“‘This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to the living or the dead is purely coincidental and ought to make you ashamed at the comparison.’

PROMINENT PROFESSOR STABBED TO DEATH AT KINGSLEY COLLEGE

Unfortunately, the murder may get lost in the confusion of new vice presidents, marketers, focus groups, assessors and protestors as the administration tries to make education profitable. There’s no time for mystery!

Professor Clarence Van Dyke finds himself bewildered by the changes, but determined to get to the bottom of the killing. He wants his friend to rest in peace – or perhaps he just wants to spend more time with the attractive Detective Riordan. But isn’t he the primary suspect?”

Hello and welcome to another day where I get to take over damppebbles. I’ve got the chair and keyboard set up how I like them, the radio is on and there is a book to tell you about. So grab a cuppa, get yourself settled and let’s find out what I thought of today’s book. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I will begin….

Hire Idiots is the first book I have read by Prof I.M. Nemo (if that is their real name 😉). The title comes from a William Blake poem where Blake talks about the degradation of the Arts, and this is what our protagonist is fighting. There are two crimes as he and his colleagues see it. The first the rather premature demise of his colleague Ned Sparks, and the threatened destruction of Kingsley College by those our protagonist will kindly think of as ‘idiots’. The story progresses quickly through three main storylines and allows the reader to relax into an entertaining and often humorous read.

The corpse of Dr Edward Sparks, Distinguished Professor of English at the College is discovered within the first chapter. Dr Sparks is not exactly a popular figure within the college but he is a drinking companion to our protagonist Professor Clarence Van Dyke, an Englishman living in America and teaching Poetry and English Literature. Professor Van Dyke is suddenly not only a drinking companion but a suspect. The case is being investigated by Detective Siobhan Riordan. For the first few chapters the murder suspects and motives begin to be fleshed out, but then something surprising happens. The murder plot begins to take a bit of a back seat to the second aspect of the story; Kingsley College has been taken over by a company seemingly intent of ridding the college of its Arts Department and solely focussing only on areas where they can smell profit. Then there is the third plot arm of the unnamed character locking themselves in the theatre in protest at something.

I enjoyed our main character’s journey through this book; from a quiet sedate existence in a sleepy American college to an existence surrounded by murder and sedition. His growing infatuation with Detective Riordan keeps threatening to drop him deeper into the investigation but can he stay on the right side of the law and his firebrand colleagues. It was interesting to read the character’s views on the changes in the American education system, but as they were played against such a nefarious villain as the new Chief of Operations, Georgia Moxley, this allowed them licence to be wild in their accusations.

I will also mention that Prof I.M. Nemo has created the first fictional “Wasps Rugby” fan that I am aware of – please let me know if you know of more!

Will I be reading more by Prof I.M. Nemo? I have to say “yes”. I enjoyed the book, the story, and characters coming together to try and keep their college as a sleepy haven for the arts. Plus the book was laugh out loud funny on occasions. Would I read more Blake? Unlikely, but in the spirit of fairness I will leave you with this;

“Degrade first the Arts if you would mankind degrade;
Hire idiots to paint with cold light and hot shade;
Give high price for the worst, leave the best in disgrace,
And with labour of idleness fill every place.”
William Blake

Ryan chose to read and review an eARC of Hire Idiots. The above review is his own unbiased opinion.

Hire Idiots by Prof. I.M. Nemo was published in the UK by Fox Spirit Books on 25th August 2019 and is available in paperback and ebook formats (please note, some of the following links are affiliate links which mean I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Fox Spirit Books |