The Hydrogen Murder: A Gloria Lamerino Mystery

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Summary: Learning science and of scientists the fun and easy way...
Review: A likeable and believable 'lady detective'. Gloria not only had a brain, she also has hips, a loyal friend from childhood to help center her, an intriguing romantic interest, and a rather unusual place of residence. I can hardly wait for the helium murder, and so forth.

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Summary: Finally, a new idea in female sleuths!!!
Review: A likeable and believable 'lady detective'. Gloria not only had a brain, she also has hips, a loyal friend from childhood to help center her, an intriguing romantic interest, and a rather unusual place of residence. I can hardly wait for the helium murder, and so forth.

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Summary: A retired physicist takes on the murderers in Revere, MA
Review: A unique contribution to the spate of books about female detectives by female authors. Minichino, herself a physicist, created Gloria Lamarino a retired physicist turned police consultant. All the elements are there for a "cozy." And they are shaped in a well plotted, three dimensional character study.

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Summary: Welcome to a hip (and hippy) new sleuth!
Review: At last we've discovered that a female sleuth can be over 50, a little heavy, and still attractive to men! Using herself as a model, Camille Minichino has begun a new series set in Revere, Massachusetts. With The Hydrogen Murder, Ms. Minichino introduces us to Gloria Lamerino, a retired physicist who has returned to her hometown populated with a delightful cast of Italian-Americans. Gloria becomes a police consultant when the local boys in blue discover they need someone with a scientific background as a "translator" in a murder case. Gloria is quickly swept up by the events surrounding the murder of a fellow researcher and is almost as quickly swept up in romantic feelings towards the detective who hires her. This is not a hardboiled mystery but a delightful story with local flavor and humor. I look forward to her continuing saga as Dr. Lamerino works her way through the periodic table.

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Summary: I haven't even finished it yet, but....
Review: I know I'm loving it now...Camille Minichino has created in Gloria Lamerino, a semiretired physicist, a highly likeable sleuth, giving her a lot of character and heart in her first outing (which is hard to do) in "The Hydrogen Murder". Eric Bensen, another physicist, is murdered, shot to death, in his dreary little laboratory. He was heading experiments into turning hydrogen into a metal, which would mean millions for a lot of people. When he started hinting at discrepancies in his team's data, he was promptly put out of business. Enter Gloria Lamerino, hired on as a professional by the sexy Matt Genarro to help weed out the killer and to explain the hard stuff to him. Minichino explains this physicist stuff in terms that the average layperson can understand and she doesn't do it condescendingly, either. She does it in a helpful, teacher-to-student kind of way. Thanks, Miss Minichino, and don't stop till you've covered all the elements!



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Summary: Learning science and of scientists the fun and easy way...
Review: In this delightful first Minichino murder mystery I met an unforgettable detective-scientist: Dr. Gloria Lamerino, a retired Berkeley Physics Professor and researcher returned to her Revere, Mass Italian-American roots, now a science-crime consultant...As a woman scientist of the same generation, I recognized the core of science truth in its credible plot, and empathized with all too human characters of scientists inhabiting the labs on both Coasts. Can today's practicing scientists, faculty and students in Academe or the lure of lucre in high-tech drive them to murderous thoughts and actions? Read this mystery to find out how and why, and you will also learn some science, some biographical sketches of great scientists, and the thought process of a woman physicist who beat great odds to practice her chosen profession as a scientist, and now as a science consultant to the Revere police. Great local color and great characters, from lifelong friends, to policemen and funeral home staff, and from star scientists to superannuated graduate students and lab technicians will win you over in this fast and lively read...and you will learn some science in the bargain too. Minichino is an avowed feminist, yet with a gentle and wistful touch, who extends equal opportunities to females both in science and in crime.

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Summary: First and Longest Lasting
Review: Oh, the different things you find out if you keep up on your cozy mysteries! This is the first and longest-lasting of the elements of the "Periodic Table" and the first and longest-lasting of Camille Minichino's many mysteries involving arch scientist Gloria, a retired lady professor from UC Berkeley who leaves her campus and her career to retire. Only what does she get in little sleepy Revere (Massachusetts in the Back Bay) but a horrible case of murder. The police bring her into the case, and once she is there, she embarks on a satisfying (to the reader) three way romance as she is torn between two lovers, while escaping for her life. There are some lovely comparisons between the Massachusetts landscapes and the California coastal scenery, but Gloria isn't looking back, except in terror.

This is the perfect antidote to those who say there is no excitement and no romance after fifty. While later books in the series play down the Italian angle (Revere has a large Italian quarter and is said to be the birthplace of Oscar-winning Italian-American actress Anne Bancroft), THE HYDROGEN MURDER has it in spades, and when was the last time you read a mystery love triangle in which all the particpants were mature Italian-Americans? That's why Camille Minichino is such a refreshing writer, she goes back to her roots both in science and in heritage. Next up for the prolific cozy authoress? THE MITROGEN MURDER--in May 2005.

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Summary: Scientist / Sleuth Looks for Hidden Clues
Review: Physicist Eric Bensen, along with his fellow researchers, are on the verge of making an exciting new discovery about hydrogen. After Eric is found shot to death in his physics lab, we learn that he has found a fatal flaw in the data which could discredit the team's findings. Was Eric murdered to keep him quiet, or was it for another reason?

This very enjoyable novel introduces Dr. Gloria Lamerino, a recently retired physicist who has returned to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts after a successful physics career in California. Gloria is hired by the Revere police department as a scientific consultant to help understand the scientific background of the case. Author Minichino has created a marvelous character in Dr. Lamerino, a career woman who is still looking for a relationship. In this story, Gloria is pursued by her former high school flame Peter Mastrone, while SHE is interested in getting to know the police detective Sergeant Gennaro much bettter.

The plot development was well done, making this book a real page-turner. Being an engineer myself, I enjoyed the scientific information in the story. It's so refreshing to find a cozy mystery with an intelligent protagonist! I'm looking forward to reading the Helium mystery next!

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Summary: A thinking person's mystery
Review: Thank you, Camille Minichio, for providing a protagonist who is a real person. Gloria Lamerino may be a fictional character but she seemed real to me. In addition to providing the reader with a compelling character to care about, the author gives us a plot that forces scientific insight and propels a lazy reader into becoming a thinking person. I am looking forward to more stories about this female detective!

Rating:
Summary: A thinking person's mystery
Review: Thank you, Camille Minichio, for providing a protagonist who is a real person. Gloria Lamerino may be a fictional character but she seemed real to me. In addition to providing the reader with a compelling character to care about, the author gives us a plot that forces scientific insight and propels a lazy reader into becoming a thinking person. I am looking forward to more stories about this female detective!