Death of a Cozy Writer (A St. Just Mystery) [Paperback]

G.M. Malliet (Author)

Book Description

Series: A St. Just Mystery | Publication Date: July 8, 2008

Winner of the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel

From deep in the heart of his eighteenth century English manor, millionaire Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk writes mystery novels and torments his four spoiled children with threats of disinheritance. Tiring of this device, the portly patriarch decides to weave a malicious twist into his well-worn plot. Gathering them all together for a family dinner, he announces his latest blow – a secret elopement with the beautiful Violet... who was once suspected of murdering her husband.

Within hours, eldest son and appointed heir Ruthven is found cleaved to death by a medieval mace. Since Ruthven is generally hated, no one seems too surprised or upset – least of all his cold-blooded wife Lillian. When Detective Chief Inspector St. Just is brought in to investigate, he meets with a deadly calm that goes beyond the usual English reserve. And soon Sir Adrian himself is found slumped over his writing desk – an ornate knife thrust into his heart. Trapped amid leering gargoyles and stone walls, every member of the family is a likely suspect. Using a little Cornish brusqueness and brawn, can St. Just find the killer before the next-in-line to the family fortune ends up dead?

Death of a Cozy Writer was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as a Best Book of 2008, nominated for a Left Coast Crime award (the Hawaii Five-O for best police procedural), short-listed for the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, nominated for the Anthony Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the David G. Sasher, Sr. Award for Best Mystery Novel.

G.M. Malliet's Death of a Cozy Writer won the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel and a silver medal for the IPPY awards in the category of Mystery/Suspense/Thriller.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I'm definitely a fan an eager for the next in the series. Keep them coming, Gin!" -- Julie Obermiller for Mysterical-E

"Death of a Cozy Writer is a book anyone who cut their teeth on Agatha Christie's mysteries will treasure. I read it once for the story, and plan to read it a second time just to savor the language. It's that good." -- Cozy Library

"A good old fashion whodunit that Agatha Christie would have been pleased to claim as her own." -- Alibi Books

"A house party in a Cambridgeshire mansion with the usual suspects, er, guests -- a sly patriarch, grasping relatives, a butler, and a victim named Ruthven (what else?) -- I haven't had so much fun since Anderson's 'Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy.' Pass the tea and scones, break out sherry, settle down in the library by the fire and enjoy Malliet's delightful tribute to the time-honored tradition of the English country house mystery." -- Marcia Talley, Agatha and Anthony award-winning author of Dead Man Dancing

"Detective Chief Inspector St. Just and Detective Sergeant Fear of the Cambridgeshire constabulary conduct a lively investigation that underscores how the lack and the love of money might be at the root of society's ills." -- Publishers Weekly, May 19, 2008

"G.M. Malliet's Death of a Cozy Writer is a delightful homage to the great novels of Britian's Golden Age of Mysteries." -- Nancy Pearl, KUOW 94.9 FM

"Malliet's skillful debut demonstrates the sophistication one would expect of a much more established writer. I'm looking forward to her next genre-bender, Death and the Lit Chick." -- Mystery Scene Magazine

"The traditional British cozy is alive and well. Delicious. I was hooked from the first paragraph." -- Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of Her Royal Spyness

"Try Ms. Malliet's prize-winning debut for a classic cozy set in modern times." -- Fresh Fiction, Aug. 26, 2008

Malliet's debut combines devices from Christie and Clue to keep you guessing until the dramatic denouement. -- Kirkus Reviews

"The mystery was complex and satisfying, with several unpredictable twists, and St. Just and Fear are likeable but funny investigators." --"On My Bookshelf" Blog, Sept. 16, 2008

"In the beginning, Death of a Cozy Writer will entertain readers with its characters, setting, and board game-like features, but in the end will captivate them with a compelling denouement in a familiar gathering of the suspects in the drawing room." --Mysterious Reviews, Oct. 6, 2008

"[T]his novel delivers exactly what you hoped it would: a new packaging of the old formula, and a very enjoyable read." --Gumshoe Review, October 2008

Chosen by Kirkus Reviews as a Best Book of 2008. --Kirkus Reviews, Dec. 15, 2008

Death of a Cozy Writer won the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, was short-listed for the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, and has been named a semi-finalist for the IPPY awards in the category of Mystery/Suspense/Thriller. --May 2, 2009

From the Back Cover

"Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet's hilarious first mystery, is a must-read for fans of Robert Barnard and P.G. Wodehouse. I'm looking forward eagerly to Inspector St. Just's next case!"

~~ Donna Andrews, award-winning author of The Penguin Who Knew Too Much

"The traditional British cozy is alive and well. Delicious. I was hooked from the first paragraph."

~~ Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of Her Royal Spyness

"Wicked, witty and full of treats, G.M. Malliet's debut novel has the sure touch of a classy crime writer. More, please!"

~~ Peter Lovesey, recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Crime Writers' Association and Malice Domestic

Death of a Cozy Writer is a romp, a classic tale of family dysfunction in a moody and often humourous English country house setting. A worthy addition to the classic mystery tradition and the perfect companion to a cup of tea and a roaring fire, or a sunny deck chair. Relax and let G.M. Malliet introduce you to the redoubtable Detective Chief Inspector St. Just of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. I'm sure we'll be hearing much more from him!

~~ Louise Penny, author of the award-winning Armand Gamache series of murder mysteries

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738712485
• ISBN-13: 978-0738712482
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am currently writing a new mystery series for Thomas Dunne/Minotaur Books. The first book in the series is WICKED AUTUMN and it will launch September 13, 2011. It features Max Tudor, former MI5 agent turned Anglican priest.

My books are affectionate send-ups of the traditional British mystery. Two of my previous books, Death and the Lit Chick (2009) and Death of a Cozy Writer (2008), were Anthony Award nominees. Death of a Cozy Writer also won an Agatha Award for Best First Novel, having first been completed with the aid of the Malice Domestic Grant. Kirkus Reviews named it one of the best books of 2008.

In addition to the Anthony Award, Death of a Cozy Writer was nominated for a Macavity for best first novel. It also was nominated for a Left Coast Crime/Hawaii 5-0 Award (best police procedural) and a David award, and won a Silver Medal IPPY (best mystery/thriller/suspense).

The second book in the St. Just series is Death and the Lit Chick (2009). Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine named Death and the Lit Chick one of the best paperback original mysteries of 2009.

The third book in the series is Death at the Alma Mater (2010).

Agatha Christie and other "Golden Age" authors have had a big influence on my writing. I am also a lifelong fan of the humor and graceful writing styles of Robert Barnard, Caroline Graham, and Martha Grimes.

More at http://GMMalliet.com/. I'm also on Facebook and Twitter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superlative Debut Mystery Series, July 14, 2008

By 

mostserene1 (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Death of a Cozy Writer (A St. Just Mystery) (Paperback)

Let us begin this review with a blunt declaration: G.M. Malliet can WRITE. And, more vitally, she can tell a story.

The plot of Death of a Cozy Writer revolves around a wealthy, aging aristocrat's will, a storyline harkening back to Kyd's Spanish Tragedy and Shakespeare's King Lear. Ms. Malliet's novel's central conceit is a British detective procedural that gently skewers the Cozy mystery sub-genre within an English country house setting. Familiar ground, brilliantly re-traversed. Moreover, Malliet manages to honor the sacred concord between mystery writer and reader by faithfully observing the requisite genre conventions, but in her own quirky, tongue-in-chic style.

The author uses the early chapters to depict the various characters with wit and unusual insight. She then deposits them at the nimbly executed meal en famille, a model of nuanced familial interaction and serial revelation. Once the estimable DCI St. Just and obligatory sidekick are introduced into the mix, the pace quickens and the reader is catapulted into a dizzying vortex of misdirection, surprise, and, echoing Greek tragedies, recognition and reversal. So sure, so authoritative is Malliet's grasp of character, plot, and convention as she propels the intricate plot to conclusion, I felt I had witnessed a display of narrative virtuosity equal to that of any first rate mystery writer's very best work.

Appetite whetted, I avidly await the gifted G.M. Malliet's next literary outing. Perhaps she will even include a "Death of an Amazon Reviewer" book in this promising series. Hmmm, I better hide the cutlery......

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most excellent first mystery!, July 12, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Cozy Writer (A St. Just Mystery) (Paperback)

G.M. Malliet is a professional journalist and copywriter with degrees from Oxford and

Cambridge Universities. DEATH OF A COPYWRITER is her first mystery and has already garnered the Malice Domestic Grant and the Romance Writers of America 2006 Stiletto Award in the thriller category.

Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk is as phony as his title. He has also produced one of the truly great dysfunctional families. He is ensconced in his eighteenth-century Cambridgeshire manor, and has married a woman who was accused of murdering her first husband for his money. He delights in using Violet to torment his grown-up children, all of whom have their own foibles. The result naturally turns to murder, and it is up to Detective Chief Inspector St. Just and his sidekick, Detective Sergeant Fear, from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary to sort out the mess. The servants also have their own secrets to cover up, and the result is a jolly investigation marked by hilarious dialogue and commentary:

"The poor bugger really was dead, and he'd been dead awhile. St. Just thought it was little wonder the man who said he was his brother was in such sad shape. The body in the wine refrigerator or whatever it was called was a mess, the skull thoroughly crushed in. The face, itself, however, was intact: In profile, it retained the aristocratic, pampered visage of what the coroner would undoubtedly describe was a well-nourished, middle-aged man."

Malliet writes this little "cozy" with a sense of humor and an eye towards thoroughly confusing the reader. The connections made by St. Just are nothing short of Sherlock Holmes at his most coherent.

Malliet is not unaware of the perils of alcoholism to the family unit, and she uses this as a vehicle to produce the family secrets that would otherwise emerge as far-fetched. But in Ms. Malliet's able writing, it all makes a sordid type of sense. The result is a page-turner that is both entertaining and exhilarating. A most excellent first mystery!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointing, August 3, 2009

By 

Cheryl A. Reynolds "Spuddie" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Cozy Writer (A St. Just Mystery) (Paperback)

#1 St. Just mystery. Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk is a writer of cozy British mysteries, and he's also an absolute beast. Pompous, phony, and cruel to his family, frequently changing his will in favor of whichever of his children has momentarily pleased him (or displeased him the least), he decides to have some real fun by inviting his four children to his wedding. They are aghast of course, seeing a threat to their inheritances, but they all head toward his manor, figuratively attempting to elbow their way into his favor and hopefully talk him out of this marriage to an obvious gold digger. (It takes one to know one!)

Then Sir Adrian drops the bombshell that his marriage is a done deal, that he and Violet are already man and wife and that his will has (yet again) been changed--but he doesn't say how. Shortly thereafter, Sir Adrian's eldest child Ruthven is brutally murdered, and it's not long before he follows his son to the afterlife. Just about everyone has motive to kill one or another of them, so who dunnit?

I admit that I was surprised by the ending, but to be honest, I didn't much care by that point. The book started very slowly, and I nearly gave it up since by the time I hit page 100 (1/3 of the way through the book) there had not yet been a murder, nor had we met DCI St. Just, our intrepid hero. There was just too much set-up, and in reflecting back, the set-up didn't really give many clues to the murderer. Once St. Just entered the scene, things did improve. I like him, and Sgt. Fear too, and wish that his character had been more developed. There is some wry humor that I found amusing, but the overall package of this book was just mediocre to me and it felt like it was "trying too hard." I will likely read the next one, but I've deleted it from my wishlist and just added it to my library list. If St. Just develops further in that book I would say the series has promise.