Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: Harvard University Economics Afro-American professor Nikki Chase is presently at Princeton to give a paper at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She isn't looking forward to doing it but if she wants tenure, this is one of the prices she has to pay. While there shevisits her brother Eric and his new girlfriend Kayla as well as her mentor Professor Earl Stokes, head of the African-America studies and the economics department of the New Jersey school.Internationally renowned Earl has written a best seller, Color Counts, which is one of the reasons Harvard wants him to chair the Economics Department. Nikki would love that since she doesn't get along with the current acting head of Economics. Earl isn't sure what he wants to do especially since Princeton is building an African-American study center. All plans go up in smoke when the building burns to the ground and Earl's body is found, the victim of murder. Unable to leave well enough alone, Nikki investigates and if she is not more cautious could become another murder victim. The Broncos and Syracuse U are not part of this tale. Instead academic politics can get ugly even leading to murders as demonstrated in ORANGE CRUSHED. The heroine plunges head long into the investigation in order to forget her break up with a man she cares about and in the process finds herself attracted to Earl's son. The protagonist has solved homicide cases before (see A DARKER SHADE OF CRIMSON) but this investigation is her toughest because the suspects all wear masks pretending to be something they are not. Pamela Thomas-Graham has written a fantastic academic mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: fantastic academic mystery
Review: Harvard University Economics Afro-American professor Nikki Chase is presently at Princeton to give a paper at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She isn't looking forward to doing it but if she wants tenure, this is one of the prices she has to pay. While there shevisits her brother Eric and his new girlfriend Kayla as well as her mentor Professor Earl Stokes, head of the African-America studies and the economics department of the New Jersey school. Internationally renowned Earl has written a best seller, Color Counts, which is one of the reasons Harvard wants him to chair the Economics Department. Nikki would love that since she doesn't get along with the current acting head of Economics. Earl isn't sure what he wants to do especially since Princeton is building an African-American study center. All plans go up in smoke when the building burns to the ground and Earl's body is found, the victim of murder. Unable to leave well enough alone, Nikki investigates and if she is not more cautious could become another murder victim. The Broncos and Syracuse U are not part of this tale. Instead academic politics can get ugly even leading to murders as demonstrated in ORANGE CRUSHED. The heroine plunges head long into the investigation in order to forget her break up with a man she cares about and in the process finds herself attracted to Earl's son. The protagonist has solved homicide cases before (see A DARKER SHADE OF CRIMSON) but this investigation is her toughest because the suspects all wear masks pretending to be something they are not. Pamela Thomas-Graham has written a fantastic academic mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better
Review: I enjoyed the first two, and this one keeps up the standard. Nikki is a likeable character nd her friends are well described; the mystery was good. But why is she so obsessed with that Dante character??
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable
Review: I enjoyed this latest mystery. However, it's been a while since the last book, so I suggest you read the first 2, in order to fully appreciate this eclectic group of people. I didn't, but I should have - and will. I like that they are being developed slowly, although, the Juliet/Dante relationship could use a little speed. This is a wonderfully written series, full of interesting characters and rich with ambiance. Here's hoping it doesn't take so long for another adventure. But, of course, it was well worth the wait.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick With Your Day Job
Review: I have to disagree with most of the comments made by the other reviews listed so far which is why I felt compelled to write my own review. This book was VERY hard to get into and the character development was poorly lacking. I do agree with one reviewer's comment on her use of complex words. I found that very frustrating because they added nothing to the story line and I got tired of referencing my dictionary for meaning. BUT... The "mystery" was weak and the ending was very abrupt and choppy. I also thought the ending was very unrealistic -- even for a work of fiction. And why, why, why did she have to continue to use most of the characters' full names throughout the book? There were also way too many characters to keep track of. Maybe she was trying to create more suspicion but it only created more confusion. Finally, the attempt at a side plot with one of the characters was poorly executed and the twist with him was not a surprise. The only good thing about this book for me was that I got it from the library. Sounds like Ms. Graham has it going on at CNBC... I think she should stick with that career.
Rating:
Summary: Kymberly Graves
Review: I highly recommend this book. The storyline is intriguing and the characters are wonderfully crafted. It is a first class mystery with all the thrills and chills one has come to expect from the Nikki Chase series. The detailed description of college life at Princeton is richly woven into the story and unveils an inside perspective of the choices available for African-Americans at this esteemed campus. Nikki's opinions of Princeton, carefully steeped in fact, are adeptly contrasted by Eric's (the lead character's brother) reality of the life he has crafted for himself at Princeton. The novel carefully unfolds the different schools of thought on African-American studies and its value to Ivy League institutions. It is an interesting read from start to finish
Rating:
Summary: Kymberly Graves
Review: I highly recommend this book. The storyline is intriguing and the characters are wonderfully crafted. It is a first class mystery with all the thrills and chills one has come to expect from the Nikki Chase series. The detailed description of college life at Princeton is richly woven into the story and unveils an inside perspective of the choices available for African-Americans at this esteemed campus. Nikki's opinions of Princeton, carefully steeped in fact, are adeptly contrasted by Eric's (the lead character's brother) reality of the life he has crafted for himself at Princeton. The novel carefully unfolds the different schools of thought on African-American studies and its value to Ivy League institutions. It is an interesting read from start to finish
Rating: 
Summary: Not her Best
Review: I liked this book, but there was something missing in comparison to the other two in this series. Nikki Chase, the lead character, is a professor at Harvard who keeps finding herself in the middle of murder investigations. The first two books in this series made it totally believable that this could happen to her, but by the time you get to the third book and she's involved in another murder mystery, you almost want to roll your eyes. Why does this keep happening to her?
At any rate, I like the characters and some of the book is extremely funny, but I also got sick of how the plot sort of just dragged along. And there were obvious potential clues that she didn't pursue and this was frustrating. Some things she just let slide by. So in a nutshell, this is a good mystery that went unsolved for too long.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Ms. Thomas-Graham has created an entertaining story line, that will have you guessing who did it. This book actually is more "readable" than the first two, although the first two were good, she used a lot of large terms that one may not understand. This book however is an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: On the Prowl at Princeton
Review: Murder and mayhem seems to follow Veronica "Nikki" Chase wherever she goes. When we first met her, this Harvard economics professor solved a murder on her home campus. Then, she investigated a death on Yale's grounds. In ORANGE CRUSHED, Thomas-Graham's third book in the Ivy League mystery series, Nikki is on the case when her friend and mentor dies at Princeton.
Rumors have been flooding both Harvard and Princeton that Earl Stokes, a noted African-American studies and economics scholar, was on his way to becoming a Harvard department head and leaving his Princeton roots behind. Nonetheless, Earl is the force behind a new African-American Studies building at Princeton that would bring the program abundant success. But Nikki smells a rat in her mentor's midst, and her hunch is confirmed when Earl turns up dead. Nikki sifts through the suspects one by one, searching for motive and opportunity.
Thomas-Graham is fast becoming one of my favorite mystery writers. She injects humor into her stories and into her characters, making Nikki Chase and her crew people who I would love to hang out with. She writes extremely well, with fluidity, grace, and poise. Using Ivy League colleges as a fresh backdrop and an amateur investigator as a sleuth, Thomas-Graham keeps me on the edge of my seat until the end. I'm officially hooked on this series, and I am anxious to see which campus Nikki will leave her mark on next.
Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
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