Study Guide for Murder: A Master Class Mystery

Murder has no place in Liz Hopewell's perfect suburban life. She left her complicated past behind when she moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey, and she's determined to forget the violence that shadowed her early years. As an English teacher, wife, and mother, Liz now confines her fascination with existential dread to classroom discussions about Frankenstein and Hamlet. But violence follows her from the mean streets of her childhood home to the manicured lawns of suburbia when Elliot Tumbleson's head has an unfortunate and deadly encounter with a golf club. Her golf club.

A second murder, a case of mistaken identity, and a rollicking trip back to her childhood home all point to one prime suspect in each crime. Liz embarks upon a double investigation of homicides past and present, using her gift for literary theory to unearth clues that she finds as compelling as forensic evidence. But the killers, like her students, don't always read to the end.

Lori Robbins is the author of the On Pointe and Master Class mystery series. She won the Indie Award for Best Mystery, two Silver Falchions, and is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense. Short stories include "Leading Ladies" in Justice for All, which received an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology. She also is a contributor to The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers Cookbook. A former dancer, Lori performed with a number of modern dance and classical ballet companies, including Ballet Hispanico and the St. Louis Ballet. Her commercial work, in featured spots for Pavlova Perfume and Macy's, paid the bills. After ten very lean years onstage she became an English teacher and now writes full-time. Lori is a co-president of the New York/ Tristate Sisters in Crime and an active member of Mystery Writers of America. You can find her at lorirobbins.com and sign up for her newsletter at The Great Books Guide.