Looking for Cardenio.

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

Human frailty is the catalyst for the murder in this mystery. Dr. Deirdre Gunn is a Shakespeare scholar and untenured professor seeking to change that status. She has the professional credentials but lacks the ability to make sound choices in her personal life. A much younger man she had had a past sexual relationship with enrolls in one of her classes and she resumes the relationship with him, although she does have the decorum to insist that he transfer out of her class. Eventually, he betrays her and she is dismissed from the university.

With no income and few savings, Deirdre is ripe for the picking when an old college classmate approaches her with what purports to be a signed manuscript copy of Cardenio, Shakepeare’s lost play. She ultimately pays him for the manuscript, but he is killed shortly after their rendezvous, the suitcase of money is missing, and she is the prime suspect.

Then a life-imitating-art scenario ensues: Deirdre uses clues, deductive reasoning, and research to determine the authenticity of the manuscript while employing the same tactics to try to catch the real murderer. She, herself, is almost murdered during her quest.

This is a complex and intriguing novel. As it is written in the first person, it allows the reader to see things from Deirdre’s perspective and we gain insight into why she does the things she does. Another lover (this time a seemingly more appropriate partner) comes on the scene and we view their connection through her eyes. A window is opened on Deirdre’s relationship with her mother and old secrets are revealed. One or two surprises enliven the ending: the original young lover turns out to be not such a heel after all, and the proposed reunion between Deirdre and the daughter she gave up at birth has a decided twist to it. Deirdre herself is refreshingly honest and robust in talking about sex and other personal subjects and you can’t help but like her and root for her.