Requiem for Ashes — David A. Crossman / D.A. Crossman

Formerly Murder in a Minor Key. "Albert is one of my all-time favorite sleuths " Tess Gerritsen, NYT Bestselling Author ..".shines with comic brilliance. Crossman has a gift for creating characters...who should show up in further adventures of Albert. And there should be more." Chicago Sun-Times "The novel is an exercise in the comic style, defying disbelief. To his credit, Crossman brings it off nicely. Albert is clearly a survivor, likely to be heard from again." Los Angeles Times Book Review "Crossman...creates an offbeat, sympathetic sleuth who meanders innocently through this tale like a lamb through a pack of wolves. Bravo. Encore Publishers Weekly "If you have ever aspired to be a private detective, here is some hilarious inspiration. Crossman's delightfully offbeat tale of wacky academic politics contains a host of bizarre characters and an inexplicable homicide. Albert is indeed a unique, likeable operative. I certainly look forward to an encore. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Nothing made sense to Albert. Why would anyone want to kill Professor Glenly because of Etruscans? Why did everyone think Tewksbury had done it? And why did the cassette recorder stop working when you spilled beer on it? Albert didn't think like most people. He never understood how they could spout their age, or weight, or Social Security Number off the top of their head without looking it up somewhere. All Albert knew was music. The orbit of his tiny, coffee-stained universe was elliptical and only rarely collided with the conventional world, generally in the vicinity of a Dunkin' Donuts. Still, he couldn't understand why the police failed to grasp the logic of his argument: Tweksbury had just quit smoking. You don't quit smoking if you're planning to kill someone - even a history professor. Like a musical pinball, Albert is buffeted through the sinister underbelly of academe, a world ruled by lust, greed, and twisted envy, whose existence he'd never imagined, and in which he is an unwanted stranger. If only he could put a face on the figure in the shadows. If only he could cover up the burn mark on his cheek and thigh. If only Detective Naples would stop asking him questions. If only someone would stop trying to kill him. If only someone would explain ... everything.