Blunt Instrument

An Oprah Daily Best Book of Summer 2026

A failed professor solves a murder on campus in this new whodunit from the bestselling author of I’ll Be Right Here.

The case of the bludgeoned lecturer has all of Cromwell University reeling, even though the elderly Professor Bullfinch wasn’t particularly well-liked. His ornery nature and Old World approach to campus politics ruffled more than a few feathers over the years, and present tensions within his department mean there are more suspects than mourners in the wake of his death. And the murder weapon—a bronze bust of Nathanial Hawthorne—does seem to indicate that the attack may have been academically motivated…

Enter Dell Chandler, the failed English professor-turned-self-taught private detective whom Dr. Cutty calls in to investigate the crime. She has the background to tease out the motives among the staff and just enough experience to conduct a thorough inquiry. If she solves the case before the cops do, the university could keep the whole thing quiet, avoiding sensational media about the dark side of campus life. But to do so, she’ll have to dodge her own demons from her past life as a disgraced academic. Written with the same depth of character and insight that readers have come to expect from author Amy Bloom’s novels and memoirs, Blunt Instrument is an engaging and entertaining mystery with a lovable protagonist at its core.

BLUNT INSTRUMENT, the first in a new mystery series by Bloom, startled me in the best possible way. Its wry tone is in keeping with her prior literary work, and Bloom engages with the full spectrum of genre expectations. . . . Bloom takes clear pleasure in exploring Dell’s complicated feelings about academia, how it’s tied to her relationship with her father, and how reckoning with this past while investigating a grisly killing is bound to throw serious emotional curveballs. This is rich terrain, and I’m eager for Bloom to delve deeper in future installments.”
—New York Times

Immensely entertaining . . . Dell’s romantic diversions and family melodrama inject intrigue into an action-packed plot, while a second killing and a near-death experience add urgency to her investigation. The first volume in a planned series, Blunt Instrument signals an exciting new direction for the already successful Bloom.”
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Sexy, scary, and sharp-tongued, Amy Bloom’s spin on PI noir stings like a bee.”
―Val McDermid, international number one bestselling author of the Karen Pirie series

Blunt Instrument is a pleasure to read.”
―FirstCLUE

Amy Bloom gets more meaning into individual sentences than most authors manage in whole books.”
―The New Yorker

Bloom’s stories are emotionally precise, mordantly funny, and beautifully distilled.”
―Booklist

Witty . . . Bloom draws on her own experience with the dog-eat-dog world of academia to depict the brusque, irascible Dell’s winding journey toward the truth. . . . It’s a blast. A sequel would be welcome.”
―Publishers Weekly

A glorious whodunit set in the brutal world of academia. Droll, erudite, with a plot like a coiled spring. I love it and I wish I’d written it.”
―Tom Mead, author of the Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mysteries

[A] winning first mystery from novelist and memoirist Bloom . . . This entertaining, sexy adventure in not-so-dark academia checks all the classic detective-story boxes. Keep ’em coming.”
―Kirkus

With mischievous finesse, Bloom brings every character to full and intriguing life, while Dell, a whirlwind of rueful self-deprecation, toughness, and droll wit, vamps her way to the truth. Readers will be pleased with the conclusion’s nod to future Dell Chandler mysteries.”
―Booklist

Bloom’s first foray into crime fiction nails the genre’s conventions while her bona fides as a recently retired professor of English and psychotherapist in mid-state Connecticut make this book resonate as spot-on, hilarious truth.
―LA Times

As Dell wends her way through this backbiting den of academic iniquity, she ends up with more suspects than you can shake a bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne at, and some hot extracurricular activities as well. We look forward to her further adventures in what promises to be a detective series of rare wit and intelligence.”
―Oprah Daily

Dell is an appealing investigator . . . Fans of mysteries in academic settings will enjoy.”
―Library Journal

An impressively original, intellectually engaging, deftly crafted, and entertaining cozy mystery featuring interesting characters and a number of unexpected plot twists and turns.”
—Midwest Book Review

Bloom keeps the story humming along, juggling motives, suspects and lovers with a deliciously snarky tone. . . . Blunt Instrument is at once hilariously satirical and a sly deconstruction of this well-worn subgenre. It’s practically begging for a sequel, because competent detective or not, we really can’t get enough of Dell Chandler.”
—CrimeSpree Magazine

Amy Bloom continues to show the impressive range of her storytelling capabilities here. The nuanced explorations of human nature that define her literary novels are readily apparent, allowing for an organic transition to crime fiction that exemplifies the elasticity of the genre, in which people, place, politics, and phraseology enhance the machinations of plot. With vivid characterizations and vibrant language, the author utilizes all the shades of her color wheel to present a mystery that’s both comedic and credible.”
—Criminal Element

Amy Bloom is the New York Times bestselling author of novels, short stories, memoir, and nonfiction. She has written for magazines such as The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Elle, The Atlantic, Slate, and Salon. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages. Blunt Instrument is her first crime novel. Amy resides in Connecticut and recently retired as Wesleyan University’s Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing, while continuing to work as a psychotherapist and a novelist.