“She and her husband may simply have interdependent utility functions, like so many married couples. That’s what economists mean by ‘love’.”

One of the challenges of teaching – and learning – economics is that it asks students to think in three different ways: mathematically, in graphs, and in economic intuition. Students who are good at one may struggle with the others, or may learn well when a concept is presented in one format but not when the other two are used, but all three are important. As a result, economists like to dabble in different ways of presenting the three, trying to appeal to different types of students.

Murder at the Margin is a murder mystery written by two economics professors. The small, balding, Harvard economist Henry Spearman is on holiday when a murder is committed at his resort, and he is forced to use economic principles and careful observation to solve it. In the words of Alfred Marshall, economics is ‘the study of man in the ordinary business of life.’

I picked it up thinking it might be a useful resource for teaching economic intuition, having had it suggested by a friend. It is not exactly Pulitzer prize quality. It is, however, used frequently in teaching economics, and does a good job explaining economic concepts in clear, effective language. Speaking as an economist myself, it’s also quite funny: it’s from the 70s, so examples and prices are quite dated, and it is both intentionally and unintentionally amusing.

If you’re a student of economics, especially a high school student, I think it has some teaching value. I think most students would benefit more from something like Tim Harford’s Undercover Economist, but for students for whom that is too advanced, or for whom fiction might be more appropriate than non-fiction, it makes a good effort.