Book Review: The Case of the Bludgeoned Teacher by Jim Hollis
Miss Celeste Aubin is the French teacher at Rainey High School. Physically, she’s very attractive, and knows how to exploit her appearance to manipulate men. Personality-wise though, she’s manipulative and grasping, and plays favorites with the students. So when she turns up dead, hit in the head with a hammer and stuffed in a locker, there’s no shortage of suspects.
Is it Al Cox, the shop teacher who was her current affair? Chuck Ross, the allegedly reformed juvenile delinquent Miss Aubin hated? Ed Scribner, the history teacher Miss Aubin hadn’t managed to seduce? Harry Funderburke, the principal who’d been her first affair at Rainey? Agnes Funderburke, his physically intimidating wife? Jason Farley, the hulking religious fanatic custodian? Julia Lynch, the new drama teacher? R.B. Matthews III, her favorite student and son of privilege? Lizellen Warren, R.B.’s not so secret girlfriend? Or someone else?
Lieutenant Ben Price is on the job, but the killer isn’t done!
This 1955 crime thriller was originally published as “Teach You a Lesson”, and “Jim Hollis” appears to be a joint pen name for Hollis S. Summers and James F. Rourke. It’s very much in the sleazy paperback tradition. Rainey is the kind of smallish town that doesn’t make the headlines until this sort of crime happens, but is full of petty sordid people who have secret scandals or bad pasts.
Each chapter is tight third person on a different character, starting with Celeste Aubin herself. We get to see their different self-centered views of each other and the events of the story. Most readers will be able to work out who the killer is by the final chapter, but again it’s more of a thriller than a mystery. Some of the characters are more boring than others, and would not have been able to carry this plotline as the main viewpoint.
It’s a page-turner, which is the most important thing for this kind of book, and the shifting viewpoints help hide any lapses in logic.
Content note: Slut-shaming, especially from Jason Farley. R.B. engages in underage smoking, and he and Lizellen have a pregnancy scare. Miss Aubin is inappropriate in her relationship with R.B., but it seems that it’s mostly her being flattered by the notion of him having a crush on her than her actually wanting an affair with him. (Having to talk around certain subjects due to censorship laws of the 1950s creates some ambiguity.)
This appears to be a somewhat rare book, so good luck finding a copy, but it’s well worth a read if you are into sleazy thrillers.
