Let's Get Criminal

A Nick Hoffman / Academic Mystery, Book 1 — Nick Hoffman has everything he’s ever wanted: a good teaching job, a beautiful house, and a solid relationship with his lover, Stefan Borowski, a brilliant novelist and writer-in-residence at the State University of Michigan. But when Perry Cross shows up, Nick's peace of mind is shattered. Not only does he have to share his office with the nefarious Perry, who managed to weasel his way into a tenured position without the right qualifications, he also discovers that Perry played a destructive role in Stefan's past. When Perry turns up dead, Nick wonders if Stefan might be involved, while the campus police force is wondering the same about Nick.

Originally published in 1996, this first book in the Nick Hoffman Academic Mystery series is now back in print, with a 2019 foreword by the author.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
“Deliciously wicked… The perfect book to take away for a weekend in the country… a genuinely funny modern comedy of manners." — Washington Post Book World
"The Borgias would not be bored at the State University of Michigan, that snake pit of academic politics." — New York Times Book Review
“Clever and sharp social satire.” — Los Angeles Times
“Lev Raphael skewers academic pretensions with wicked glee [and] Dickensian flair." — Chicago Sun-Times
Lev Raphael offers “a delightful take on death in academe.” — San Francisco Chronicle
A "witty and devastating backstage view of college life." — San Diego Union‑Tribune
"Some of the most pointed and funny put-downs of academics in my memory.” — Detroit Free Press
Raphael “elegantly skewers ivory-tower pretensions, petty politics, incompetencies and hypocrisies.” — Booklist
Lev Raphael combines “stylish literary mystery with an intimate look at the jungle of academia... witty, impeccably written.” — The Mystery Review
"Marvelous humor and satisfying mystery... wickedly fun." — Drood Review of Mystery
"Bright, breezy, and laugh‑aloud funny." — Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Lev Raphael is the author of 26 books in a dozen genres from memoir to mystery. His first book of short stories "Dancing on Tisha B'Av" won a Lambda Literary Award. He's published hundreds of stories, essays, articles, and book reviews in a wide range of newspapers, magazines and journals. Lev has won Amelia's Reed Smith Fiction Prize and International Quarterly's Crossing Boundaries Prize for Innovative Prose, awarded by novelist D.M. Thomas, author of "The White Hotel". His suspense novel "Assault with a Deadly Lie" was a Midwest Book Award finalist. Lev's fiction and essays have appeared in over 24 anthologies in the U.S. and England, and are taught at colleges and universities around the country. His fiction has been analyzed in scholarly journals, books, and conferences like MLA. Special Archives at Michigan State University's Library purchased his literary papers and updates them yearly. Lev has reviewed for the Detroit Free Press, the Washington Post and other papers.