The Campus Murders

The Campus Murders is a 1969 paperback novel by Gil Brewer (1922 - 1983) published under the name Ellery Queen. It is the first of three novels to feature "troubleshooter" Mike McCall, a U.S. governor's special assistant.

Outline of the plot

Against the background of a student rebellion, two murders are committed on the Tisquanto State College campus. The first victim is one of the conservative deans, who is stabbed after his life-size effigy has been burned on a stake specially erected by a group of students. The second victim is a female student whose body is found dangling from a rope in the campus bell tower. The missing student is found near a river, severely beaten up and in a coma. In the end it turns out that one of the rebellious students is the killer. However, the murders are nothing to do with radical student politics: In a drug-induced frenzy, the killer has murdered the people who stood in his way to personal success or who were threatening to expose his criminal schemes.

Related Topics:
Dean - Effigy - Coma

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~