secrets help them catch a killer before she turns them to stone?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1959078208
• ISBN13: 9781959078203
• Release Date: November 2023
• Publisher: Wine Glass Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Murder-mystery set in academic setting

I love a mystery wrapped in the academic world with a tiny smattering of police procedural, a hint of possible romance for the future, and with lots of wordplay - clever business names, anagram-type clues, nicknames that have double meanings, etc. Joy Ann Ribar's introduction of her newest protagonist, Bay Browning, satisfies all those desires for me. In addition, there's the usual family dysfunction we all experience - and secrets our families would rather keep hidden. I loved the smooth descriptions of some of the art pieces that are relevant to the plot, as well as an eased-in reminder of some mythological tales I'd studied long ago - some of which can be taken both literally and symbolically if the reader is so inclined. All in all, The Medusa Murders is a little Midsomer Murders in its surprising m.o.s and murderous settings, while the overall pairing with the intellectuals at a small college campus reminds us of all we've loved about Inspector Morse, or many of the Golden Age authors of crime (Sayers, Tey, even Christie) to Reg Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe right through to newer Charlot King. Ribar joins them in this new Bay Browning series with the same skill and first-hand knowledge of the politics of academia and a panache for plotting. - J. Ivanel Johnson, award-winning author of the JUST (e)STATE mysteries