Final Exam is a literary mystery by P.F. Kluge.

Who would want to kill a college? As a series of grisly murders unfolds at a small, elite school, that question slowly rises to the top. Told from three distinct points of view—those of the staid college president, a wiseguy English prof, and a young but insightful security guard—this novel explores hidden facets of a unique, fictional institution, while also posing questions about the nature of liberal arts education and those variously involved in its progress.

"P.F. Kluge, who documented the intricacies of life in a small liberal arts college with brilliance, insight and compassion in his classic nonfiction work Alma Mater, now proves he can do the same thing in a work of fiction. Final Exam is technically a mystery novel, but it is also a deft and gimlet-eyed look at the inner world of the liberal arts college, a place Kluge portrays as well as any author writing today."

Paul Goldberger, Architecture Critic and Author of Up From Zero: Politics, Architecture and the Rebuilding of New York

"Final Exam has a double current of energy running through its radiant pages: the high suspense of a murder mystery and the jolt of fresh ideas—about identity and commitment, about the cultural dynamics and human embodiments of institutions, and about the aspirations and contradictions of higher education. Small towns and small colleges may be the setting, but Kluge illuminates a vast stretch of America by shining a fierce and loving light upon them."

Ronald Sharp, Dean of the Faculty, Vassar College

The cover photograph is by Ruth Smilan, and the cover design is by Jerry Kelly, Pamela Hollie and P.F. Kluge.