Camille Minichino's debut novel introduces us to sleuth Gloria Lamerino, who has returned to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts after a thirty year absence teaching physics in Berkeley, California. As the book opens she has already contracted to be a scientific expert helping the Revere Police Department in solving murders.
Soon after, a student, whom Gloria knew in California and has also returned to his hometown of Revere (what are the odds?), is murdered. Dr. Lamerino is drawn into the murder on a personal level as several people close to the murder are acquaintances of hers from the same university and have all relocated to Revere, MA.
The mystery centers on the murdered scientist's research that claimed he had successfully created metallic hydrogen, a superconductive material with no resistance. Although its presence lasted only one-millionth of a second, there are promises of major industrial contracts and much money to be made by everyone in this research group.
Very soon, Lamerino hears rumors that Eric Bensen, the murdered scientist, hinted that some of the data had been falsified, the most serious crime in the scientific world. A print-out of the program Eric was running at the time of his murder may hold a clue to the identity of the killer.
In the midst of reacquainting herself with Revere, fending off over-protectiveness and possessiveness from an old boyfriend, and becoming attracted to the detective she is working with on the case, Lamerino devotes what little time she has left to deciphering the program, for clues. She notes three characters that appears at the end of the printout, which ultimately lead to the identity of Eric's murderer, but Lamerino unwittingly tips off the murderer, letting the individual know that she is aware of their identity. This mistake nearly costs her life, but the cavalry arrives in time to save her from the same fate as Eric.
Mainly, I enjoyed Minichino's setting of the hydrogen research and the details of the science behind it, because I am a chemist and found this aspect fascinating. Since Minichino is a physics professor herself, one wonders if the research was fictional or if there is an actual basis for the book. Whichever the case, Minichino's details make the science interesting and easily understood as Lamerino tries to educate her very non-scientific police detective and friends.
Minichino also puts nearly as much detail into the setting of Revere, a quaint suburb of Boston. Some of the characters seem almost cliché, such as the matchmaker best friend promising to find her a boyfriend, the cutthroat research professor determined to publish no matter the cost (is there any other kind?), the spurned and rejected wife and the pretty self-absorbed blonde.
There were other secondary mysteries that Minichino inserted to add intrigue but they quickly panned out to nothing and had little bearing on the outcome. For example, the rearrangement of action figures on Bensen's desk and the disappearance of a plastic Albert Einstein bust add to the suspense but it is quickly discovered to be the acts of a weeping girlfriend, nothing more.
I was disappointed that the resolution to the mystery was simply that the murdered scientist typed in his murderer's initials into the computer with the special character's font enabled. The murder of the research professor was the mere consequence of him solving the puzzle first and being silenced.
Mysteries are difficult to write, but this first novel is a good effort. I know that Minichino's writing improves since I have read "The Boric Acid Murder" the fifth in her series. The simplicity of this debut detracts from the enjoyment, but if you understand science research, the concept alone will entertain you.
