Death Comes to Cambridge in Alumna's Ivy League Mystery Novel

Pamela Thomas-Graham '85 is a woman who does it all. Five months pregnant, the McKinsey & Company partner with a joint J.D.-M.B.A. degree from Harvard's Law and Business Schools spoke last evening about her latest opus, a mystery novel set at Harvard.

Before an audience of 10 undergraduates and Radcliffe associates at the Cronkhite Graduate Center, Thomas-Graham discussed her background, delivered a reading of her first chapter and answered questions.

Her book,A Darker Shade of Crimson,is the first in a three-part series Thomas-Graham, whose husband is also a writer with a Harvard Law degree, has contracted to write for publisher Simon & Schuster.

For her first foray into the world of creative writing, Thomas-Graham chose Harvard as her setting. Her second and third works will take place at Yale and Princeton, respectively. The second mystery, which has not yet been published, will be titled Blue Bloods.

Last evening's event marks the author's first stop on a 10-city promotional tour. She said Harvard alumni clubs have been very helpful in setting up readings for her in each of the 10 cities.

Thomas-Graham said she anticipates the book will especially appeal to women, as her protagonist is a fictional 30-year-old assistant professor, the only female African-American in Harvard's Economics department.

The mystery begins when the professor discovers a Harvard dean's corpse during a power blackout in her office building, the Littauer Center, on the first day of the fall semester.

According to Tamar March, Dean of Radcliffe Educational Programs, some of the book's scariest scenes occur at such familiar locations as the Charles Hotel, Widener Library and Shepherd Street.

Two undergraduates in attendance said they were excited to hear a presentation by a Harvard-educated African-American woman.

"It's always inspiring to hear black women who have gone through the trenches at Harvard and Radcliffe and succeeded," said Alex-handrah R.C. Aime '98.

"She showed that the management consulting profession does not have to be temporary for women who are also going to raise a family," said Kerrien L. Rollins '98. "She's definitely a role model."