The Rise of the Red Queen (A Red Solaris Mystery Book 2)
By: Bourne Morris
Rating: 4 of 5
While this is the second book in this cozy mystery series, it is the first book I have read by this author. The focus of the series is on University life in general and on the interim dean of Journalism, Meredith Solaris, in particular.
Dr. Solaris, known to family and friends simply as “Red” is applying for the full time position of Dean of Journalism at Mountain West University. This is a university which is located in Nevada. Prior to this book (and presumably in the first book in the series), Red has saved the university’s “bacon” by solving a crime and by getting the school back on track. While that should make her odds on favorite for the full-time position, it turns out that two other outstanding individuals are also looking for the job.
Red has to figure out how to present her case while at the same time, helping solve yet another series of crimes which threaten the reputation of the school.
While there was a focus on academia, I didn’t find it so much so that it bogged the book down. As I am more interested in a cozy mystery rather than a discourse on the politics behind college doors, I really appreciated that the story was more general in nature.
I often read books out of order in series as I like to see if a book can be read stand-alone. I found that I could catch up quite quickly with this story; however, much of the present day action is as a result of the actions in the first book, I would recommend reading these two books in order to more fully appreciate the characters.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher, Henery Press, via Netgalley.
While this is the second book in this cozy mystery series, it is the first book I have read by this author. The focus of the series is on University life in general and on the interim dean of Journalism, Meredith Solaris, in particular.