STUDY GUIDE FOR MURDER

Murder has no place in Liz Hopewell’s perfect suburban life. She left her complicated past behind when she moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey, and she’s determined to forget the violence that shadowed her early years. As an English teacher, wife, and mother, Liz now confines her fascination with existential dread to classroom discussions about Frankenstein and Hamlet. But violence follows her from the mean streets of her childhood home to the manicured lawns of suburbia when Elliot Tumbleson’s head has an unfortunate and deadly encounter with a golf club. Her golf club.

A second murder, a case of mistaken identity, and a rollicking trip back to her childhood home all point to one prime suspect in each crime. Liz embarks upon a double investigation of homicides past and present, using her gift for literary theory to unearth clues that she finds as compelling as forensic evidence. But the killers, like her students, don’t always read to the end.

. . .

“In this fast-paced and funny mystery, English teacher, Liz Hopewell, chases murderers at a posh country club where she’s begrudgingly taking golf lessons to please her husband. As the country club murders unfold, Liz is drawn into a bigger mystery from her past that hits closer to home. Lori Robbins hits a hole-in-one with this tongue-in-cheek page-turner. With a delightfully quick pace and even quicker wit, this series will have you reading well past your bedtime. Warning: once you pick it up, you can’t put it down. English teacher Liz Hopewell is my new favorite sleuth!” 

~ Kelly Oliver, Amazon bestselling author

of the Jessica James Mysteries

“A twisty, wicked tale sparklingly told! Lori Robbins takes us into the dark corners of suburbia, and the scariest streets of Brooklyn, in the unforgettable voice of English teacher Liz Hopewell. Liz, a prosperous mom after a difficult childhood, finds herself tracking a killer at the country club and delving into her own dark past while dodging the slings and arrows of school life. The setting and characters are vividly drawn, including assorted Stepford wives and gold diggers, a clueless and barely literate principal, and an officious, overbearing helicopter mom of a school board chair. Not to mention an adorable police detective. With her amazing, sharp voice, Liz is a standout on the merits, and her use of English lit in detecting is a unique and delicious twist. Characters to love and root for, plenty of baddies to despise, and a plot that keeps you guessing to the end—told in razor-sharp style. Sign me up for the next class!” 

~ Kathleen Marple Kalb, author of the Ella Shane

and Old Stuff Mysteries

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“Lori Robbins scores a hole-in-one with Study Guide for Murder: A Masterclass Mystery, a witty who-dun-it set in the pretentious world of country clubs. A foursome of interesting characters, clever plot twists woven with literary references, bodies dropping like golf balls into the rough, and a cold case personal to the gutsy amateur sleuth English teacher, heighten the tension on this championship round. Robbins’ latest mystery sinks the shot with style and class.” 

~ Jodé Millman, author of multi-award-winning

The Queen City Crimes Series

“Anyone who loves a mystery told with humor, heart, and plot twists galore will have a blast reading Lori Robbins’s Study Guide for Murder, which features literature-quoting high school English teacher Liz Hopewell. Her marriage is on the rocks, her career as a teacher is up in smoke, and there’s evidence her long-deceased mom might have been murdered. And that’s just for starters. A richly detailed story with characters you’ll want to follow for many more books. Give this mystery a grade of A+.” 

~ Mally Becker, Twice Agatha Award-nominated author

of the Revolutionary War Mystery Series

“Lori Robbins has done it again! Clever, fast-paced and thoroughly engaging, the latest installment in her Master Class Mystery Series is a gripping whodunit loaded with wit and suspense. Study Guide for Murder takes high school English teacher Liz Hopewell from the classroom to the golf course, where she is thrust into a murder investigation when her golf club becomes an instrument of death. What begins as a shocking and tragic event quickly spirals into a complex web of crime and intrigue. I highly recommend it. You won’t want to put it down.” 

~ Lori Duffy Foster, author of the Lisa Jamison Mystery Series

and Never Let Go, a thriller

“The signature Robbins caustic wit is evident from page one of this acerbic thriller. Even the name of the suburban non-paradise in which the story takes place, Valerian Hills, smacks of irony, evoking anything but the calming effect of the well-known herb for which it is named. As the cleverest writers do, Robbins begins with conflict: an argument between a former married couple, either of whom could end up dead sooner rather than later. But that is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Robbins is knife-edge skilled at peeling off the layers of this multifaceted whodunit: an exceptionally astute high school English teacher investigating multiple country club murders and a dysfunctional family to end all dysfunctional families. A thought-provoking plot and characters both sympathetic and maddening keep the reader glued to the pages all the way to the twisty end. Highly recommend.” 

~ Erica Miner, award-winning author

of the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series

“It’s another semester and another murder for Liz Hopewell who finds herself on the wrong end of a golf club in this fast-paced, and exciting mystery. Her birthday gift of a golf lesson on the anniversary of her mother’s death was unsettling, as was discovering the body of a club member who’d been done in with one of her golf clubs. Liz’s sister, Susan, sees this as a karmic coincidence and insists that their mother’s death may not have been accidental, and that her father’s other secret family might be responsible. As the women investigate, Liz takes to the links to unmask the killer while seeking the truth about her family.” 

~ Cathi Stoler, author of The Nick Donahue Adventures,

Nick Of Time and Out Of Time

“In Study Guide for Murder, high school English teacher Liz Hopewell finds herself in a hole deeper than any sand trap when a murder at the country club is connected to her very own golf club. What starts as a reluctant lesson in the game of golf—taken solely to appease her husband - turns into a wild investigation when she finds the victim bludgeoned. As Liz navigates the labyrinthine world of high school drama and country club pretensions, she can’t help but play detective. Her flirtatious banter with the dashing detective is as sharp as her wit, and her literary references add a delightful twist to her sleuthing. Things get even more tangled when Liz's sister insists they investigate their mother’s mysterious death from years past, leading them on a nostalgic jaunt through their childhood neighborhood. With Liz’s humor and literary savvy guiding her, Study Guide for Murder is a rollicking romp through murder and memory.  Liz Hopewell makes for an unforgettable sleuth.” 

~ Nancy Good, author of the Melanie Deming Mysteries