The Boric Acid Murder

April 8, 2002
Retired physicist and amateur gumshoe Dr. Gloria Lamerino returns in Minichino's fifth murder-by-the-elements mystery (The Hydrogen Murder, etc.), a largely inert mix of chemistry and crime. Though she's comfortably settled in her hometown of Revere, Mass., and relishing the affections of Matt Gennaro, a local homicide detective with "Al Pacino eyes," Gloria can't seem to keep her nose out of sleuthing. When John Galigani, the son of her beloved landlords, is accused of murdering a former girlfriend, Yolanda Fiore, Gloria's on the case to prove John's innocence faster than you can say "periodic table." Although Matt has to recuse himself because of his friendship with the Galigani family, he helps sift through clues and Lamerino's hypotheses. Was Yolanda killed because her newsletter Raid-iation
exposed falsified data in Japan? Did her death stem from conflict over a questionable library expansion plan? Or did Yolanda uncover clues about a 55-year-old murder? Descriptions—of boron as a neutron poison, radioactive wastes, Italian food and characters' fashion choices—serve more often to slow than advance the plot. In addition, readers may find themselves lost amid generations of Italian names in this highly populated novel. Reading Yolanda's e-mails, Lamerino decides, must be like wading through something by Mario Puzo. But there's no denying the flair in Minichino's portrait of Italian Americans, or the charm of her energetic, quick-thinking heroine, who seeks both love and justice. Agent, Elaine Koster.

April 1, 2002
Improbabilities abound in Minichino's mystery series based on the periodic table of elements. Would there really be enough science-related crimes in a small suburb of Boston to warrant hiring a retired physicist to help police with "scientific" investigations? Would Dr. Gloria Lamerino, the series' fiftysomething heroine, really carry any clout when investigating suspects? Probably not, yet despite a shaky premise, Minichino makes the most of her scientific subject matter while crafting completely believable characters. Gloria is an endearing, full-figured physicist who enjoys a sweet relationship with police detective Matt Gennaro. This time the son of Gloria's close friends is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, who was fired from a lab where she investigated the use of boric acid in nuclear reactors. A variety of suspects turn up, including a vengeful library director, a crooked councilman, and a philandering PR executive. Minichino's insights into Italian American culture and her affectionate portraits of small-town life make this series as uplifting as helium.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)