Murder at the PTA
By Laura Alden
Paperback, 311 pages, $6.99

“Murder at the PTA” by Laura Alden is another fine example of why I, as a cozy mystery reviewer, should never judge a book by its title.

This book arrived back in September, and I put it at the bottom of a large pile of potential review titles. It’s not that I don’t have great respect for teachers or parents. I do. But I’m not a parent — unless you consider dogs furry little children, which I don’t.

Having never attended a PTA meeting, my only point of reference was being paid to sit through a lot of seemingly never-ending board of education meetings. So with that in mind, I put off reading this book in favor of other titles that at first blush looked more interesting. That’ll teach me.

I loved this book. And so will you.

Main character Beth Kennedy, a divorced mother of two, owns Children’s Bookshelf, a book store in Rynwood, Minn. She’s a single mom to a 10-year-old Jenna, and 7-year-old Oliver. And as if being a single parent and running a business weren’t enough for Beth, her best friend (and blogger) Marina, talks her into serving as the secretary of the Parent Teacher Association for Tarver Elementary School, where both their children go to school.

When Agnes Mephisto, the principal of the school is murdered — after announcing unpopular expansion plans for the elementary school — Beth adds amateur sleuth to her job titles.

“In the 10 years she’d been principal at Tarver, Agnes had alienated a host of parents and encouraged more than one teacher to take early retirement. Only the school board seemed to like her because test scores were up.”

But at one meeting, “A revolution was in the offing, and all I wanted was to keep my head down, take notes, and get home before 10 o’clock. After 10 on a weeknight, my babysitter charges double,” she says.

Even though Beth just wants “everyone safe and sound: no traumas; no tragedies; no upsets or upheavals — a peaceful ‘Goodnight Moon’ existence,” but she’s tossed into the drama of a dead principal and a PTA filled with angry parents who include a number of possible suspects.

“As a detective, I made a pretty good children’s bookstore owner,” she says, and “As an amateur sleuth, I was making an excellent divorced mother of two.”

However, since the divorce, “Oliver has taken to sleeping with a pile of stuffed animals big enough to smother him, and every single one has to be given a kiss good night. Bedtime (takes) forever in our house.”

Beth’s the kind of character who “doesn’t mind eating her toast off child-sized dinnerware with Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail on them.” So how can you not love her? Especially when she tells someone, “Once I was trendy, but it was by accident.”

She describes one of the PTA meetings this way: “Even when discussing murder at a PTA meeting, the president was bound and determined to follow all bylaws.”

I love being surprised by a new author who writes about a subject that I didn’t think I’d enjoy. And so will you — especially if you have children and have been involved in a PTA or PTO.

There are a multitude of scenarios this series can take after a terrific debut, and I look forward to discovering what Alden plans for Beth, her children and a budding love life in the future.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.