Murder by Death

This is a follow up to Dear Committee Members, which I loved.  Fitger has been elevated to department chair and is struggling to bring the English department together in order to survive the incursion of the Economics Department.

Dear Committee Members was very nearly sublime in its satire and sneaky humanity; this one ... not so much.  The Shakespeare Requirement is a standard narrative (as opposed to the epistolary form of DCM), and while still funny and heavily satirical, it just falls flat.  It also lacks any clear plot, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say there's no clear story arc.  I suppose there's a climax, but it's not really much of one, and there's very little to no emotional punch.

All of this sounds like I'm tearing a strip off the book and that's not my intention; I enjoyed it for the humor and the connection to the characters - I never found myself bored or wanting to put it down.  It just didn't have the same grip as its predecessor and if asked, I'd definitely recommend Dear Committee Members but would likely suggest skipping this one, or at least preparing for it to be a different read altogether.