Daphne is a junior history professor at an elite university. She wants to keep her head down, but is drawn against her will into the murder case of a well-known colleague. I would call this a semi-cozy murder mystery that investigates many themes of social justice. For a debut, this is a really solid effort, and there were many things I liked, but there were also things I didn't like.

Let's start with the things I enjoyed:

- Both the primary and secondary characters in this book felt well-developed and distinct. They were dynamic people, and the ones we were meant to like were genuinely likeable. The 'villains' of the story were a little cartoonish at times, but the vibrancy of the rest of the cast made up for that. I appreciated that so many of the supporting characters were also BIPOC, from the MC's immigrant family, to her best friends, to the Iraqi detective on the case. They make the narrative feel truly multicultural, which was not a given in such a white setting as an elite university.

- Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the author's insights into what it's like to be a person of color in elite academia in the US. This portrayal felt realistic, and it was woven well into the rest of the narrative. The author also says really interesting things about how BIPOC women are often fetishized and objectified rather than seen as legitimate romantic options.

- I also really appreciated the other themes that were explored in the novel. Throughout the story, the author focuses on many abuses of power and privilege, whether it's gender, race, or class. That made the story feel very pertinent to our current society.

- The reason why I feel that the story can be classified as 'cozy' despite its sometimes very dark themes, is the fact that all of the people who abuse their power in the story get their comeuppance, and most of the victims get justice. This felt a little unrealistic, but honestly, it also felt very refreshing and satisfying, so I'm listing it with the positives.

Now for a few things I didn't enjoy as much:

- Debut authors have a tendency to put 'too much' into their first novels, and that was definitely the case here. The first part of the book deals with corruption and abuse in prisons, but that storyline is wrapped up almost completely around the 60% mark. The book then pivots hard, and the second part of the story is about sexual harassment and assault of women. This causes the first and second half of the book to feel disjointed -- it almost feels like two different novels.

- My major issue, unfortunately, was the writing. Writing style is a question of personal taste, of course, so this may not bother other readers, but to me the writing often felt stilted. The dialogue didn't feel natural, and the author employs words and turns of phrases in ways that just felt strange to me. This is an ARC, so I can't quote any examples because the text could still change, but the word choices of the author were often so jarring that they took me out of the story.

- Finally, the romance. I know for so many readers this will be a plus, but I really didn't enjoy the romantic subplot. A particular literary pet peeve of mine is insta-love/lust, and we had that in spades here. I also can't help but roll my eyes when the MC's life is in serious danger, yet she just can't stop salivating over how attractive the love interest is. Get your priorities straight! I also didn't enjoy how clichéd the romance writing was, from releasing breaths she didn't know she was holding, to the MC thinking how she wants to climb the love interest like a tree. Not my thing.

To end with, I want to give some trigger warnings, because some of the book gets pretty dark: <spoiler> rape (lead-up and aftermath only), child sexual abuse (mentioned), sexual harassment, stalking, murder, gun violence, racism, misogyny. </spoiler>

On the whole, this is a solid debut novel with many enjoyable aspects. The writing and romance will probably work better for other readers than they did for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

I very much enjoyed this mystery about a Black academic who trying to establish herself at a prestigious university but finds herself caught up in a murder investigation when she gets a strange coded text from a celebrity anthropologist who she barely knew. The funny, earthy voice of the protagonist is a nifty way to experience the contrast between her values as a historian and the pretentiousness and privilege of the institution.

The plot was just a tad too busy for me but it moves quickly and is spiced up with vignettes of university life (the verbose progressive student is a hoot, but it's a kind and funny poke at youngsters who are in over their heads with theory) and the contradictory nature of the anthropologist laid beside the protagonist's experience of marginalization is thought-provoking and sharp.

I look forward to reading more from Zoe B. Wallbrook.