Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney is book one in the Braxton Campus cozy mystery series. It’s a fantastic start to the series, which is currently at six volumes.
Who killed Professor Abby Monroe?
When Kellan Ayrwick returns home for his father’s retirement, he finds a body in Diamond Hall’s stairwell. Unfortunately, Kellan has a connection to the victim, and so do several members of his family.
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Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney | Book Review
Academic Curveball (Braxton Campus Mysteries #1) ~ by James J. Cudney Series: Braxton Campus Mysteries, #1
Published by Next Chapter on 10/15/2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Humorous, Mystery
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Paperback
Pages: 286
When Kellan Ayrwick returns home for his father’s retirement from Braxton College, he finds a dead body in Diamond Hall’s stairwell.
Unfortunately, Kellan has a connection to the victim, and so do several members of his family. Could one of them be guilty of murder? Soon after, the college's athletic program receives mysterious donations, a nasty blog denounces his father and someone attempts to change students' grades.Someone is playing games on campus, but none of the facts add up. With the help of his eccentric and trouble-making nana, Kellan tries to stay out of the sheriff’s way. And if that wasn't enough already, his own past comes spiraling back to change his life forever.
In the debut novel of the Braxton Campus Mysteries Series, you'll discover a cozy, secluded Pennsylvania village full of quirky, sarcastic, and nosy residents.
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Academic Curveball: Murder ...Shop on Amazon eBook 
Academic Curveball: Braxton...Shop on Amazon Audiobook 
Academic Curveball (Braxton...Shop on Amazon Paperback
Link to the full Braxton Campus Mysteries
Also Available on The Book Depository.
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My review of Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney
I think this is a stand-up triple, to use baseball vernacular. First books in a series require a different angle as so much backstory, and character introduction is involved.
The characters are well-written. Kellen is somewhat typical as a middle child and has a bit of a strained relationship with his parents. Thank goodness for Nana D. She is a hoot! The cast is detailed and diverse.
Without giving away too much of the plot, the mystery builds slowly throughout the story. I was so sure I had the murderer “tagged,” but I was wrong. New characters, each with a possible motive, keep the intrigue high. The story moves along at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages.
The author is upfront about Academic Curveball being the first in a series. You know this means there is a cliffhanger at the end, and it was a big one.
I recommend this book to all lovers of cozy mysteries and clean fiction with a bit of romance.
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Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney | Book Review
About James J. Cudney
James is my given name; most call me Jay. I grew up on Long Island and currently live in New York City, but I've traveled all across the US (and various parts of the world). After college, I began working in technology and business operations in the sports, entertainment, and media industries. Although I enjoyed my job, I wanted to re-focus on my passions: telling stories and connecting people through words. In 2017, I published my debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, a contemporary fiction family drama with elements of mystery, suspense, humor, and romance. From there, I wrote another family drama novel, Father Figure, and created the Braxton Campus Mysteries, a light investigation series about a humorous guy dealing with murders and the drama of a small town. Many of my books are available in print, electronic, and audiobook formats, and we are beginning to release foreign language translations. To see samples or receive news from my current and upcoming books, please subscribe with your email address at my website: https://jamesjcudney.com.
Outside of writing, I'm an avid genealogist (discovered 2K family members going back about 250 years) and cook (I find it so hard to follow a recipe). I love to read; between Goodreads and my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, I have over 1,000 book reviews, which will give you a full flavor for my voice and style. On my blog, I share several fun features, including the Book Bucket List, Tips & Advice, Author Spotlights & Book Alerts, and the 365 Daily Challenge, where I post a word each day that has some meaning to me, then converse with everyone about life. You'll find tons of humor, tears, love, friendship, advice, and bloopers. Lots of bloopers... where I poke fun at myself all the time. Even my dogs have segments where they complain about me. All these things make up who I am; none of them are very fancy or magnanimous, but they are real and show how I live every day.
A bit of humor: Everything doubles as something else when you live in NYC. For me, it's the dining room, my favorite space in the apartment, where more than just my cooking is on display! As I look out the windows onto a 12th-floor terrace, various parts of nature (trees, bushes, flowers, bugs & animals) inspire me to write. Baxter, a two-year-old Shiba Inu, constantly tries to stop me from writing so I can play with him and keep him amused. How else can you pen the best story possible without these things by your side?
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Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney | Book Review
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Academic Curveball: Murder ...Shop on Amazon eBook Academic Curveball: Braxton...Shop on Amazon Audiobook Academic Curveball (Braxton...Shop on Amazon Paperback
Link to the full Braxton Campus Mysteries
Also Available on The Book Depository.
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I also share many of my reviews on the following websites:
Lovely Audiobook’s Monthly Link-up
The Inspire Me Monday Link Party
Inspire Me Monday with Anita Ojeda
I wholeheartedly recommend the other books in the series as well, Gina. I hope you take a chance on them, as you seemed to quite like this first one and the others just get better and better. And Jay is one of my favourite writers so I will always recommend his work.
Hi,
Thank you so much, Gina. The post, as all your posts, looks beautiful. I’m thrilled with the review. You hit all the key points and made it sound quite interesting. It just came out in German and Portuguese too, so this is perfect timing. I can share all week long! Have a wonderful week.
J