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In the world of paleontology, the name of the game is research. Some would even kill for credentials. So it comes as no surprise - and as quiet satisfaction for many - when an eminent scientist is found murdered in his Harvard lab. The prime suspect is a beautiful graduate student, the professor's only female advisee, who has just filed sexual harassment charges against him. Harvard is determined to close the case and convict the student - when Elizabeth Elliot, lifelong Quaker and Clerk of the Meetinghouse in Cambridge, steps into the fray at the student's request. Elizabeth is convinced of her innocence. Her only hope to clear the young woman is to penetrate Harvard's sanctum sanctorum to find the devious killer - knowing full well that brilliant minds are often the most dangerous.… (more)
User reviews
We get an interesting view of Elizabeth's life. She is a widow who has been called to the clerk's position and is clearly a bit of a go-getter. Allen's portrait of upper-middle-class New England Quakers seems pretty accurate from the little I know (I have more exposure to southern Friends, including my wife's family).
The style of the story is irritating in several places and did detract from my enjoyment of the book. The story seems to leave out some critical bits of flow and just get to the next place it needs to be. Recommended only for those interested in an example of portraying Quaker life.