Murder is in the air again at a small-town Colorado high school. Bonnie Pinkwater, a widowed math teacher with a penchant for speaking her mind, gets involved when a mild-mannered student is accused of brutally murdering a fellow teacher. Given Matt Boone's simplistic and gentle nature, Bonnie cannot believe he is responsible for killing his wrestling coach, Lucas Devereaux. Unfortunately for Bonnie, the deck is stacked against Matt and the powers-that-be are reluctant to look further into the murder.

What precipitated the murder? Why would Matt snap now and defy his ultra-religious upbringing? Turns out there were several students and outsiders in the halls who may or may not have had motives of their own to kill. Bonnie ignores warnings to keep out of the investigation and makes inquiries of her own into the killing.

Things get complicated when even more murders occur, involving students and their families. Are these new murders related to Lucas' death? Or are they just coincidence? A woman of logic, Bonnie doesn't believe the rise in violence in this small community is just happenstance. Will her love of mathematics guide her to the real killer? And before her mouth gets her fired—or worse, killed?

Country charm is rampant in this appealing mystery. Although this is the second book in a series, readers new to the series should have no problem following the story and the characters that people it. Bonnie is downright funny, in addition to being smart. And readers will learn a little about mathematics' history through Bonnie's teaching. Mr. Spiller has penned a cozy tale filled with unlikely suspects to keep readers guessing. The identity of the killer came as a surprise to me and I'm hard to fool. Pick up A CALCULATED DEMISE and try this quirky mystery for yourself.