I have never read a book by this author and unfortunately I won't be running out to find another.

I'm going to give it just one star. Yep, just the one.

It was bad. Just Bad. And a waste of my time.

A classic murder case rather close to home.

In Susan Rogers Cooper's 'Student Body' we are drawn into a classic murder case in her old university. It reminded me of the old TV programme 'Murder She Wrote,' because it features E.J Pugh, who writes romantic novels, but she is also a part time sleuth rather like Jessica Fletcher.

When Mum, (E.J Pugh) receives an unexpected phone call from her son Graham the case begins. It features a most unlikeable student, Bishop Alexander, who is found in a pool of blood. The plot revolves around E.J Pugh and Detective Champion who have to use their skills to track down the murderer. Is Graham himself capable of committing such a crime or is he being set up? Any one of the many student suspects could have stabbed the obnoxious Bishop.

Suffice it to say, all is revealed eventually. I gather that the author has written several other novels in this series, so I'm sure this book will appeal to the many followers of E.J Pugh. It was a very pleasant read but I prefer something more along the lines of a deep psychological thriller.

Galadriel.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This story, told in multiple pov with E.J.’s viewpoint in first person, was a bit grittier than I’d originally assumed. There were regular flashes of humour and plenty of snarky dialogue – but E.J. was too genuinely distressed at the prospect of her son being accused of murdering the unspeakable Bish for it to be truly comedic. In true whodunit tradition, no one appeared to care much for Bish, who was greedy, insulting and manipulative such that even his own mother wasn’t shedding too many tears.
As for the hapless Graham – despite the fact that there wasn’t any hard and fast proof that he had done it – the local police commander heading up the investigation decided early on that he was the only viable suspect. While I haven’t read any of the previous E.J. Pugh murder mysteries, I did get the sense that in this one, she is further out of her comfort zone than usual. What worked really well, was the uncomfortable dynamic between Graham and E.J.

Under normal circumstances, children leaving for college helps to establish them as adults. Though often needs parental assistance, it tends to be from a distance. Not so when Graham finds himself the chief suspect in a murder investigation that has the campus buzzing. When he calls his mother in, the two of them are clearly floundering. E.J. is concerned and protective, while Graham is terrified and wanting help – but not so that any of his peers would notice that it’s his mother offering the much-needed assistance.

Indeed, I found E.J. a fascinating protagonist. She certainly has edges. As well as battling her overly protective maternal instincts, she seems very ambivalent towards her husband. I had expected him to be the rock on which she leans as she negotiates this tricky investigation – but that role falls to Luna, her neighbour and local policewoman, who travels to Austin out of her jurisdiction to work with the crusty, recently divorced Champion heading up the case. Getting the measure of her character was every bit as interesting as the murder mystery, which has plenty of twists and turns – though I would have liked a sense that the victim was more than just a complete tosser who was universally unpleasant to everyone.

As for the denouement – while one of the key suspects was early on easy to spot, I certainly didn’t guess the motive or the actual murder suspect before the climactic reveal. This is an entertaining cosy murder mystery with plenty going on and an interesting protagonist. Recommended.

While I obtained the arc of The Student Body from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
8/10

This is the 13th in the series and I know I have missed a few. It's been awhile since I read any in this series so I was happy to see a new one come along. When romance writer E.J. Pugh (aka Mom) gets a call from her son at college she can't get to Austin, Texas fast enough, with husband and daughters in tow. Why? Well her son really despises his roommate, a major creep, and has awaken to find him dead on the floor in a pool of blood. Who do you call? No, not the police but Mom, a woman who knows a thing or two about murder. Of course the local police think they have the murderer - her son - but E.J. Isn't about to let her son take the rap and she enlists the help of her neighbor, a cop, to run interference for her in her quest to find the killer before her son winds up in prison. Another great entry into this long running comedic series.

Student Body: An E.J. Pugh Mystery
By Susan Rogers Cooper
Severn House
August 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

It was in 1996 that readers were first introduced to E.J. Pugh, a delightfully sarcastic mother, wife, and aspiring romance writer. In this thirteenth novel of the series her oldest son is off at the University of Texas, continuing the legacy of stumbling across bodies. Graham Pugh had just about had it with Bishop “Bish” Alexander’s arrogance and general obnoxiousness, but Graham is pretty certain that he would never have stabbed his roommate to death without remembering it. Bish’s girlfriend (the ex status is up for debate) is quick to accuse Graham, making him the number one suspect in the eyes of Detective Nate Champion. Having done her share of helping – E.J.’s neighbor and Codderville Detective Elena Luna prefers to call it “interfering” – in murder investigations, E.J. sets off to Austin to protect her son and keep him out of jail.

Although the entire Pugh family immediately accompanies E.J. to descend upon the unsuspecting Austin police, soon only E.J. and Graham remain to investigate the many, many suspects who hated Bish enough to want him dead. Through no small amount of guilt, E.J. recruits Elena for assistance as a mediator, while Champion is determined that the women not distract him from his target. What is refreshing is that Champion slowly becomes swayed by the stubborn force of nature that is E.J., although in all probability Elena’s practicality and logic ultimately plays a larger role. Bish’s vengeful ex-girlfriend, abused toady of a best friend, even more abused advisor, and even his own mother disliked the victim, leading E.J. and her team through a multitude of motivations and suspects.

The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, and Graham shares his mother’s acerbic wit and gift of the sarcastic insult. As he tells E.J., Graham needs the woman who finds out who did what, not the Mom who is corrects his language and worries over missed classes. The two have one of the most unique, refreshing, and entertaining mother-son relationships seen in mystery fiction, using snipes to cover up their love and concern. The ultimate irony will come when Graham encounters the girl who could be the One, whose personality disturbingly reminds him of the other most important woman in his life. The exchanges between E.J. and Graham are hilarious and relatable, making this one of the most light-hearted and engaging installments of the series. What makes this series so refreshing is that E.J. and her husband retain the same humor, passion, and occasional immaturity they had when they first met; only now they also seem to have acquired a son and three teenaged daughters through birth, adoption, and fostering. This novel is as fresh as the debut of the series, and the exuberant tone and laughs continue from the first page to the last. That the solution to the mystery is completely unpredictable is a bonus, delivering a completely surprising and satisfying conclusion.

This is super fun reading. Super quick. Just a really great mystery.
I had read the author's other series but not this one. I now have to go back and read the other EJ Pugh books.

I went in excited because I have spent a good chunk of my life traveling but always seem to end up in Texas. I’ve lived or travelled to every part of this state so I often enjoy finding fictional books based in the Lone Star State as it feels easier to connect to characters and the story when I’ve walked the same roads in the same cities they are plus it’s just fun to see these places from a different point of view.

I didn’t know going in that Susan Rogers Cooper has been writing books since at least the early 90s or that this novel is part of a long series starring the main character who is a romance novelist and amateur detective. It’s like the Texas version of Murder She Wrote; an author keeps stumbling on dead bodies and helps the local law enforcement to solve the case. The required use of “y’all” are sprinkled in the dialogue to ensure readers know you’re in Texas and not Maine.

I didn’t feel like I was missing out having not read the previous 12 in the series because it’s a pretty straightforward mystery and everything you need to know is encased within this story. This seems to be the first new one in the series for at least 2 years.

From the viewpoint of getting to experience Austin through a literary version I got exactly what I wanted. It was nice to walk the paths of UT, a college I considered attending once upon a time just so I could understand the fascination with football. But that happy walk down memory lane ended abruptly the more I dug into the story.

I started off confused in chapter one which is never a good sign. The story begins from a 3rd person perspective, more accurately Graham a college student is describing life at UT and his crappy roommate. Then he wakes up for class and you’re given the impression that he saw something shocking in his dorm roommate. The next paragraph, instead of explaining what could have shocked him though you should be able to figure that out from all the implications, it is now written from a 1st person perspective. Although it should be fairly obvious a new unnamed character has arrived and the scene that is being set is obviously not a college dorm, it’s not until further in you discover this new character is Graham’s mom who has now taken over the story.

Since I had not read the previous 12 I don’t know if this writing style of switching awkwardly between perspectives is normal or something new the author is trying. I have a definite abhorrence for this writing style when the POV is altered within the chapter because it’s confusing and jarring. I’m a big a believer in you either pick one POV or at least alternate the style from chapter to chapter so there is definitive breaks. This book would have been better served to use Graham’s beginning as a Prologue then let E.J. Pugh take over in Chapter 1. Unfortunately this altering between POV’s continued through the whole book so sometimes you’d get the story from one of the other characters then suddenly the next paragraph you’d discover you’re back to E.J.

Along with the befuddling POV changes I was hard pressed to find a character I could root for. I always wondered why they never had Jessica Fletcher get married, date or have any serious romantic relationships on Murder She Wrote; I don’t wonder anymore. It’s hard to focus and remain curious about the mystery when you’re constantly wondering if the married amateur detective is actually going to jump into bed with one of the characters in a chapter soon. From the beginning she is characterized as constantly horny and apparently not getting enough at home from her husband. She flirted with the detective over a dead body her son was believed to have murdered so I guess we can assume what turns her on. She’s also pro-weed and was tempted to advise her son to start lighting up to take the edge of a murder investigation off. Her sex needs continued to make themselves known as she made her attraction to her son’s attorney obvious. Has this woman never heard of a vibrator and taking care of the problem yourself if it’s that bad?!

Graham, the insinuated murderer, apparently dated his foster sister while they were living under the same roof then lied to her about getting back with an ex-girlfriend because he was too chicken to break up with her honorably. He also got drunk and took a fellow drunk college girl’s virginity but since she thought he was cute and he decided to date her then it was ok.

The freshly divorced detective also makes his horniness known throughout the book. He gets the warm fuzzies from providing comfort to a beautifully distraught sorority girl who flirts back after getting the news her ex-boyfriend was murdered. His need for sex isn’t left at her doorstep, he makes sure others are included in his wet dreams. If his constant state of arousal wasn’t enough you get treated to him threatening to have a ‘witness’ locked up in a mental hospital as irrational because they didn’t want to cooperate. This seems a new low for describing police tactics.

The whiny husband of E.J. and father of Graham doesn’t seem to have a backbone as he lets his wife run things.

Chapter 2 starts off with the same POV problem but this time it’s the horny detective before it goes into the E.J.’s 1st. There’s something about her that really grates on my nerves as her dialogue and personality screams “spoiled rich white woman” making it hard to feel for what she’s going through. I’m a mom so I should be able to connect with her on that feeling of being frightened for my child but she just annoys me to the point I could care less what happened to her son. It was getting to the point that even little things like her issue with driving a truck made my pettiness level increase. This story is set in Texas, trucks are as normal a part of life as drinking sweet tea. She says “I took Willis’s pickup – which I hate to drive, but one does what one must.” I think it was more about how she worded that made me roll my eyes, it just sounds so PRETENTIOUS!

Chapter 3 apparently wanted to hit a new quota for bad as we get to witness one of the most childish and annoying fights ever between parents whose son looks like he’s going down for murder. My elementary school age children have more maturity and common sense than these 2 adults.

Thankfully the book ended without amateur detective mom committing adultery and realizing she needs a much needed sexcation with hubby, the mystery of who murdered the college kid and why was neatly wrapped up at the far end. Have to admit I was kind of disappointed it wasn’t something cooler as the motivation has been done a million times.

Part of me wants to go to the beginning of this series and read the early books to see if her writing style and characters have always been like this or it’s something new she’s trying. If I ever run out of other material then that’ll be on my list but I’m so burned out from this one I don’t have it in me to try anytime soon.