Publication Date: August 19, 2025
Two dead students. A coded reference to Shakespeare. And the promise of darker things to come.
Near a small college campus, a student is found strangled in an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town. She’s been posed to look like a painting of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the scene taunting the police with a message they don’t understand. Detective Ian Carter is known as a straitlaced cop, but seeing the girl’s body leaves him shaken and uncertain of where to turn—until a chance meeting with a charmingly awkward literature professor ends with her accidentally seeing, and solving, a clue left by the killer.
Professor Emma Reilly knows that the books she loves might hold the key to unraveling the killer’s crimes now that a second murder has been discovered, with the victim posed as the Lady of Shalott this time. However, when the murderer strikes too close to home and kills a third student, one from Emma’s classes, she realizes that the safety of her insular life might be nothing more than an illusion. She must find the strength to confront a killer who is turning the stories she loves into lurid scenes of death.
Amie Schaumberg has crafted a smart, thrilling and utterly compelling mystery that will have you trying to figure out whodunit right up until the end.
A series of murders involving college girls leaves detectives with crime scenes packed with symbolism.
Author Amie Schaumberg serves up a thriller laden with literary connections in Murder by the Book.
Literature professor Emma Reilly not only can quote from famous works, but she also has a particular interest in the Pre-Raphaelites. When she inadvertently stumbles upon the crime scene photos, she is determined to assist Detective Ian Carter.
Despite his attraction to the professor, Ian has no intentions of allowing Emma to be a confidential informant or have any involvement in the case. However, as the body count rises, Emma’s knowledge just might offer valuable insight.
From lively classroom discussions to the team of amateur college sleuths, the investigation unfolds. For Ian to wrap up the case, he must rely on this outside resource to translate the symbolism at the scenes.
Murder by the Book delves into a serial killer taunting police with fascinating literary clues.
Amie Schaumberg is an English professor living in Washington State. This is her debut novel.
