A Deadly Indifference: A Henry Spearman Mystery

Distinguished Harvard economics professor Henry Spearman, who can hold his own against the academic backstabbers at Cambridge University, proves he can also survive among more literal killers. Set in 1965, his third appearance (after The Fatal Equilibrium) finds Henry and his genial wife, Pidge, in Cambridge. He's there to advise Chicago businessman Morris Fain in the purchase of Balliol Croft, the historic home of the great economist Alfred Marshall, to provide housing for visiting American scholars. Events go awry with alarming speed. The house is sold to another bidder, Cambridge economist Nigel Hart. An attempt is made on Fain's life, and Hart is murdered in a particularly bizarre fashion. Then a young actress is killed. Spearman, an engaging pedant who applies his favorite economic theorems to every phase of life (romance; map reading; car buying) ultimately uses some complex variations of supply and demand to find an extremely devious killer. This lively, carefully crafted mystery surely offers the greatest good to the greatest number of readers. (July)