Docketful of Poesy: A Poetic Death Mystery (Poetic Death Mysteries) [Paperback]

Diana Killian (Author)

Book Description

Series: Poetic Death Mysteries | Publication Date: April 7, 2009

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Theater of the Absurd takes on a whole new meaning when former teacher and Byron scholar Grace Hollister is hired as a script doctor for a cable film production. Hollywood wants to film the book Grace wrote about her her past academic (and extracurricular) exploits on location in the Lake District. At first Grace revels in reflected Hollywood glamor and her reunion with boyfriend Peter Fox, antiques dealer and former jewel thief. However, although the film's budget seems boundless, almost no one in the cast or crew seems to have much experience making movies. It's almost comical...until history begins to repeat itself for real, and then it's curtains for more than one of the cast.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Killian's entertaining fourth mystery to feature Grace Hollister (after 2006's Sonnet of the Sphinx) takes the literary scholar from Los Angeles to England's Lake District, where an adaptation of her memoir, Dangerous to Know, is being filmed for cable TV. After the movie's screenwriter dies in a hit-and-run in L.A., Grace gets hired as a script doctor. She shifts into gumshoe mode on the set after various mishaps, including an actor's poisoning. Might there be a link between the film company's woes and two armed men breaking into the shop of her lover, Peter Fox, a former jewel thief turned antiques dealer? When not busy researching her latest forgotten female poet, Grace investigates the film crew, finding more questions than answers. Meanwhile, misunderstandings between Grace and Peter, as well as a certain local police detective in love with Grace, threaten their relationship. Series fans will eagerly await further developments in the next installment. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Like her protagonist, Killian is a former high school teacher. She is the author of three previous Poetic Death mysteries: High Rhymes and Misdemeanors, Verse of the Vampyre, and Sonnet of the Sphinx, as well as the new Mantra for Murder series. She sings with The Browne Sisters, a Celtic folk group, and lives in Southern California with her husband, Kevin Burton Smith, founder/editor of The Thrilling Detective website.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Perseverance Press (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284979
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284971
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #948,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diana Killian is the author of the comedic Mantra for Murder series about an overstressed freelance marketing consultant who inherits a yoga studio from her murdered aunt. Diana is also the author of the romantic and lightly literary Poetic Death novels -- a series about the adventures of an American school teacher in the English Lake District.

A graduate of Pepperdine Malibu, Diana is married and lives in California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth waiting for!, April 28, 2009

By 

Bente Gallagher "Author" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Docketful of Poesy: A Poetic Death Mystery (Poetic Death Mysteries) (Paperback)

I've adored Grace Hollister - and more specifically, the dashing Peter Fox - since I read the first Poetic Death mystery, "High Rhymes and Misdemeanors," way back in 2004 or so. When I heard the series had been discontinued, I was horribly disappointed, and when I got word that Perseverance Press had picked it up and there'd be a new installment, I started pestering the author for an early read.

I didn't get one, but I'm happy to say that it was worth the wait. "Docketful of Poesy" is a great read, and a worthy follow-up to the other books in the series. The switch from third person to first person point of view was interesting, in that it allowed me to connect with Grace on a more personal level than in the other books. And this fourth installment is really all about Grace's feelings: about Peter, about her other love interest, Detective Brian Drummond, about her parents, about England...

The book opens in California, for a sort of fish-out-of-water feeling. Grace is dealing with her family, and with Detective Drummond, while Peter is far, far away in England. It isn't until the action moves there, and all the players are together again on their home turf, that the book really starts to pick up speed. (Although I have to admit that the scene where Peter meets Grace's mom is pretty darned funny!)

Most of the cast of characters from the earlier books are here, including my favorites, the dangerous Catriona, and biker-librarian Roy Blake, and the way the plot loops back to previous books, and to Peter's dangerous past, is great. The background information on poetess Letitia Landon is fascinating, and the plot twist at the end of the book is masterful, and opens up for some very interesting vistas of possibility for future books. A few things get settled at the end of this one, and some loose ends get tied up very neatly, but not so many that there isn't plenty of scope to do it all over again. And again. I'm waiting!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent literary scholar amateur sleuth, April 11, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Docketful of Poesy: A Poetic Death Mystery (Poetic Death Mysteries) (Paperback)

Byronic scholar Grace Hollister is excited with the cable film adaptation of her memoir Dangerous to Know. Invited to the set, she travels from Los Angeles to the movie location in the Lake District thinking this will be a fun English country holiday.

However when the TV movie's screenwriter dies in a hit-and-run, the producer hires Grace as the script doctor. Upon arrival on location, Grace notices several questionable incidents, but initially assumes it is a coincidence until a poisoning occurs. When her lover reformed jewel thief turned antiques dealer Peter Fox informs her someone broke into his shop, she begins to investigate thinking there is a link to the shop's B&E and the film's misfortunate happenings though she cannot see what that is and even doubts her theory. As she researches her next forgotten literary star project, Grace makes inquiries into the film crew.

The latest literary scholar amateur sleuth Grace Hollister (see SONNET OF THE SPHINX) is a terrific tale as the heroine holds together several intriguing subplots. Besides her research into a poet, she investigates the break-in into the antiques shop and the problems on the movie set. She also has some issues with Peter accentuated by a cop who wants her. DOCKETFUL OF POESY is a wonderful mystery as Grace uses her literary research skills to investigate HIGH RHYMES AND MISDEMEANORS.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reuniting with a long-lost friend..., February 18, 2011

By 

Julie Felix "Cozy mystery fan" (Lemoyne, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Docketful of Poesy: A Poetic Death Mystery (Poetic Death Mysteries) (Paperback)

I was very happy to see the fourth book in the series finally published. This series was the first I read where real-life poets/authors were a main character. Since then, I've gone on to enjoy several "mysteries" concerning Shakespeare written by other authors, which I never would have done without this series. I understand that there was to be a fifth book in the series but that has been dropped. I recommend this book and the others in the series to other cozy readers ... and I really would like to see what happens to Grace and Peter!