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Cynthia Kuhn

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The Art of Vanishing (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Cynthia Kuhn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 189 ratings

Book 2 of 5: A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery

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When Professor Lila Maclean is sent to interview celebrated author and notorious cad Damon Von Tussel, he disappears before her very eyes. The English department is thrown into chaos by the news, as Damon is supposed to headline Stonedale University’s upcoming Arts Week.

The chancellor makes it clear that he expects Lila to locate the writer and set events back on track immediately. But someone appears to have a different plan: strange warnings are received, valuable items go missing, and a series of dangerous incidents threaten the lives of Stonedale’s guests.

After her beloved mother, who happens to be Damon’s ex, rushes onto campus and into harm’s way, Lila has even more reason to bring the culprit to light before anything—or anyone—else vanishes.

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THE ART OF VANISHING by Cynthia Kuhn | A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lefty Award Nominee, Best Humorous Mystery
"Entertaining, intricate, and oh-so-smart! The talented Cynthia Kuhn treats mystery lovers to an insider's look at the treacherous world of academia--seething with manipulation, jealousy, and relentless ambition. A terrific plot--with a surprise around every corner." -- Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark Award-Winning Author of The Other Woman
"Tightly plotted with a deliciously memorable cast of characters, The Art of Vanishing kept me guessing from start to finish, and Kuhn's smart sense of humor made every page a pleasure." -- Marla Cooper, Author of the Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding Mysteries

"Whether Stonedale University English professor Lila is confronting a backstabbing colleague or investigating a murder attempt on a cantankerous bestselling author, readers will root for this enormously likeable heroine." -- Ellen Byron, USA Today Bestselling Author of Plantation Shudders

"The Art of Vanishing is cozy perfection! This engaging mystery is a must read for cozy lovers everywhere. Author Cynthia Kuhn takes readers to the sometimes-treacherous academic world and proves once again that protagonist Lila Maclean is not just educated, she's smart. This is the ideal book for a lazy afternoon and the best cozy I've read in a long time." -- Jennifer Kincheloe, Bestselling Author of the Anna Blanc Mystery Series

"Incomparable manuscripts and competitive colleagues unfold into a surprising mystery about love, loss, and betrayal. Author Cynthia Kuhn schools us in the art of duplicity, and the grade is A+." -- Diane Vallere, National Bestselling Author of Pillow Stalk

"I love Lila! She's smart and relatable, with engaging friends, fun family, and some decidedly un-collegial colleagues. This academic mystery kept me on the edge of my seat." -- Ann Myers, Author of the Santa Fe Café Mysteries

About the Author

Cynthia Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mystery Series. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Literary Mama, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD and other publications. She teaches English at Metropolitan State University of Denver and serves as president of Sisters in Crime-Colorado.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01NBHR7Y6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henery Press (February 28, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1784 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 236 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #790,953 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #17,441 in Cozy Mystery
- #17,651 in Amateur Sleuths
- #19,421 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 189 ratings

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Cynthia Kuhn

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Cynthia Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries and Starlit Bookshop Mysteries. Her work has also appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Literary Mama, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD, and other publications. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

189 global ratings

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Kay Hudson

Academic mystery

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2018

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The Art of Vanishing throws Lila into an uncomfortable situation: trying to get an interview with the notoriously uncooperative but highly regarded writer Damon Von Tussel, who is scheduled to appear during Stonedale’s Art Week festivities. But Damon vanishes, and Lila is cornered into recruiting her mother, artist Violet O, into helping her corral Damon, an embarrassing situation, since Violet and Damon are ex-lovers. Oh, what a girl will do to stay on the tenure track.

At one point Lila mentions that she never had panic attacks until she took up an academic career, reminding me that turning my own education toward commercial ends was a wise decision.

Although there are threats and apparent attacks on various characters, no one is killed. Instead, the mystery turns on academic infighting and fraud (reminding me a bit of Dorothy Sayers). Lila has another run-in with her nemesis, the manipulative Selene, and a much more pleasant meeting with Detective Lex Archer, who suspected her of murder in The Semester of Our Discontent. The descriptions of academic life and the characters populating Stonedale ring true, with sharp wit and humor.

Helpful

Tammy "TCB"

This story is twisted as h#@l, but in a good way.

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

The Art of Vanishing by Cynthia Kuhn is good. Very good.
The settings were short and sweet, but there was enough detail in the 2-3 sentences that you could visualize it. Even descriptions like the windy mountain roads in dialogue. Now that’s something you don’t see too often, description in dialogue. Quite refreshing.
The characters are continuing to grow on me. I like how you can tell the difference between the characters by the language used. If someone is scholarly, they talk scholarly. If someone was a student or a common person, they talked like I do. Even Violet talked like the artist she is. I wish Nate had been in the story more. The one character who disappointed me was Lex (not Cynthia’s fault, it’s just a pet peeve of mine). There were hints of potential romance between him and Lila. Lila does mystery solving so well on her own, can’t we let the cop romance angle go in this series? Just MHO, anyway.
There were not too many new characters, I could keep them all straight.
There was not a lot of exposition, just enough to make the mandatory stuff available to the readers.
The plot was outrageous! I loved all the twists and turns. Every time there was breathing room, Cynthia threw something else at you immediately after, to start the roller coaster again. But like I said, the pace was good, because of all the breathers then the actions. The clues were there, but they were not seen as real clues at the time. But in the end, when the clues were revealed, you say “Oh yeah, I remember that! Dang that was slick!”
I want to see more of the subplot of the struggle being a beginning teacher, and can’t wait for that in the future books. It makes for interesting reading.
I don’t know if there was closure with Gilles and Alonzo (the 2 visitors). They seemed to be secretive about something, but it didn’t come out in the ending. At least not that I noticed (I apologize if I missed it).
And even at the resolution, you were wondering who did what, because everyone was pointing fingers at everyone. It was wrapped up totally neatly.
I give this 4.5 stars only because of me missing my Nate, and the one non-resolved party.

One person found this helpful

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WelshDragon

Another Great Story

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2022

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I enjoyed this book. The plot is easily followed and the story was full of all the twists and turns of a great mystery. The main character, Lila, would make a great character to emulate for young women. I definitely recommend this book.

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Alexis☺

Socially sensitive editing needed

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2020

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As an African American who used to be married to an Italian and lived in Colorado with children (plural) with blue eyes, please allow me to point out that recessive genes must be carried by both parents, not only by one, to appear in offspring, as is hypothesized regarding this book's one African American. Why do African American parents carry recessive blue-eyed genes? Because of generations of enforced rape during chattel slavery. As a professor who lectured on Beloved while living in Colorado, please allow me to recommend further reading. Perhaps Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Our Nig, Iola Leroy, or Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. The Bondwoman's Narrative is also helpful.

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2018

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I enjoyed this book, especially the setting at a college. The jealousy and back-biting in the English department added interest to the story and helped to make the reader sympathetic to Dr McLean, the protagonist. This was a fun, easy read. A great way to wile away a few hours for fans of intelligent contemporary mysteries. I'm going to the Kindle store now to look up the other books in Kuhn's series.

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Amazon Customer

Awesome academic mystery!

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2017

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Cynthia Kuhn expertly portrays academic life, and I loved snooping around the Stonedale campus with her protagonist, Professor Lila Maclean, in this second book of the series. So many lines made me smile—and laugh out loud—at the familiar campus politics (muckety mucks, ha!). Maclean’s quirky mother was also a fun addition to this neat cast of characters. I can’t wait to see what Kuhn has in store for book three!

5 people found this helpful

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Auntie Annie

A mystery without a corpse

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2018

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This is a wonderful book that explores the writing/publishing dilemma in an offbeat way. I enjoy mysteries that take place on college campuses, and this one does not disappoint. I particularly love the fact that no one dies. No murder. Instead a complicated plot of plagiarism in several forms and the back-biting and one-upsmanship that takes place among those battling for tenure.

5 people found this helpful

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Keenan

Delightful escape.

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2017

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The Art of Vanishing is a delightful escape to Stonedale University and the joys, plights and perplexities in the life of Professor Lila Maclean, a lovely person who you'd want for your best friend. No spoilers here! Suffice it to say, I'd be happy to leave this world behind and visit Stonedale and hang out with Prof. Maclean again.

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The Art of Vanishing (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery Book 2) Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

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About the author

Cynthia Kuhn

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