Going home proves deadly for soap star Roger Ferris when he abandons New York and a plum television role for life as an academic in picturesque Belmont. When the cavalier actor is found stabbed to death in his luxurious condo, he leaves a string of prominent enemies, a host of suspects, and two perplexing questions. What prompted his hasty retreat from fame and fortune, and who paid for his extravagant art collection?

"Jane Gillette's The Last Limerick is a tightly constructed crime novel that integrates plot and satire in its narrative about Midwestern professionals and artistic types who fall into sexual triangles (and other geometric shapes) with as much abandon as they go for each other's throats. Wheels within wheels mesh as perfectly as the inside of a Swiss watch as they turn out the story of why a highly popular TV actor suddenly quits his role to return to his hometown to teach college, a deadly decision. If the author's logical plotting is exceeded by anything, it is her deft and creative use of metaphor and simile. The reader can almost feel her delight in capturing and puncturing the pretentiousness of her more self-important characters."

- Roger Miller, author of Invisible Hero