University of Michigan alumni and U.S. Administrative Law Judge Debra H. Goldstein crosses from the bench to authorship with her debut novel, "Maze in Blue," a murder mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970s.

Goldstein will speak and autograph copies of her novel at Nicola’s Books, 2513 Jackson Road, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24.

In "Maze in Blue," lead character Denney Silber wants her senior year at the University of Michigan to be spent enjoying sorority parties, football games, and concerts - plans that go awry when she discovers her best friend Helen dead in the office of the faculty member Denney most despises. Compelled to solve Helen’s murder, Denney quickly realizes that her own life is in danger. She can no longer trust friends, teachers, or even the cutest guy in Poetry 331.

Goldstein’s experience at the University of Michigan influenced this book. “I thought about the maze of steam tunnels that run under the university and immediately had the idea for combining that thought with a play on the University's colors,” Goldstein said in a press release. “My time at the University of Michigan produced such special memories that I wanted to begin the series by weaving places such as the Diag, Markley, the Michigan Law School quadrangle, and the Collegiate Sorosis sorority into this thrilling whodunit.”

"Maze in Blue," the first of a series of Denney Silber mysteries published by Chalet Publishers, became available May 2011 and is being sold via independent bookstores, such as Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., and several in Birmingham, Ala. including Little Professor Book Center, Jim Reed Bookstore and The Alabama Booksmith. E-book and book versions also are available from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other online sources.

Goldstein now lives in Birmingham, Ala.

Goldstein also said, “As a writer and lifelong fan of well written books, I am delighted to share with readers the fun and escape that comes from reading mysteries such as the one my character Denney Silber solves.”