Burying Ariel (Hardcover)

This to me is a very tortured attempt at incorporating a personal view into fiction.

I gather the topic is misguided expectations: expectations parents have of their children, lovers have of their paramours, individuals have of themselves. And how we fail and cannot let go or, if we do, the price we pay.

This is certainly a valid topic and true. But in the novel it is so lifeless. So there is the old academic who cannot let go of his mysogenistic perceptions (only in the end) and that is exemplified by the fact he doesn't like email or using a computer; then there are the parents, high achievers, who do not want to recognize the artist in their daughter; the feminists, who are totally obnoxious and want to claim her as a victim of patriachy; there is the (almost ex-) partner, badly scarred himself; etc.

But none of these characters are actually explored in detail. They are just what they are: People who do not understand. They all do things, but none of their actions have any grounding in the novel. They are simply scarred people (there are a few more) and none of their actions are related to anything.

I was truly disappointed. Sure there is the usual family history; but there are also some memorable hitches when it comes to the series. Funny, Joanne Kilbourne, at nearly 50, would suddenly have a new gynaecologist, I guess for the sake of the novel.

Gail Bowen writes wonderful novels, but in this one she just stretched credibility too far.

If you want to complain about feminism or the imagined threat of "political correctness" on campus, there are other ways.
If you want to make everybody's misconceptions topical in a novel, make characters come alive. Do not leave them cyphers.

Mixing in Joanne's daily life with the sudden stabbing-murder of a loved teacher on campus with ehr usual deft touch, Bowen has definitely left the pattern of every murder being tied so someone in Joanne's past (something that was starting to get a little bit hard to swallow in some of her previous books). This murder is connected to her solely by the place Joanne works, the university, and a respect she had for the deceased.

Tying in radical feminists, student protests, and angry pointed fingers at a man who may have confessed - or merely said the wrong thing at the wrong time - keep the plot humming in this Kilbourn mystery. And as always, it is the depth of character in both villains and hero(ine)s of the book that immerse you totally in what is going on.

Big cheers for Gail Bowen, Canada's Lady of Mystery!

'Nathan

The police have several suspects from a professor previously accused of sexual harassment to Ariel's boy friend radio star Charlie D. The campus' militant women feel Ariel is the victim of a male animal and use her vigil to further their goals rather than as a memorial to the deceased. Realizing the campus is divided and turning ugly, Professor Joanne Kilbourn who has known Ariel for two decades begins to make her own inquiries not yet realizing where the danger really comes from.

BURYING ARIEL is an exciting academic murder mystery that provides insight into extreme campus politics. Readers will take pleasure from the story line though they will wonder how the vigil turned ugly so quickly. The characters seem genuine especially Joanne, her family, and most of the political science department. Though the killer's motive seems stretched, the audience will find the latest Kilbourn Canadian who-done-it to be a delightful amateur sleuth tale.

Harriet Klausner