Universities are supposed to be places of quiet scholarship, polite disagreement and excessive footnotes… not suspicious deaths. Yet in RO Thorp’s Marked for Death, the cloistered world of academia proves just as dangerous as any dark alley, picturesque English village or research trip to the Arctic.
Having recently returned from tangling with Greenland sharks, diamond smugglers and other doers of dodgy deeds, as well as having published a groundbreaking monograph on all of it, Dr Finn Blanchard has accepted a visiting post-doc role at the University of St Ludmila in Perėja, Lithuania.
While it should be a fish-centric semester, Finn quickly learns that not all is well at the university. Aside from the backbiting regarding tenure, there is the death of university administrator Nina Hussar to consider. Despite being highly familiar with the tower housing the university’s carillon, Nina inexplicably fatally fell down its steps three months earlier.
As Finn is reluctantly – albeit charmingly – drawn into the mystery, a campus full of scholars, rivalries and intellectual ambitions starts to look less like a community of learning and more like a field of suspects. In fact, RO Thorp turns academic life into fertile ground for a witty and thoroughly engaging modern whodunnit.
Fittingly, there’s a document at the heart of matters. Rumours persist that the University of St Ludmila is the hiding place of a lost Shakespeare play: Cardenio, the Bard’s adaptation of Don Quixote. This tantalising MacGuffin is a historical mystery with implications – possibly deadly ones – for contemporary university life.
Universities have long provided fertile ground for crime fiction, but Thorp uses the environment with particular wit. Academic departments become miniature political arenas where reputations, research funding and intellectual pride are constantly at stake. The faculty members form a gallery of suspects with both professional ambitions and personal grudges.
Finn is an engaging guide to this environment. As a scientist rather than a trained detective – despite his prior success in that regard – he approaches problems with analytical curiosity rather than investigative authority. This lends him a refreshing sense of vulnerability, even though he always seems certain to crack the case. He’s intelligent and observant, but prone to distraction, awkwardness and occasional misjudgement. His reluctance to play the role of amateur sleuth again gives proceedings a slightly self-aware tone, suggesting that Thorp recognises the delightful oddness of the book’s premise.
An additional aspect concerns Finn’s complicated relationship with his ex-boyfriend Tom, a detective whose professional instincts clash with Finn’s more tentative approach to the mystery. Their interactions introduce moments of tension and humour while grounding the investigation in a recognisable emotional reality.
The central mystery itself is cleverly constructed. The idea of a missing Shakespeare play provides an appealing intellectual hook, linking literary scholarship with the mechanics of a traditional whodunnit. Cryptic clues, academic rivalries and historical speculation combine to form a puzzle that gradually unfolds across the narrative.
Indeed, Marked for Death feels like a modern descendant of the puzzle-driven mysteries associated with Golden Age writers such as Agatha Christie. Thorp scatters hints and misdirection throughout the story while steadily narrowing the field of suspects. Yet the tone is lighter, the humour sharper and the social dynamics more reflective of present-day life.
Humour is one of the novel’s most distinctive qualities. From Finn’s preoccupation with an improbable rumour about a shark in the local lake to the sometimes theatrical behaviour of the academic suspects, Thorp embraces a slightly offbeat comedic sensibility. This tone ensures the narrative maintains a balance between suspense and amusement.
Thorp’s writing is brisk and conversational, moving the story forward with a sense of momentum that suits the genre well. Dialogue plays a particularly important role, revealing character relationships and subtle tensions within the university community. As a result, the story feels lively without sacrificing clarity or coherence.
Beneath the playful surface, Marked for Death acknowledges the pressures that shape university life: the competition for prestige, the importance of reputation and the often fragile egos that accompany intellectual achievement. These elements give the mystery a credible emotional foundation, suggesting motives that extend beyond simple greed or jealousy.
Many contemporary crime novels lean heavily toward either grim psychological intensity or cosy nostalgia. Thorp instead occupies an appealing middle ground, respecting the structural pleasures of classic detective fiction while maintaining a modern sensibility about the quirks of daily life.
While Marked for Death is the second Blanchard Twins mystery, it can certainly be read as a standalone story. Thorp makes sure to introduce the central characters and relationships clearly and early enough that newcomers can easily follow the story without prior knowledge of the series.
Best of all, Thorp knows what makes a good mystery enjoyable: an engaging protagonist, a cleverly layered puzzle and a setting rich enough to sustain suspicion. By situating the intrigue within the eccentric world of academia and seasoning the investigation with wit and warmth, she delivers a novel that is both intellectually playful and genuinely entertaining.
See our review of Death on Ice, first in the series by RO Thorp.
Faber & Faber
Print/Kindle/iBook
£7.49
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
