Customer comments on this selection.
 Written at a basic level
While the book did a good job introducing basic economic principles, the writing was reminiscent of a young adult fiction novel. The mystery is intriguing, but is overshadowed by the simple writing style. This would be a perfect book for freshman in High School, but if you're looking for a serious novel with an economic aspect, you'll be disappointed.
 A TALE TOLD BY AN ECONOMIST, FULL OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND
OK, this is a murder mystery of sorts. The grammar and punctuation are acceptable, but the prose is just bad, and I don't mean wicked. Quite staccato in fact. Uneven: QED. Prone to violent fluxions of diction: triskaidekaphobia (you read Greek?), and fresh fish just flopping on the dock of the bay. Get used to it.
THE GENERAL IDEA
An economics prof. goes on a Caribbean paradise holiday and solves a murder mystery by the use of basic economic principles. You can usefully learn something on said topics, but you have to bear with it until chapter 11 as it is just scene-setting till then.
THE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS
1. The superiority of the unplanned economy (high efficiency of free trade between individuals). Adam Smith meets Bastiat at the dockside. This is one of the better patches of descriptive writing, quite vivid in the mind's eye. (Chap. 11). [This is the same as the theory of 'spontaneous order' in Michael Polanyi's books. And very similar to Arthur Koestler's theory of holons in 'The Ghost in the Machine'.]
2. Utility trade-off. Value of a reliable supply of frozen fish to a restaurant versus an intermittent supply of fresh wet fish just caught. (Chap. 11)
3. The economics of the `common pool' and legal ownership of property. (Chap. 11)
4. Definition of economics according to Alfred Marshall [too vague for my liking, try Robbins definition in `Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell]. (Chap. 12). (No, I am not going to quote them, look it up for yourself, it's good for the soul. And TS deserves the sales.)
5. Explanation of Game Theory via the `Prisoner's Dilemma'. (Chap. 14)
6. Risk and reward in the behaviour of scavenging birds. The bolder birds get more scraps but at a greater risk. [Ethology meets economics.] (Chap. 16)
7. The Law of Demand (and Supply) driving rational consumption, which the guilty party does not obey and thus calling attention to this behaviour. (Chap. 17)
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
The book as whole reminds me of the old observation in computing that it is no good giving a computer user a graphics package and then expecting them to emulate Rembrandt. They still need artistic skill to do that, the software is just a toolkit. Well, experience in economics and academe do not a rhapsode make, or even a novel-writer. On the other hand, the economics herein is bolted on so obviously that it is really easy to just spin the wingnuts and pick it out in lumps. Enjoy.
 2 hours -- the opportunity cost for me reading this book...
I read this book as a intersemester assignment for my AP Economics class. Interesting to say the least, it went well with my microeconomics intuition. Nice interesting story, although I already suspected who was the murderer way before our protagonist Henry Spearman mentions.
The interesting twist is in the end when I realized there was a BIGGER picture I didn't suspect. Overall, its a great murder mystery that takes economics to a whole new level.
The fusion of economics and criminology is just impressive in this witty satiric tale although there are high traces of clique stereotypes from the era the book was probably written (racial tensions) the book operates solely on economic reasoning. For those Sherlock Holmes out there looking for a good "utility," of their time this book will be worth your opportunity cost. I managed to stay awake to read the whole book through -- something meritable since I usually fall asleep reading my economics textbook.
If you want to enjoy economics fused with a Sherlock Holmes character, definitely check this book out. I highly recommend it especially for Microeconomics students.
 A good economics primer
This book was required reading as part of my Microeconomics course. Although it's not quite on the level of Agatha Christie or Ellery Queen- the plot and story is relatively simple and easy to follow- it does show how one can see the basic laws of economics at work in just about every facet of day-to-day life. Using opportunity cost, the laws of supply & demand, interdependent utility functions, and even the prisoner's dilemma to get to the bottom of the case, Harvard economics professor Henry Spearman tracks down the killer/killers of two high-society tourists at the Cinnamon Bay resort on the Caribbean island of St. John. Interestingly enough, the foreword & afterword of the book both go into the economic possibilities of writing and publishing a mystery novel featuring an economist as the protagonist! Apparently, the possibilities looked good, since there's two follow-up Henry Spearman mystery novels out there, both of which I'm planning to take a look at once I get some free time in. Of course, I'll have to calculate the opportunity costs of other forms of recreation, the utility I receive from reading the other novels, etc. I have a feeling I'll receive a handsome profit out of the deal... All told, "Murder at the Margin", if not exactly a great murder mystery, is a fairly interesting primer on the practical uses of economics, and makes for surprisingly quick reading! 'Late
Learn economics with a good mystery
The premise that an economist is capable of solving a murder mystery by using economic analysis appears at first glance to be absurd. However, this story is one where that concept is made thoroughly believable. The hero, modeled after economist Milton Friedman, analyzes all aspects of behavior in terms of maximum return on expenditure. And when people appear to be violating that principle, he is led down a dangerous path that allows him to find the killer(s).
Written by two economists, this book can also be used as a supplemental text in introductory economics. It is a refreshing way to study economics and mathematics without appearing to do so.
Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.
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