Foul deeds

The author's name is a pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team whose insights on the academic world add authority to this promising mystery debut. Shakespearean themes tie together a series of murders at Charles University in upstate New York. The first victim, an outstanding student scheduled to play Cordelia in King Lear , is found hanged in the costume room of the university theater. Next, an English professor is stabbed through a curtain with a sword, echoing Polonius's fate. Police Lt. Polly Winslade, assigned to the case, is aided by journalism professor Tom Hammock, a friend of…