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James J. Cudney

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Academic Curveball: Murder Over Grades (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by James J. Cudney (Author), Nicki Kuzn (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 1,433 ratings

Book 1 of 8: Braxton Campus Mysteries

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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.

Soon after, the college's athletic program receives mysterious donations, a nasty blog denounces his father, and someone attempts to change students' grades. Something is amiss on campus, but none of the facts add up.

With the help of his eccentric nana, Kellan tries to stay out of the sheriff's way and solve the mystery. But can they find the killer before he strikes again?

Praise:

★★★★★ - "I read a lot of murder mystery and whodunit books, and this was one of the best I’ve read in a while. The story is full of twists and turns, and the characters are relatable. If you like cozy mysteries, you should definitely give this series a try."

★★★★★ - "Fantastic writing and witty dialogue. Awesome."

★★★★★ - "An exciting, cozy mystery."

★★★★★ - "Full of twists and turns, and an ending you won't see coming."

Editorial Reviews

Review

***** - "There is something very authentic when it comes to first-person narrations, especially when the main character has a sense of humor. In this case, Kellan Ayrwick is the source of the humor and wit." (Justine Reyes for Readers' Favorite)

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07HMYSQFH
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Next Chapter; 8th edition (October 15, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 15, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2224 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 475 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B08CWM9THQ

Best Sellers Rank: #6,764 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Teen & Young Adult Detective Story eBooks
- #5 in Contemporary American Fiction
- #64 in Murder

Customer Reviews:
4.2 1,433 ratings

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James J. Cudney

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James is my given name; most call me Jay. I grew up on Long Island, lived in New York City for over a decade, and currently live in Stamford, CT, 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, media, retail, and hospitality industries. Although I enjoy my job, I also want to re-focus on my passions: telling stories and connecting people through literature.

In 2017, I published my debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, a contemporary fiction family drama with elements of mystery, suspense, humor, and romance. The sequel, Hiding Cracked Glass, released exactly three years later in 2020. I've also written another family drama novel, Father Figure, and created the Braxton Campus Mysteries, a light investigation series about a humorous thirty-something guy dealing with murders and the drama of a small town. I've also co-authored a book, Weathering Old Souls, with the wonderful Didi Oviatt.

Most of my books are available in hardcover, paperback, electronic, and audiobook formats, as well as in a variety of bookstores. We've begun translating into Portuguese, Spanish, German, Greek, and Italian for some of the books too. 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 2,500 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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4.2 out of 5

1,433 global ratings

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Granda

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024

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I really enjoyed this book.The characters are great.
I would recommend it. A page turner for sure.
Great author. Thank you.

2 people found this helpful

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Amanda Cato

Take me out to the ball...game...

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019

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The first book is always more introduction and background. So, we have Kellan who lost his wife some time ago and has a young daughter to care for. His father is retiring from the Braxton Campus and there is party thrown in his honor. The night of the party, however, one of the staff members is seen dead at the bottom of a stairway. The funny thing is, that was the woman Kellan was supposed to meet in regards to a second season of a show he is helping with called, Dark Reality.

Yeah, reality just got dark for Kellan - I don't care if that was lame, I thought it was a little funny.

Kellan had me from the beginning of this quote:

"I'm powerless to desserts - also known as my kryptonite - hence, why I've always thought they should be a major food group."

I agree!! I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth in the world. Peanut butter and chocolate are god send and who ever put them together in the first place was a genius and should forever be rewarded!

The whole murder centers around baseball. No, seriously. I'm not at all a baseball fan, or a sports fan in general, but apparently the woman murdered, Abby Monroe, found out something that could ruin a student's chance at a baseball career and believe me, that's not where it ends.

Kellan has an AWESOME grandmother, Nana D, who is so overly outspoken. She almost reminds me of my own grandmother.

"I thought about killing your Grandpop a few times. Run him down with a tractor or stab him with a pitch fork while bailing hay. In the end, it was always too much of a mess to clean so I let him live."

Obviously there's more to that but that part just made me laugh. She's a little nuts, but not the good kind - there is such thing as a good nut - trust me...I could be one of them.

I didn't really make any guesses as to who the killer was - I had a hunch, but I was wrong - but the revealing was a bit of a surprise. Kind of wondered what did I miss, which that's not a bad thing.

The ending...well, let's just say I have a lot of questions as to how THAT is anywhere near possible unless it's the damn apocalypse!

Everything is told from Kellan's point of view. Sometimes he is a bit of a chatty Cathy and asks a lot of questions to himself - and maybe he answers back - sometimes you just need expert advice! There are a lot of side stories going on that tie into the one main story so going into details about them would be turning this post into a book report and while I enjoy doing those, I'm sure not everybody wants to sit and read a full detailed one.

Plus, it means that your curiosity is peaked enough to go read the first book of this series. Which I believe is now getting to book 5 - so I have a lot of catching up to do.

If I could just one little nit picky observation - cell phones do not have dial tones. Just saying.

This is a fun little cozy mystery. It is a murder mystery, yes, but it reads like Murder She Wrote or perhaps one of Roald Dahl's morbid short stories - those are fantastic by the way. Now if you'll excuse me...I need to see about getting the second book.

I don't really rate anymore, but if I must, I'd say this was four out of five stars. Fun read, not short, but it didn't need to be. The characters are fun and hysterical, Nana D mostly.

3 people found this helpful

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Debbie De Louise

Academic Curveball Will Throw You A Curveball with its Twists

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2019

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Academic Curveball is the second book I've read by James J. Cudney and the first of his Braxton Campus cozy mysteries. Having enjoyed his first novel, the standalone family saga Watching Glass Shatter, I was curious to see how he would handle a cozy mystery. I wasn't disappointed. The characters in Academic Curveball were all well portrayed. I especially liked Kellan, the main character, a widower with a young daughter who was called home for his father's retirement party as president of Braxton College. Upon his return, Kellan who is currently working for Dark Realities, a television reality crime show, plans to meet Professor Abby Monroe who has material for the second season of his show after his father's party. Unfortunately, he never gets to do so because Abby's dead body is found during the party by his father's assistant Lorraine Candito.

A number of people, some close to Kellan including his own father, are suspects in Abby's murder, but the murder weapon is missing along with two other items, one that was intended as a gift to Kellan. The motive is believed to have involved the changing of a grade for an athlete so he can compete in a game that a college scout will attend. But when another murder occurs and they find the possible weapon hidden in Kellan's father's desk, Kellan has even more reason to solve the case despite the warnings by the town's female sheriff who refers to him as "Little Arywick."

Aided by his sassy grandmother, Nana D. and his old school friend Connor who is dating both his sister Eleanor and his college girlfriend Maggie, Kellan sets out to find the person responsible for the murders. Although I had a funny feeling about the character who the killer ended up being, I didn't know the identity of the murderer until it was unveiled . . . and then it all made sense. What surprised me even more was the cliffhanger at the end of the book that was totally unexpected. I won't reveal any spoilers, but I love double twists. This one was done exceptionally well. I can't wait to read the second book where it should be explained. My only criticism of this book was that the plethora of characters were introduced close together which made it somewhat difficult to keep them all straight initially. Otherwise, I highly recommend this series to those who like academic settings, a variety of interesting characters including a male protagonist, and cozy mysteries with lots of subplots and twists.

In addition to being a talented writer, Cudney also has a terrific Wordpress blog called This is My Truth Now.

4 people found this helpful

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V

A cozy with a gender reversal

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2023

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I liked the concept of it -- a cozy mystery with a male protagonist, using some of the tropes of the genre (the main character returning to a small town of his/ her birth; the main character being very attractive, at least to some people; cravings for sweets; difficult family relationships and / or eccentric relatives) and seeing how they work for a man. But: I didn't actually like the characters (the main character is a spoiled brat, Nanny D is waaay too invested in "one-upping" everyone; the father is very authoritarian). And the writing style could use some improvement.
But there's an intriguing cliffhanger for the next book at the very end!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

yop

A good read that keeps you guessing.

Reviewed in Spain on December 9, 2021

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Academic Curveball by James J. Cudney

This is the first book in the Braxton Campus Mysteries series.

Kellan Ayrwick returns to his hometown for his father’s retirement party. During which a woman he was planning to meet, Abbey Monroe, is found murdered in the stairway of Diamond Hall.

The suspect list is soon overflowing with possible culprits; as various motives are discovered. There is talk of grade changes for the sporting students, a mysterious nasty blog criticising large anonymous donations to the athletics programme and comments that cast aspersions on the involvement of the Ayrwick family.

Kellan starts his own investigation. He wades through the many twists and turns of this complex plot with its red herrings and subtle clues. The reader is left wondering if the killer will ever be found. I have to admit I was nowhere near guessing the real culprit, but when all was revealed, it made perfect sense.

The characters are well developed. I particularly enjoyed the feisty Nana D who meddles in everything and tries to fix the widowed Kellan up with a new love interest at every possible opportunity.

The ending leaves the reader wanting more. If you are into Cosy mysteries. Don’t miss out on this one!

George Knox

So Many Potential Villains a Reader Has to Stay Focused as the Plot Unfolds.

Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2019

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I hoped Academic Curveball would deliver a pitch that would entertain me with a story that would maintain my interest and it did more than that. It delivered a complex murder mystery with so many potential villains a reader has to stay focused as the plot unfolds.

Kellan, a single parent returning to his home town to visit his family and his alma mater, is a witty, perceptive and relaxed character who reminded me a little of Archy McNally in the Lawrence Sanders books. While Sanders spoofed the upper classes with Archy’s high society capers in which he romanced the ladies while solving murders in Palm Beach, in Academic Curveball, James J. Cudney drops the reluctant Kellan back into his family (an interesting bunch that includes his uninhibited and nosy grandmother, Nana D) in a small town where his stoic father is the retiring president of the local college and, as Kellan discovers, is having problems with the college’s faculty and its athletic program. A concerned Kellan begins to nose around events that may be the cause of his father’s problems but matters take a turn for the worse when a murder occurs and his father may be implicated. While amateur sleuthing, Kellan gradually gets sucked back into his family and the college and reconnects with old friends and a previous lover. He doesn’t romance the ladies like Archy but his love interest is apparent and is ripe for further development. Other characters and their relationships are also ready for the author to explore.

The author’s amusing and educated style of writing fits the story of academic life where inter-cerebral fights replace a punch in the nose and deceit bubbles below a veneer of civility. The devious behavior of ‘pointy headed’ academics is always a good source of amusement to the population at large. With Kellan and his daughter, family and friends, there are enough characters to provide plenty of grist for the author to entertain readers with in the sequels. Time for me to move on to #2.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Warning – read one, you have to read another, and then, another…

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2019

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I was recommended this series of Braxton Campus Mysteries. So, I bought book 3, Flower Power Trip (I know, I have this thing of starting a series in the middle). I read it, loved it, reviewed it and thought, I will read book 1. Bought it, read it, am reviewing it, and now, HAVE to read the rest. I’ve already bought book 2.
These are wonderfully engaging whodunits, much like an Agatha Christie on speed. I mean that in the nicest possible way, in that the writing is pacey, clever, witty, and the characters come well-formed and, immediately captivating. The scene a North American, idealistic (in my view) college campus not far from Philadelphia.
Kellan Ayrwick is a recently widowed TV show researcher / academic, balancing a career with bringing up a young daughter and, moderating the loving involvement of mafia in-laws – okay, because that is the easy bit.
Kellan returns to Braxton from LA to attend his father’s retirement from President of the College.
I’m a slow reader and needed to be, because this is detailed stuff that I love to get absorbed in. Right from the start a host of characters are introduced in succinct and clever writing; I’m in. I’m fascinated and, bang, the first murder. A close friend of Kellan’s on the academic staff.
What follows next is a wonderful trail of clues, what ifs, players on the scene that I loved, but who did it, and why? There is a Baseball Scout coming to watch two top notch pitchers but one is not up to academic muster, and then he is…? Someone manipulating academic scores? Is this the reason?
Young love on the campus confuses matters. Kellan’s emotions run riot. He’s not been attracted to a woman since he lost his wife. Now, there’s the sheriff, April – something there? An old girlfriend who still looks drop dead gorgeous, but now seemingly, going out with his former best buddie whilst stringing his sister along, and, he is head of security at the campus.
Kellan’s hormones may be rioting but so was my imagination, and then, another murder.
I will say no more because you just have to read it, and when you do, look out for my favourite character. The irascible Nana D, Kellan’s maternal grandmother; cantankerous, feisty, passionate, and still has an eye for a man.
I love it when you find a series that you can look forward to reading. This is cosy with a fizz and, that fizz is a fuse fizzing to the end of this book for a whizz-bang of an ending.

One person found this helpful

P. Matthews

Excellent mystery

Reviewed in Australia on February 26, 2019

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Entertaining, great characters and a thoroughly enjoyable yarn. I didnt guess the murderer until late and i loved the main character. Kellan was as smart as he was humble and with a whole set of feelings that made him come to life. And the ending? Well, i didnt see that one coming. Read it.

Maureen

Lighthearted, Amusing, and a Tense and Compelling Plot!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2018

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* 3.5 Stars*

Okay, I have to mention the end of this book first! Yes I know, that’s just crazy, but I wanted to say WoW - what an ending, I never saw that coming!

Set in the world of academia, this is the first in the Braxton Campus series. It begins with single dad Kellan Ayrwick returning home on the occasion of his father’s retirement from Braxton college.

When one of the college professor’s is found dead, Kellan finds himself playing the part of amateur sleuth, but he soon discovers that members of his own family appear to have something to hide too!

I’m not a big cozy reader but I did enjoy the story, it was amusing, and light hearted and had a really intense and compelling plot. Though overly descriptive at times, it was nevertheless a winning start to this new series - and did I mention that ending! Yes I did - in fact I’ve mentioned it twice now!!