Burning Down the House

Welcome to the hothouse world of academia where egos bruise as easily as peaches and vendettas grow like weeds. Cheerful, sarcastic professor Nick Hoffman never wanted to be a sleuth, but circumstances at the outwardly bucolic State University of Michigan keep forcing him to solve crimes and save himself from prison or worse. Now, at Christmas time, he's caught between rival factions in his department over who should be the next chairperson and even over what kind of Christmas tree the office should have. His life spirals out of control thanks to an unexpected sexual attraction, and a blur of anonymous threats, stalking, and assault. Is murder next? Nick's only hope is doing something he's never imagined possible--buying a gun. Acclaimed mystery writer Lev Raphael scores another bull's-eye in his academic mystery series that takes readers behind the scenes of a world that prides itself on scholarship and fellowship, but is often just a ship of fools.