FORGOTTEN BOOKS #301: MURDER AT THE MARGIN, THE FATAL EQUILIBRIUM, THE DEADLY INDIFFERENCE, and THE MYSTERY OF THE INVISIBLE HAND By Marshall Jevons


“Marshall Jevons” is the pseudonym of two economics professors: William L. Breit (Trinity University) and Kenneth G. Elzinga (University of Virginia). Their amateur sleuth, Henry Spearman, is a Harvard University economics professor (modeled on Milton Friedman). Spearman solves murders by using economic principles. For example, in the first book in the series–Murder at the Margin (1978)–Spearman solves a series of murders (a retired General and a sitting Supreme Court Justice) with a couple economic principles like the Prisoner’s Dilemma. My favorite mystery in this series is The Fatal Equilibrium (1985) where an associate professor at Harvard is murdered because of his attempts at securing an academic promotion. Concepts like “opportunity costs” and “marginal utility maximization” come into play. The Fatal Equilibrium became the first mystery novel to be published by a university press (MIT). The third book in the Henry Spearman series, The Deadly Indifference (1995) involves real estate and academic history.

William Breit died in 2011, but his writing partner just published The Mystery of the Invisible Hand (2014) where Henry Spearman unravels the death of an artist. Yes, these books are a bit gimmicky. But the economics behind the plots is sound and I found them entertaining. You might, too.

12 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #301: MURDER AT THE MARGIN, THE FATAL EQUILIBRIUM, THE DEADLY INDIFFERENCE, and THE MYSTERY OF THE INVISIBLE HAND By Marshall Jevons

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    Fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of these. I’m picturing Paul Krugman solving mysteries a la Columbo.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, “Marshall Jevons” modeled their economist, Henry Spearman, on Milton Friedman: short and bald. An economist based on Paul Krugman would be a more dashing figure!

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, if you’re going to only read one of the Henry Spearman books, I’d recommend THE FATAL EQUILIBRIUM. It’s my favorite of the four volumes.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Prashant, “Emma Latham” wrote about a banker whose knowledge of finance helped him solve crimes, but I’m not aware of another mystery that features an economist.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    I was going to mention the Emma Lathen books too. I liked them quite a lot when I read them (in the 1970’s) but I’m not sure how well they would hold up today.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Kelly, some people find money fascinating. I’m more interested in the human behavior. For me, economics is just applied psychology.

      Reply

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