Death Among the Dons

Neel, whose Death of a Partner was shortlisted for a Golden Dagger Award, turns in another solid performance with her tale of intrigue at Gladstone College, a women's school outside London. Gladstone's warden, Dr. Judith Symonds, dies in bed, apparently a victim of her own imprudent mixing of Valium and alcohol. Dame Sarah Murchieson is recruited by school director Sir Neville Allason to take over the college, whose finances are as dilapidated as its buildings and whose staff is ``rent by schism.'' Sarah, who is well supplied with tact (she holds her tongue when Neville-- once her lover, and more recently the deceased's--turns his attentions to a married member of Gladstone's faculty) and spunk (she was in the Resistance in occupied Holland), hires civil servant and young mother Francesca Wilson as bursar to clean up finances. They are making some headway when a series of attacks on women walking on campus brings Francesca's husband, Police Superintendent John McLeish, onto the scene as well. By firmly establishing each character as a believable individual, Neel effectively and with plenty of humor draws the reader into the complex and often secret dynamics of Gladstone's small community. (Jan.)