Three bright young people with wildly different backgrounds land at Harvard University facing promising futures. The most privileged among them, Georgia Calvin, is also the classic beauty. She seems unaware of the effect her good looks have on everyone around her. But Charlie Fournoy certainly is aware. Yes, he is acutely aware of the effect Georgia has on everyone, most notably Charlie himself. From the day he first set eyes on her, she has caused butterflies in his stomach whenever he’s around her. Even her voice makes him tingle. Charlie has ambitions that he could see involving Georgia, but he’s certain she’s way out of his league. So when she becomes his friend, he’s ecstatic, despite desperately wanting a closer relationship.

Alice Kovac has also noticed Georgia, but for a different reason than Charlie. Or maybe not. No question, Georgia has a magnetic pull, an assured air that lures people to her. So far, Alice has spent her life learning how to manipulate people in order to survive, and Georgia appears to be a valuable person to know. Tall, dark and prone to unstable outbursts, Alice embarks on a mission to get close to Georgia, too. So it is that, over the course of their time at Harvard, Georgia, Charlie and Alice become an uneasy trio, their friendship a constant test of fallouts, reconciliations and new upheavals. Theirs is a volatile mix.

"More a character study than a murder mystery, BRADSTREET GATE draws its readers in with a bang and holds on with a death grip.... Robin Kirman’s impressive debut novel will turn you introspective and leave you looking back at the roads you took, wondering if you chose well."

At the center of a brewing storm is Professor Rufus Storrow, an enigmatic man with charm, an odd handsomeness and a personality that leans toward self-destruction. Charlie is instantly taken with him, wishing to emulate him and get in his good graces. Georgia falls for the professor in another way --- romantically, or at least sexually. And Alice stands by, watching and waiting for an opportunity to use what she’s learned. That opportunity comes as they near graduation, when a female student is murdered on campus and Professor Storrow is the prime suspect. Will formal charges against him come soon? Georgia has information that the police are digging for, along with Alice, but if the young women believe in Storrow, they may not be forthcoming. Charlie, though, immediately works to distance himself from the man he revered for so long, the man he now sees unraveling before them.

As the case remains open, the three friends begin their lives after college. Charlie’s course continues steady. Georgia, most heavily affected by the murder, searches for redemption. And Alice, having proven herself to be a ruthless and vengeful woman, tries to find a place for her sharp tongue in the journalistic world. As for Storrow, where did he go? He couldn’t remain at Harvard. A university of its caliber wouldn’t tolerate such scandal. But did the professor simply disappear? Can he bear to part from Georgia forever? As these four come into and disappear from each other’s lives, their influence is indelibly etched. Those college years left a permanent mark. And the questions surrounding that tragic night linger.

More a character study than a murder mystery, BRADSTREET GATE draws its readers in with a bang and holds on with a death grip. Georgia, Charlie and Alice are fully rendered and almost fatally flawed. They are young and have their entire lives ahead of them, but the choices they make determine their destinies and influence their unfulfilled dreams. So it is with all of us. But watching them take a path that will lead to failure can be maddening and frustrating. You may find yourself wanting to yell at any one of them to force them to see the mistakes they are about to make by choosing unwisely.

Robin Kirman’s impressive debut novel will turn you introspective and leave you looking back at the roads you took, wondering if you chose well.