I'm a librarian who loves anime, manga, and reading a wide variety of genres.
Finished! It was okay, but the politics was a slog and the book really, really wasn't intended for newbies to the series. I'm pretty sure there were references to at least two or three previous books: one involving Marc Edwards' wife's first husband's murder, one that introduced this book's murder victim, and one featuring Marc's reunion with his mother.
Oh, and Cobb was a moron. Everyone kept talking about how he needed to learn tact, but his real problem was his habit of telling potential suspects everything.
Anyway, I can now mark the Murder Most Foul square.