Oink

Starred review from November 13, 2017
Newton, a professor of women’s studies for 20 years, puts her insider knowledge of academia to fine use in this highly entertaining whodunit, the first in a promising series. In 1999, Emily Addams, the head of the women’s studies department at California’s Arbor State University, faces a professional crisis. The university, facing decreasing support from the state and increasingly dependent on corporate funding, is looking for ways to save money. The new vice provost advocates subsuming women’s studies into another department. As Emily and her colleagues running similar small programs scramble to survive, she becomes enmeshed in an inquiry into the attempted homicide of Peter Elliott, a plant biologist whom she knows only slightly. Peter, who was experimenting with feeding pigs genetically modified corn, was found in a coma in the hog yard. The police suspect he was poisoned, possibly by cornbread that Emily made for a campus reception. The winning lead, superior prose, and clever plotting set this above the pack. Recipes are a bonus.