A writer of psychologically astute literary fiction, Bloom (I’ll Be Right Here, 2025) ventures into crime fiction, reveling in and subverting classic tropes ... The plot thickens deliciously with lies, sex scandals, coercion, and further acts of unexpected violence. With mischievous finesse, Bloom brings every character to full and intriguing life.
Novelist Bloom (I’ll Be Right Here) makes her mystery debut with a witty whodunit ... Some late-breaking plot contrivances take this down a few notches, but for the most part, it’s a blast. A sequel would be welcome.
This winning first mystery from novelist and memoirist Bloom features an English professor turned private eye with the perfectly hard-boiled name of Dell Chandler and a charming, ironic, super cool narrative voice to match ... Lots of action, late-breaking twists and characters, plus the emergence of a buried secret in Dell’s own past make the last quarter of the book a bit of a whirlwind, with a second highly educated corpse dropping into the mix, but Dell Chandler is a cool character and a quick study, and her sense of humor never deserts her ... This entertaining, sexy adventure in not-so-dark academia checks all the classic detective-story boxes. Keep ‘em coming.
