The Widening Stain by W. Bolingbroke Johnson
The Widening Stain is a quirky, funny and humorous mystery from 1942. It's set at a university and the cast are professors and staff. When Mademoiselle Coindreau, the French assistant professor, is found dead in the library, apparently having fallen off a ladder, the police assume it's an accident. Gilda Gorham, the Chief Catalogurer, is suspicious, however. Too many things just don't make sense, so she begins a discrete investigation.
The mystery was fine. We have several suspects including professors and the chief librarian, but Gilda maybe spends more time thinking about who the killer is than actually trying to solve the case.
The book shines in its setting and dialogue. The author knows academia well and pokes fun at it just enough. The characters are entertaining and don't see how funny they are. The word play is fabulous, including more limericks than I've ever come across in one book before. I listened to the audio, which worked well for me....
