The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah

Philip Marlowe seems like the kind of figure that Kirk would admire – street smart, can hold his own in a fight, but still appreciates chess and poetry. Given Kirk’s enthusiasm in playing parts in episodes such as A Piece of the Action, it seems a real missed opportunity to not have him lean in fully into the Private Eye role – I probably could have forgiven the weakly-constructed mystery had Lorrah thought to throw in a couple of pulpy Noir-isms. “You work on the ‘how,’” he orders Spock and Sarek, “and I’ll work on the ‘who.’” This apparently absolves him of the need to collect forensic evidence, establish a timeline, chase up suspect’s alibis, or do any work at all really, except speculate wildly and make accusations based on nothing but his own personal grudges.

Kirk’s investigation is so inept, it’s almost embarrassing. The remaining 250 pages are insulting not only to the reader but also to the characters, who are meant to represent Starfleet and The Vulcan Academy’s best and brightest and yet are too dense to figure out who the obvious culprit is. I was able to correctly guess the murderer and their motive within the first 20 pages. With no official law-enforcement body on the virtually crimeless Vulcan, Kirk must take the investigation into his own hands and until the killer is caught, Amanda’s life is imperilled.Īs others have said, the mystery itself is laughable. Soon enough, patients start dying – the cause is written down to a catastrophic equipment failure, but Kirk suspects foul-play. Spock’s mother Amanda also happens to be undergoing the same treatment and Kirk is quickly drawn into the complex web of Spock’s familial drama. land on Vulcan to seek out an experimental medical treatment for a wounded Ensign in critical condition. Jean Lorrah’s Original Series novel The Vulcan Academy Murders promises a murder mystery, a family drama and a nuanced exploration of Vulcan society and culture, but fails to deliver on all fronts.

The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah