WHAT HAPPENED AT SCHOOL TODAY?

In this debut mystery, a middle school teacher comes under suspicion when she finds a body in a bathroom.

As a special education teacher in Cincinnati for the last 19 years, Hannah Hutchinson, 42, is accustomed to handling difficult situations. Her students are severely disabled, with conditions such as nonverbal autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy, “kids who have terrific needs, are hard to figure out, and who constantly challenge me.” But nothing could have prepared her for the shock of discovering a murdered woman in the girls restroom at school. Hannah is unnerved at law enforcement’s pointed queries, and things take a turn for the worse when the body is identified as Gretchen Mitchell, the mother of a girl with Down syndrome. After a strong disagreement over the girl’s Individual Education Plan, Hannah told a colleague she could kill Gretchen; meanwhile, the woman had been trying to get the teacher fired. Then Hannah realizes something the police still don’t know—her missing awl is the murder weapon. Since she has honed her investigative skills in ferreting out answers to her students’ learning challenges, Hannah resolves to do some detective work of her own, little thinking she could land in even greater danger. In her novel, Masters offers a likably flawed narrator in Hannah, a devoted teacher (classroom scenes are very well drawn) but one who’s neither sentimental nor a martyr. Among the other teachers, Hannah is one of “a few serious drinkers.” She has a keen eye for attractive men, enjoys a no-strings relationship with an instructor, and doesn’t always show good sense. The author makes it hard to guess the real killer by strewing the plot with clever red herrings and other misdirection, delivering a satisfying finish.

An appealing narrator, effective characterization, and unexpected twists make for a fine murder tale.