Amy Bloom is not an author who I ever would have predicted would pivot to writing mysteries. And I am especially surprised by the kind of mystery novel Bloom wound up writing—Blunt Instrument is a mystery about a failed academic-turned-private-eye who is investigating a campus murder. Even more surprising, it’s a funny, shaggy story about a horny burnout who is in way over her head—more Big Lebowksi than Big Sleep.
But once you start digging into Blunt Instrument, it becomes obvious that Bloom is in love with her protagonist—a fuckup whose biography is so toxic nobody will willingly touch her in a professional context—and she’s especially in love with the permission that her protagonist gives her to satire, skewer, and slam academia.
To be clear, this isn’t a respected literary author using genre to smuggle in some greater artistic theme. Bloom has clearly read a lot of mysteries and she’s enjoying exercising those muscles. The book is published by The Mysterious Press, for crying out loud. I suspect that Bloom’s devotion to the conventions of the genre might turn off some longtime fans, but I loved the thrill of watching a talented and intelligent author cracking her knuckles and getting down to the serious business of just having some damn fun.