Rapier Wit by Jennifer Oakley Denslow

Item: Rapier Wit
Rating: 3
Author: karenbaron

Posted August 29, 2021 by karenbaron in Mystery, Review / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from . This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Rapier Wit

by Jennifer Oakley Denslow

on March 15, 2021
Pages: 120
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon

When an extra body turns up backstage, Quanah High School’s production of Romeo and Juliet is in trouble. Small-town high school teacher Regina Murphy has to stop directing and muster up her amateur sleuthing skills to find out who killed stern math teacher Robert Slayton, an ex-military man whose classroom demeanor has made him the center of conflicts with students, parents, and other faculty. Against the advice of Sheriff Mac Snyder, Reggie balances her day job initiating students into the mysteries of the dangling participle, explaining why stage right is the audience’s left, and confronting plagiarists to protect her students and make sure the curtain goes up on time.

Rapier Wit by Jennifer Oakley Denslow is a new cozy mystery that is well-written.

Will Regina be able to figure out who killed Colonel Slayton?

Regina Murphy

Regina Murphy is our sleuth who’s in her early thirties and is an English and Drama teacher. She is putting on the play Romeo and Juliet when during rehearsals, they find a dead body. To save a student who she knows is innocent, Regina has to solve the crime. Well, more like she has to gather clues to help the sheriff, who she has a crush on, to let go of the student as a suspect. She doesn’t think of it as sleuthing as they aren’t in a mystery novel. Regina seems like a good teacher as she tries to be there for her students. I don’t really know about her sleuthing skills, though.

Colonel Slayton

Colonel Slayton is our victim, but he was a terrible guy before he got killed. He was in the National Guard for a long time. When he got out, Colonel Slayton got his teaching credentials and has been teaching since then. Except he isn’t a good teacher, not even in his Geometry class. Colonel Slayton approached the classroom and his home life as if he is still in the military with a strict firm hand. He rubbed many students, their parents, and other teachers the wrong way with the way he teaches. Sadly, he died in the one place where Colonel Slayton didn’t want to be. The murderer lures him backstage while Reg, the sleuth, was focused on the students. Sure he probably didn’t deserve to die, but it is funny that he died in the auditorium where he didn’t want his son to be.

Three Stars

Rapier Wit by Jennifer Oakley Denslow seemed like an okay book when you first start it, but I didn’t get enough of a chance to see Regina being either flirty with the sheriff and being a teacher to really snoop. I know that being a teacher is her job, but maybe during her own block periods that are the same as one of the other teachers, she could have talked to them. I also spotted the murderer pretty quickly as well. Ms. Denslow did a good job for her first cozy mystery, but it wasn’t for me. I am giving it three stars and recommending it to people who want to give it a try.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Rapier Wit by Jennifer Oakley Denslow.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

About Jennifer Oakley Denslow

Like so many writers, Jennifer Oakley Denslow began her journey as a passionate reader. Compelled to tell the stories she wanted to read, Denslow began writing early.

As a student, she penned short stories, poems and impassioned letters to the editor. Later a BA in English followed by a Master’s degree in Composition and Rhetoric firmly sealed her fate as a writer. Her love of complex characters led to a twenty-five-year career as a theater educator and a series of award-winning essays. But it wasn’t until Denslow learned about the fille de cassette, or ‘casket girls’ sent to wed men in French colonies, that she was compelled to write a novel about the plight of women in historical times, and an Ignorance of Means was born.

Denslow is drawn to strong female protagonists with sharp intellects, and stories that delve into experiences far beyond the scope of our daily lives. When she isn’t using every spare second to pen her latest novel, she can be found coaching her debate team and working with young actors to create the emotional experiences for which theater was created.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: