Robert Spiller

When I first moved to Colorado, I was a student at the school that this author, Robert Spiller, was teaching at. While I did not have him personally, I remember him as being a wonderful teacher and never heard anything negative about him. I've been meaning to try his book series for years and finally decided to even though it is written for a younger age group than I am currently in.

Maybe I'm biased, maybe not, but one thing is for sure, I loved this book. When it first started, I wasn't sure what to think, It is written for a younger audience than me but I still wanted to give it a try and I am glad I did. After the start, the book picked up pace and became very engaging and riveting. I did not want to put it down, and stayed up well into the night in order to finish it. I loved the plot twists and that I could not predict what the ending would be. I loved the misdirection and suspense. While most mysteries become graphic, this one did not which was a welcome surprise. Everything was kept mild and instead relied on suspense and misdirection. A welcome change to the mysteries I normally read (i.e. James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark, both of whom I love, but can both become graphic in their descriptions).

Even the description of the book is kept mysterious: A coven of witches, a teenage comic book magnate, a skinhead Neanderthal with violent propensities, an abusive father, an amorous science teacher, and a mistranslated medieval mathematics manuscript figure prominently in this new mystery set in modern-day Colorado.

I went into this book having no idea what to expect and ended very happy with the way it was written. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series. 5/5 stars… (meer)

I downloaded this when it was offered for free at BN a couple of weeks ago. The title intrigued me, and at first I believed it had a paranormal element. Someone claimed it was YA. I don’t quite agree with that. Yes, it felt like a YA mystery but the narrator was Bonnie Pinkwater, a 53 year old math teacher.
Missus P as her students call her a hoot. I loved her for her snarky thoughts, both when it came to students and police officers. But the main reason I loved her was the fact that she felt like a teacher that genuinely cared about her students.
The book starts with a murder, and soon Bonnie Pinkwater is hip deep trying to solve it. ( I felt for the cop, who happened to be one of her old students.) As she tries to solve murder mysteries, and dealing with upset parents, and equally upset students, she is also moving on after her husband’s death. I must admit that I felt lukewarm towards Armen. Oh, he was a nice character, but it took a long time before I realized that he was 50, I thought he was 40ish.
Still, this was a quaint mystery with a touch of romance. I liked the plot, it wasn’t fast moving but the twists took me by surprise.
Will I pick up the next one? Maybe. It depends on the price.
… (meer)

Robert Spiller continues to blend together mathematical history with a tight mystery that keeps you guessing. I enjoy visiting with "Missus P" and her group of teachers, students and friends who all somehow get involved in a murder. I will agree with a friend of mine who claims that there are too many murders happening, three in this book with two other "almosts" and another two that are threatened, including Mrs. Pinkwater. Since the stories are set in a small town in Colorado the body count is starting to get alarmingly high.

I'll keep reading them, I enjoy them for the most part, but am hoping we can get down to a single death per book.… (meer)