Death in a Tenured Position, winner of the Nero Award, is a mystery novel that is part of the Kate Fansler series written by Carolyn Gold Heilbrun under the pen name Amanda Cross. When Kate's friend and colleague, Janet Mandelbaum, is found dead after given tenure in the English department at Harvard University, Kate investigates the circumstances surrounding Janet's death. Through multiple twists and turns, Kate is able to find the shocking truth to what happened to Janet. Plot The year is 1979, and Janet Mandelbaum has just been given tenure in the English department at Harvard University. Although Janet is excited, many of her male colleagues seem to be dissatisfied with Janet's recent award. Soon after her award, Janet's old friend Kate Fansler comes to work at Harvard and is able to give support to her friend. While there, Kate encounters her old friend Moon Mandelbaum, Janet's ex-husband, and meets other professors in the English Department. Kate learns through her new colleagues that Janet is not fitting in well at the university. In fact, many people find Janet too strange and unlikable. After an incident when Janet was found in a bathtub, presumably drunk, Janet becomes embarrassed and both Moon and Kate notice the change in her mood. As her friend, Kate hopes that this situation does not harm Janet's credibility at the university, although she finds that many of the professors no longer care for Janet. Although Kate defends Janet, it is no use. Many people ridicule Janet and seem to have no desire to get to know her better. One day while Kate is in her office, she receives a phone call from Professor Clarkville (another member of the English department). Clarkville explains to Kate that he has found Janet dead in the men's restroom. Immediately the question is "Was Janet killed by a fellow professor"? Kate seems skeptical of this idea because she knew that other than not being liked, no one had anything to gain from Janet's death. Kate decides that she is going to investigate this peculiar death. One of the first few pieces she learns is that Janet death was caused from cyanide and Janet's body was moved to the men's restroom after her death; but where and when she actually died is still a mystery to Kate and the police. Kate then visits Professor Clarkville to further discuss the situation. To her