Mysteries featuring specific themes have proven to be very popular in recent years. One classic setting or theme for mystery fiction that has remained in the public eye has been academia. Whether the hallowed halls of a venerated old British university like Oxford or Cambridge, a tony Ivy-league school on the eastern seaboard of the U.S., or a small community technical school, murder and mayhem in the classrooms and labs of educational institutions never goes out of style. Many, if not most, of the books on this list also feature teachers, professors, or other educators as the primary sleuths.
In this list, you will find numerous examples of “series” entries — volumes in ongoing series featuring recurring characters. Not all books in each series feature an academic setting, so only those appropriate for this list appear here. If the entire set of books in a series is listed here, a notation to that effect is made.
All books in this list which are owned by Lincoln City Libraries are hotlinked to their entries in our library catalog, so that you may check on their current availability. Some titles not owned by the libraries are included in this list due to their classic nature, or their position as part of a series. If you see a title on this list that is not hotlinked to our collection, please consider ordering it through our Interlibrary Loan department. This is, by no means, a “complete” list, but focuses primarily on books still owned by the Lincoln City Libraries.
Catherine Aird
The Inspector Sloan series
— Parting Breath (1977)
— Some Die Eloquent (1979)
Susan Wittig Albert
The China Bayles series
— Hangman’s Root (1994)
Irene Allen
Quaker Witness (1993)
Jeffrey Archer
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1976)
Charlotte Armstrong
The Witch’s House (1963)
Maggie Barbieri
The Allison Bergeron series
— Murder 101 (2006)
— Extracurricular Activities (2007)
— Quick Study (2008)
Robert Barnard
The Case of the Missing Bronte (1983)
Death in a Cold Climate (1981)
Death of an Old Goat (1977)
Death of a Literary Widow (1979)
School for Murder (1983)
Linda Barnes
The Carlotta Carlyle series
— Deep Pockets (2004)
K.K. Beck
The Body in the Volvo (1987)
Lloyd Biggle
Interface for Murder (1970)
Nicholas Blake
(a.k.a. C. Day Lewis)
The Nigel Strangeways series
— A Question of Proof (1935)
— The Head of a Traveler (1949)
— The Whisper in the Gloom (1954)
— The Widow’s Cruise (1959)
— The Sad Variety (1964)
— The Morning After Death (1966)
Miriam Borgenicht
Booked for Death (1987)
J.S. Borthwick
The Sarah Deane series (Deane is a graduate student who becomes a teacher)
— The Case of the Hook-Billed Kites (1982)
— The Student Body (1986)
— Bodies of Water (1990)
— Dude on Arrival (1992)
— The Bridled Groom (1994)
— Dolly is Dead (1995)
— The Garden Plot (1997)
— My Body Lies Over the Ocean (1999)
— Coup de Grace (2000)
— Murder in the Rough (2002)
— Intensive Scare Unit (2004)
— Foiled Again (2007)
Gail Bowen
The Joanne Kilbourn series (Kilbourn is a college journalism professor)
— Deadly Appearances (1990)
— The Wandering Soul Murders (1992)
— Murder at the Mendel (1993)
— A Colder Kind of Death (1994)
— A Killing Spring (1996)
— Verdict in Blood (1998)
— Burying Ariel (2000)
James Bradberry
The Seventh Sacrament (1991)
Rita Mae Brown
The Jane Arnold series
— The Hunt Ball (2005)
Leo Bruce
Death at St. Asprey’s School (1967)
Jack on the Gallows Tree (1960)
Alafair Burke
Angel’s Tip (2008)
W.J. Burley
Death in Willow Pattern (1969)
The Schoolmaster (1977)
The Charlie Wycliffe series
— Wycliffe and the Schoolgirls (1976)
Gwendolyn Butler
A Coffin for Pandora (1973)
Coffin in Oxford (1962)
Dine and Be Dead (1960)
Olivia (1974)
Meg Cabot
The Heather Wells series
— Size 12 is Not Fat (2006)
— Size 14 is Not Fat Either (2007)
— Big Bones (2007)
Paulette Callen
Charity (1997)
Dorothy Cannell
Goodbye, Ms. Chips (2008)
David Carkeet
Double Negative (1980)
Sarah Caudwell
Thus Was Adonis Murdered (1981)
The Shortest Way to Hades (1984)
The Sirens Sang of Murder (1989)
The Hilary Tamar series (Hilary is a professor of Medieval Law at Oxford)
— The Sibyl in Her Grave (2000)
Agatha Christie
The Hercule Poirot series
— Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)
Anna Clarke
The Paul Glenning series
— Last Judgement (1985)
Carol Clemeau
The Ariadne Clue (1982)
Victor Clinton Clinton-Baddeley
Death’s Bright Dart (1967)
My Foe Outstretch’d Beneath the Tree (1968)
Only a Matter of Time (1969)
No Case for the Police (1970)
Beverly Connor
The Lindsay Chamberlain series
— Dressed to Die (1998)
Stephen Cook
Upperdown (1985)
Thomas H. Cook
The Chatham School Affair (1996)
Desmond Cory
The Mask of Zeus (1992)
Michael Craft
The Claire Gray series
— Desert Autumn (2001)
— Desert Winter (2003)
Philip R. Craig
The Jeff Jackson series
— The Woman Who Walked Into the Sea (1991)
— A Case of Vineyard Poison (1995)
John Creasey
A Rabble of Rebels (1971)
Bill Crider
One Dead Dean (1988)
Murder is an Art (1999)
The Professor Carl Burns series
— Dying Voices (1989)
— …A Dangerous Thing (1994)
— A Knife in the Back (2002)
— Dead Soldiers (2004) (LT edition only)
Edmund Crispin
The Gervase Fen series (Fen is a crime-solving Oxford Don)
— Obsequies at Oxford (1945) (U.S. title)
— The Case of the Gilded Fly (1945) (U.K. title)
— Holy Disorders (1946)
— The Moving Toyshop (1946)
— Dead and Dumb (1947)
— Love Lies Bleeding (1948)
— Buried for Pleasure (1948)
— Sudden Vengeance (1950)
— The Long Divorce (1951)
— Beware of the Trains (1962) (short stories)
— The Glimpses of the Moon (1978)
— Fen Country (1980) (short stories)
— Sudden Vengeance (1982)
Deborah Crombie
The Scotland Yard series
— Dreaming of the Bones (1997)
Amanda Cross
(a.k.a. Carolyn Heilbrun)
The Kate Fansler series (Fansler is a professor of English at Harvard)
— The James Joyce Murder (1967)
— Poetic Justice (1970)
— The Theban Mysteries (1971)
— The Question of Max (1976)
— Death in a Tenured Position (1981)
— Sweet Death, Kind Death (1984)
— No Word From Winifred (1986)
— A Trap for Fools (1989)
— Players Come Again (1990)
— Imperfect Spy (1995)
— Puzzled Heart (1998)
— Honest Doubt (2000)
— In the Last Analysis (2001)
— Edge of Doom (2002)
D.A. Crossman
Murder in a Minor Key (1994)
Jeffrey L. Cruickshank
Murder at the B-School (2004)
Diane Mott Davidson
The Goldi the Caterer series
— The Cereal Murders (1993)
Dorothy Salisbury Davis
Shock Wave (1972)
Mildred B. Davis
Tell Them What’s-Her-Name Called (1975)
David Delman
Death of a Nymph (1985)
Jane Dentinger
The Jocelyn O’Roarke series
— The Queen is Dead (1994)
Colin Dexter
Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
The Daughters of Cain (1994)
Peter Dickinson
Hindsight (1983)
Joanne Dobson
The Karen Pelletier series (English professor)
— Quieter Than Sleep (1997)
— The Northbury Papers (1998)
— The Raven and the Nightingale (1999)
— Cold and Pure and Very Dead (2000)
— The Maltese Manuscript (2003)
Stephen Dobyns
Boy in the Water (1999)
Ruth Dudley Edwards
The “Jack” Troutbeck/Robert Amiss series
— Matricide at St. Martha’s (1994)
— Ten Lords a Leaping (1995)
Aaron Elkins
The Gideon Oliver series (Oliver is a Professor of archaeology)
— Fellowship of Fear (1982)
— The Dark Place (1983)
— Murder in the Queen’s Arms (1985)
— Old Bones (1987)
— Curses! (1989)
— Icy Clutches (1990)
— Make No Bones (1991)
— Dead Men’s Hearts (1994)
— Twenty Blue Devils (1997)
— Skeleton Dance (2000)
— Good Blood (2004)
— Where There’s a Will (2005)
— Unnatural Selection (2006)
— Little Tiny Teeth (2007)
— Uneasy Relations (2008)
— Skull Duggery (2009)
Terence Faherty
The Owen Keane series
— The Lost Keats (1993)
E.X. Ferrars
The Andrew Basnett series
— Root of All Evil (1984)
— Something Wicked (1984)
— The Crime and the Crystal (1985)
— The Other Devil’s Name (1986)
— Murder Too Many (1988)
— Smoke Without Fire (1989)
— Thy Brother Death (1993)
Charles Finch
The September Society (2008)
Dorothy Fiske
Academic Murder (1980)
Kate Flora
The Thea Kozak series
— An Educated Death (1997)
— Death in Paradise (1998)
Antonia Fraser
The Jemima Shore series
— Oxford Blood (1985)
Elizabeth George
The Inspector Thomas Lynley series
— Well-Schooled in Murder (1990)
— For the Sake of Elena (1992)
B.M. Gill
Death Drop (1979)
Seminar for Murder (1985)
Christopher Golden
Bodies of Evidence series
— Bodybags (1999)
Carol Goodman
The Drowning Tree (2004)
Joe Gores
A Time of Predators (1969)
Paula Gosling
Monkey Puzzle (1985)
Linda Grant
Lethal Genes (1996)
Stephen Greenleaf
Beyond Blame (1985)
Susanna Gregory
The Matthew Bartholomew series
An Unholy Alliance (1996)
To Kill or Cure (2007)
Robert Grudin
Book (1992)
Batya Gur
Literary Murder: A Critical Case (1993)
Patricia Hall
The Yorkshire series
— A Skeleton at the Feast (2000)
— Deep Freeze (2001)
Cyril Hare
An English Murder (1951)
Charlaine Harris
A Secret Rage (1984)
Will Harriss
The Bay Psalm Book Murders (1983)
Carolyn G. Hart
The Rich Die Young (1983)
The Death on Demand series
— A Little Class on Murder (1989)
The Henry O series
— Death in Lover’s Lane (1997)
Tim Heald
The Simon Bognor series
— A Small Masterpiece (1982)
Joan Hess
The Claire Molloy series
Strangled Prose (1986)
Reginald Hill
The Dalziel/Pascoe series
— An Advancement of Learning (1971)
John Buxton Hilton
The Superintendent Kenworthy series
— The Innocents at Home (1986)
Isabelle Holland
Grenelle (1976)
Hazel Holt
The Mrs. Malory series
— Mrs. Malory Investigates (1989)
— The Cruelest Month (1991)
— Mrs. Malory: Detective in Residence (1994)
Susan Holtzer
The Anneke Haagen series
— Curly Smoke (1995)
— Bleeding Maize and Blue (1996)
— The Black Diamond (1997)
— The Silly Season: An Entr’acte (1999)
Doug Hornig
Foul Shot (1984)
Michael Inness
The John Appleby series
— Death at the President’s Lodgings (1937)
— The Weight of the Evidence (1945)
— The Long Farewell (1958)
— Hare Sitting Up (1959)
— Picture of Guilt (1969)
Jane Isenberg
The Bel Barrett series
— Death in a Hot Flash (1999)
— Mood Swings to Murder (2000)
— Midlife Can Be Murder (2001)
— Out of Hormone’s Way (2002)
— Hot Wired (2005)
Lisa Jackson
Lost Souls (2009)
P.D. James
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972)
Marshall Jevons
The Henry Spearman series
— Murder at the Margin (1978) (e-book edition only)
— The Fatal Equilibrium (1985)
D.J.H. Jones
The Nancy Cook series
— Murder at the MLA (1993)
— Murder in the New Age (1997)
Cathleen Jordan
A Carol in the Dark (1984)
D. Daniel Judson
The Darkest Place (2006)
Rob Kean
The Pledge (1999)
Nora Kelly
The Gillian Adams series (Gillian is a professor, her boyfriend is a Scotland Yard detective)
— In the Shadow of King’s (1984)
— My Sister’s Keeper (1992)
— Bad Chemistry (1993)
— Old Wounds (1998)
— Hot Pursuit (2002)
Harry Kemelman
The Red Mask mystery series
— The Nine Mile Walk (1967)
The Rabbi Small series
— Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red (1973)
— The Day the Rabbi Resigned (1992)
— The Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996)
Susan Kenney
Graves in Academe (1985)
Rebecca Kent
Finished Off (2009)
Laurie R. King
A Darker Place (1999)
Fern Kupfer
Love Lies (1994)
Laurence Davis Lafore
Nine Seven Juliet (1969)
M.D. Lake
The Peggy O’Neill series (O’Neill is a campus cop)
— Amends for Murder (1992)
— Cold Comfort (1990)
— Poisoned Ivy (1992)
— A Gift for Murder (1992)
— Murder by Mail (1993)
— Once Upon a Murder (1995)
— Grave Choices (1995)
— Flirting With Death (1996)
— Midsummer Malice (1997)
— Death Calls the Tunes (1999)
Jake Lamar
If 6 Were 9 (2001)
Jane Langton
The Homer Kelly series (Homer is a Harvard professor)
— Dark Nantucket Noon (1975)
— The Memorial Hall Murder (1978)
— Natural Enemy (1982)
— Emily Dickinson is Dead (1984)
— Good and Dead (1986)
— Murder at the Gardner (1988)
— The Dante Game (1991)
— God in Concord (1992)
— Divine Inspiration (1993)
— The Shortest Day: Murder at the Revels (1995)
— Dead as a Dodo (1996)
— The Face on the Wall (1998)
— The Thief of Venice (1999)
— Escher Twist (2002)
— The Deserter: Murder at Gettysburg (2003)
— Steeplechase (2003)
Janet LaPierre
Children’s Games (1989)
Emma Lathen
Ashes to Ashes (1971)
Wendi Lee
The Angela Matelli series
— Habeas Campus (2002)
Jim Lehrer
The Franklin Affair (2005)
Elizabeth Lemarchand
The Pollard and Toye series
— Death of an Old Girl (1967)
— Light Through Glass (1984)
Michael Z. Lewin
The Leroy Powder series
— Night Cover (1976)
Frances Lockridge
The Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries
— Murder is Suggested (1959)
The Drill is Death (1961)
Richard Lockridge
The Captain Heimrich series
— Accent on Murder (1958)
— Murder Can’t Wait (1964)
Twice Retired (1970)
M.K. Lorens
Sweet Narcissus (1990)
Sorrowheart (1993)
Peter Lovesey
The Sergeant Cribb series
— Swing, Swing Together (1976)
Mike Lupica
Extra Credits (1988)
Amanda Mackay
Death is Academic (1976)
Charlotte MacLeod
The Peter Shandy series (Shandy is a professor at an agricultural college)
— Rest You Merry (1978)
— The Luck Runs Out (1979)
— Wrack and Rune (1982)
— Something the Cat Dragged In (1983)
— The Curse of the Giant Hogweed (1985)
— The Corpse in Oozak’s Pond (1987)
— Vane Pursuit (1989)
— Exit the Milkman (1996)
Jessica Mann
The Thea Crawford series
Troublecross (1972)
Robert Bernard Martin
Death Takes a Sabbatical (1967)
Deadly Meeting (1971)
Guillermo Martinez
The Oxford Murders (2005)
J.C. Masterman
An Oxford Tragedy (1933)
The Case of the Four Friends (1957)
Wendell McCall
Concerto in Dead Flat (1999)
Colleen McCullough
On, Off (2006)
Val McDermid
The Lindsay Gordon series
— Report for Murder (1987)
The Distant Echo (2003)
Jill McGown
The Lloyd and Hill series
Gone to Her Death (1989)
Ralph McInerny
The Search Committee (1991)
The Notre Dame mysteries
— On This Rockne (1997)
— Lack of the Irish (1998)
— Irish Tenure (1999)
— The Book of Kills (2000)
— Emerald Aisle (2001)
— Celt and Pepper (2002)
— Irish Coffee (2003)
— Green Thumb (2004)
— Irish Gilt (2005)
— The Letter Killeth (2006)
— The Green Revolution (2008)
N.J. McIver
Come Back, Alice Smythereene! (1985)
James Melville
Death of a Daimyo (1984)
Barbara Michaels
Houses of Stone (1993)
Valerie Miner
Murder in the English Department (1982)
Gladys Mitchell
Spotted Hemlock (1985)
Maureen Moore
Fieldwork (1987)
Ian Morson
The William Falconer series
— Falconer’s Crusade (1995)
Marcia Muller (editor)
Dark Lessons: Crime and Detection on Campus (1985) (813.08 Mul)
Janet Neel
The Wilson and MacLeish series
Death Among the Dons (1993)
Jane O’Connor
Dangerous Admissions: Secrets of a Closet Sleuth (2007)
Leslie O’Kane
The Molly Masters series
— When the Fax Lady Sings (2001)
Karen E. Olson
The Annie Seymour series
— Sacred Cows (2005)
— Secondhand Smoke (2006)
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie
The Sister Mary Helen series
— A Novena for Murder (1984)
David Osborn
The Margaret Barlow series
Murder on the Chesapeake (1992)
Katherine Hall Page
The Faith Fairchild series
— The Body in the Bonfire (2002)
Robert B. Parker
The Spenser series
— The Godwulf Manuscript (1973)
— Hush Money (1999)
Richard North Patterson
The Spire (2009)
Iain Pears
An Instance of the Fingerpost (1998)
John Penn
Mortal Term (1984)
Elizabeth Peters
The Amelia Peabody/Emerson Radcliffe series
— Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975)
The Vicky Bliss series
— Borrower of the Night (1973)
The Jacqueline Kirby series
— The Seventh Sinner (1972)
Audrey Peterson
The Claire Camden series
— Dartmoor Burial (1992)
The Jane Winfield series
— Nocturne Murder (1987)
Stella Phillips
Hidden Wrath (1982)
Christine Poulson
The Cambridge mystery series
— Stage Fright (2003) (LT edition only)
Ian Rankin
The Inspector Rebus series
— A Question of Blood (2003)
Lev Raphael
The Nick Hoffman series
— Let’s Get Criminal (1996)
— The Edith Wharton Murders (1997)
— The Death of a Constant Lover (1999)
— Little Miss Evil (2000)
— Burning Down the House (2001)
Robert Reeves
Doubting Thomas (1985)
Gillian Roberts
The Amanda Pepper series
— Caught Dead in Philadelphia (1987)
— Philly Stakes (1989)
— I’d Rather Be in Philadelphia (1992)
— With Friends Like These — (1993)
— How I Spent My Summer Vacation (1994)
— In the Dead of Summer (1995)
— The Mummer’s Curse (1996)
— The Bluest Blood (1998)
— Adam and Evil (1999)
— Helen Hath No Fury (2000)
— Claire and Present Danger (2003)
— Till the End of Tom (2004)
— A Hole in Juan (2006)
— All’s Well That Ends (2007)
Robert Henry Robinson
Landscape With Dead Dons (1956)
Beth Saulnier
The Alex Bernier series
— Bad Seed (2002)
Dorothy L. Sayers
The Lord Peter Wimsey series
— Gaudy Night (1936)
Margaret Scherf
The Banker’s Bones (1968)
Sarah R. Shaber
The Simon Shaw series
— Simon Said (1997)
— Snipe Hunt (2000)
— The Fugitive King (2002)
— Shell Game (2007)
Edith Skom
The Beth Austin series
— The Mark Twain Murders (1989)
— The George Eliot Murders (1995)
— The Charles Dickens Murders (1998)
Joan Smith
The Loretta Lawson series (Loretta is a feminist academic)
— A Masculine Ending (1987)
— Why Aren’t They Screaming? (1988)
— Don’t Leave Me This Way (1990)
— What Men Say (1993)
— Full Stop (1995)
Taylor Smith
The Best of Enemies (1997)
Richard H.R. Smithies
An Academic Question (1965)
Kurth Sprague
The Rusty Coulter series
— Frighten the Horses (2003)
Patricia Sprinkle
Murder at Markham (1988)
Susannah Stacey
A Knife at the Opera (1988)
Veronica Stallwood
The Kate Ivory series
— Death and the Oxford Box (1993)
— Oxford Exit (1994)
— Oxford Mourning (1995)
Aaron Marc Stein
A Body for a Buddy (1981)
The Elsie Hunt/Tim Mulligan series
— The Sun is a Witness (1953)
Sarah Strohmeyer
The Bubbles Yablonsky series
— Bubbles Unbound (2001)
— Bubbles Ablaze (2003)
Julian Symons
The Detling Secret (1982)
The Name of Annabel Lee (1983)
William G. Tapply
The Brady Coyne series
— Death at Charity’s Point (1984)
Edith Taylor
The Serpent Under It (1973)
Elizabeth Atwood Taylor
Murder at Vassar (1987)
L.A. Taylor
Footnote to Murder (1983)
Sarah Stewart Taylor
Mansions of the Dead (2004)
Josephine Tey
Miss Pym Disposes (1947)
Donald Thomas
Mad Hatter Summer (1983)
Pamela Thomas-Graham
The Ivy League mystery series
— A Darker Shade of Crimson (1998)
— Blue Blood (1999)
June Thomson
Rosemary for Remembrance (1988)
Michael Underwood
Victim of Circumstance (1980)
Lea Wait
The Antique Print series
— Shadows on the Ivy (2004)
Ann Waldron
The Death is Academic series
— Unholy Death in Princeton (2005) (LT edition only)
Jill Paton Walsh
The Imogen Quy series
— The Wyndham Case (1993)
— Debts of Dishonor (2006)
Lilla M. Waltch
The Lisa Davis series
— The Third Victim (1987)
Elizabeth C. Ward
Coast Highway 1 (1983)
Hillary Waugh
Last Seen Wearing (1952)
Pure Poison (1966)
Rubin Weber
The Grave-Maker’s House (1964)
Theodora Wender
The Glad Gold series
— Knight Must Fall (1985)
— Murder Gets a Degree (1986)
Morris West
Masterclass (1988)
T.H. White
Darkness at Pemberley (1978)
David Williams
The Mark Treasure series
— Treasure by Degrees (1977)
Colin Wilson
Necessary Doubt (1964)
Derek Wilson
Unquiet Spirit (2006)
James C. Work
A Title to Murder: The Carhenge Mystery (2004)
Eric Wright
The Inspector Charlie Salter series
— The Night the Gods Smiled (1983)
The Joe Barley series
— Death by Degrees (1993)
— The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn (2000)
James Yaffe
A Nice Murder for Mom (1988)
Margaret Yorke
The Patrick Grant series
— Dead in the Morning (1970)
Mark Zubro
The Tom and Scott mysteries (Tom Mason is a high school teacher)
— A Simple Suburban Murder (1989)
— Why Isn’t Becky Twitchell Dead? (1990)
— Only Dead Priest (1991)
— The Principal Cause of Death (1992)
— An Echo of Death (1994)
— Rust on the Razor (1996)
— Are You Nuts? (1998)
— One Dead Drag Queen (2000)
— Here Comes the Corpse (2002)
Original printed list from Oct 1986 | Adapted and expanded for the Web June 2006 sdc / Last updated September 2016 sdc