"Death in the Quadrangle"

A few weeks back, I reviewed the second of three mysteries by the late Irish writer Eilis Dillon, called "Sent to His Account." I'm delighted to find that the third, and last, Dillon mystery, "Death in the Quadrangle," has now been published by the Rue Morgue Press. It's the subject of our review this week on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review here.

It's a marvelous book. Set in a fictional college in Dublin, it reunites two characters from Dillon's first novel, "Death in the Quadrangle": retired Professor Daly and Irish Police Inspector Mike Kenny. Professor Daly is invited back to deliver a series of lectures at his old college - but finds, when he arrives, that the college president has something else in mind. The president has been receiving threatening messages and wants Daly to find out who has been sending them. Daly quickly discoveers that virtually every professor on the staff has a virulent - and probably deserved - hatred for the president. When disaster strikes, and Inspector Kenny arrives on the scene, he finds that he needs Daly's help to make sense out of the goings-on.

All of this is well-handled in a fine, classic mystery story, written with much gentle humor and a fine sense of both character and place. Irish mystery writers were still fairly rare in the 1950s, when these books were written, and Dillon provides an excellent picture of Dublin and of university life. It's good to have all three of Dillon's mysteries back in print - take advantage of the opportunity!