The Logic of Murder

The Logic of Murder is the narrative of G.P. Walker, who after graduating in 1966 from a small private liberal arts school in rural Indiana, moves to Seattle to “find himself”. He gets a job as the assistant to a dilettante Sherlock Holmes wannabe, Dr. Jeremy Todd, PhD. Todd impresses the naïve Walker with his application of logic for correct deductions about people and events. Todd delivers his presentation ‘The Murder Equation’ which details his crime solving methodology and attempts to translate the logic of murder into a mathematical equation. However, Walker becomes disenchanted with his job after five months and no cases. He learns Todd is independently wealthy, his PhD is in English lit, and he’d only had two cases in three years; both were failures. He contemplates quitting when Todd is recruited by the police commissioner to investigate the murder of Regina McKenzie, a wealthy socialite because, as the commissioner puts it, she is “One of your own”. Todd immediately goes to the scene of the crime and takes charge of the investigation. He identifies six suspects, five still at the scene and a sixth, the boyfriend of the step-daughter, who left just before the murder after a loud argument with the deceased. He had not been seen since. During the investigation Walker meets Abbe Brent, the hippie, feminist detective and owner of AB Investigations, the largest private investigation company in Seattle. She is hired by the step-daughter of the murdered woman to ensure her fiancé, the primary suspect, doesn’t get railroaded. Walker is directed by Dr. Todd to work directly with Ms. Brent and report everything she does and finds. While doing so he learns how a true detective solves crimes, finds his soulmate and becomes a member of the Family - a commune of artists, musicians, intellectuals, professionals, and artisans.