[.ca] Burying Ariel (ISBN 0771014988)

Amazon.ca:
When popular young university instructor Ariel Warren is murdered on a sleepy Saskatchewan campus, suspicion immediately falls on the dead woman's boyfriend, a radio talk show host and the son of a former provincial premier. Sleuthing political science prof Joanne Kilbourn, who has known both the victim and the suspect since they were children, is certain the truth is more subtle and sinister. She soon finds, however, that Burying Ariel won't come easily--at least, not as long as capitalizing on the dead woman's supposed martyrdom remains the Regina college's preferred extracurricular activity. Gail Bowen salts her narrative with lots of tongue-in-cheek jabs at academia: "Ann's eyes glinted. I had linked the words 'political' and 'personal'; for a fanatical feminist the bait was as irresistible as catnip to a Siamese." She comes by her wry grasp of the tainted ivory tower honestly. When she's not writing thrillers, Bowen is head of the English department at the University of Regina's Saskatchewan Indian Federated College. Her A Colder Kind of Death won the Canadian Mystery Writer's Arthur Ellis Award, and the Joanne Kilbourn books provide the basis for a series of made-for-TV movies produced by CTV. --Deirdre Hanna

One of the best "Joanne Kilbourn" mysteries!:
For her creation, and maintenance, of a heroine who is not in the early years of her life, Gail Bowen deserves a lot of credit. Joanne Kilbourn, first introduced to us in "Deadly Appearances" has aged with grace and style by the time we get to "Burying Ariel," and this book shows no sign of her character declining. Mixing in Joanne's daily life with the sudden stabbing-murder of a loved teacher on campus with ehr usual deft touch, Bowen has definitely left the pattern of every murder being tied so someone in Joanne's past (something that was starting to get a little bit hard to swallow in some of her previous books). This murder is connected to her solely by the place Joanne works, the university, and a respect she had for the deceased. Tying in radical feminists, student protests, and angry pointed fingers at a man who may have confessed - or merely said the wrong thing at the wrong time - keep the plot humming in this Kilbourn mystery. And as always, it is the depth of character in both villains and hero(ine)s of the book that immerse you totally in what is going on. Big cheers for Gail Bowen, Canada's Lady of Mystery! 'Nathan

Exciting academic murder mystery:
In Regina, Canada, everyone associated with the university is stunned to learn that someone killed twenty-seven year old Professor Ariel Warren. The culprit stabbed the popular political science lecturer in the back. The police have several suspects from a professor previously accused of sexual harassment to Ariel's boy friend radio star Charlie D. The campus' militant women feel Ariel is the victim of a male animal and use her vigil to further their goals rather than as a memorial to the deceased. Realizing the campus is divided and turning ugly, Professor Joanne Kilbourn who has known Ariel for two decades begins to make her own inquiries not yet realizing where the danger really comes from. BURYING ARIEL is an exciting academic murder mystery that provides insight into extreme campus politics. Readers will take pleasure from the story line though they will wonder how the vigil turned ugly so quickly. The characters seem genuine especially Joanne, her family, and most of the political science department. Though the killer's motive seems stretched, the audience will find the latest Kilbourn Canadian who-done-it to be a delightful amateur sleuth tale. Harriet Klausner

Burying Ariel:
Before I enter into a review let me say I have been a Joanne Kilbourne lover since Gail Bowen's first mystery. I have distributed all her novels to all my friends and family. I have been looking forward to every single one of her novels - until Burying Ariel. This to me is a very tortured attempt at incorporating a personal view into fiction. I gather the topic is misguided expectations: expectations parents have of their children, lovers have of their paramours, individuals have of themselves. And how we fail and cannot let go or, if we do, the price we pay. This is certainly a valid topic and true. But in the novel it is so lifeless. So there is the old academic who cannot let go of his mysogenistic perceptions (only in the end) and that is exemplified by the fact he doesn't like email or using a computer; then there are the parents, high achievers, who do not want to recognize the artist in their daughter; the feminists, who are totally obnoxious and want to claim her as a victim of patriachy; there is the (almost ex-) partner, badly scarred himself; etc. But none of these characters are actually explored in detail. They are just what they are: People who do not understand. They all do things, but none of their actions have any grounding in the novel. They are simply scarred people (there are a few more) and none of their actions are related to anything. I was truly disappointed. Sure there is the usual family history; but there are also some memorable hitches when it comes to the series. Funny, Joanne Kilbourne, at nearly 50, would suddenly have a new gynaecologist, I guess for the sake of the novel. Gail Bowen writes wonderful novels, but in this one she just stretched credibility too far. If you want to complain about feminism or the imagined threat of "political correctness" on campus, there are other ways. If you want to make everybody's misconceptions topical in a novel, make characters come alive. Do not leave them cyphers.