The Poet's Funeral [Hardcover]

John M Daniel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2005

At the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association Convention, everything goes wrong. Julia Child's cooking demonstration in the Random House aisle blows up and catches fire. A top New York editor catches a pie in the face. Invitations to the most exclusive publisher's party are stolen and all the wrong people show up. Worse, Heidi Yamada, the world-famous poet, is found dead, spread over the late Elvis Presley's king-sized bed. It's all caught on film by a busy photographer from Publishers Weekly, a woman soon kidnapped. When the Las Vegas Police shrug their shoulders, Guy Mallon, Heidi's first publisher (and a discarded lover) wonders what to do.

Poor Guy. He's a bookman from Santa Barbara who, despite Ross Macdonald and Sue Grafton, never felt inspired to be a sleuth, but he feels he owes it to Heidi. Besides, catching her killer may be his only chance to leave Las Vegas alive....

The Poet's Funeral is a romp rich with poetry, publishing, book collecting, and literary gossip. Its cast ranges from smalltime players to the famous Rock Bottom Remaiders. It's a story of ego, love, art, and murder during four hot days at the 1990 ABA.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Daniel (Play Melancholy Baby) turns the 1990 Las Vegas ABA convention (now known as BEA) into a murder site in this delicious sendup of the book trade. The meteoric rise of beautiful poet Heidi Yamada begins with the conversion of Guy Mallon, Santa Barbara bookstore owner, into Guy Mallon, publisher. Clever, blatant and aggressive self-promotion wins Heidi a critic here and an agent there. Add a major publishing house and a star is born. But instead of receiving a major literary award, Heidi winds up dead at the ABA ("of an apparent drug overdose," according to Publishers Weekly). In their eulogies, her mentor, her agent, her various publishers and the critic who first hailed her, among others, reveal the Heidi they knew. Each adds a piece of the puzzle that Mallon will eventually decipher. The author lampoons everything from the overstuffed "collector's editions" to the self-importance of critics and the self-interest of publishers and agents as he parades a growing list of suspects in Heidi's demise. Daniel's sharp, sardonic wit and insider's view of book industry foibles are sure to make this bibliomystery a hit. (May 9)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The annual trade show of the American Booksellers Association draws a colorful crowd--bookpeople who work the convention floor by day and attend myriad parties by night. Though some may find Daniel's wacky characters over the top, previous attendees of the ABA (now Book Expo) show will chuckle in recognition. In fact, Daniel, a publisher himself, peppers his story with numerous references to real-life authors and publishers, and sets the action at the real-life 1990 ABA convention in Las Vegas. Publisher Guy Mallon narrates the story, which chronicles the life and untimely death of poet Heidi Yamada, whose talent for manipulating men far eclipsed her writing skill. Part of the story is set in the present, and focuses on Guy's investigation into Heidi's death--which the police are calling an accidental drug overdose. Daniel ladles plenty of tasty publishing tidbits into his narrative stew but never at the expense of the suspenseful plot. An affectionate look at the publishing industry from one who clearly knows that world. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 257 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; First Edition, First Printing. edition (May 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159058144X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590581445
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,146,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tongue in cheek amateur sleuth who-done-it, May 18, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: The Poet's Funeral (Hardcover)

In 1977 Guy Mallon wanders into a used bookstore wheere he finds a signed copy of Kerouac's first book, which he hides. He buys the store and sells the Kerouac book at auction. Not long afterward, teaching assistant Heidi enters his store and persuades him to hire her, have sex with her, and publish her poetry though she has not written anything yet and he is not a publisher.

In 1990 Guy and his beloved partner Carol Murphy attend the American Book Association (ABA) convention in Vegas. He finds a dead Heidi on the Elvis bed apparently form an overdose. Guy is shocked, but has doubts that someone as egotistical as Heidi would do drugs. Carol wonders if her too short (she is eight inches taller than he) and too young (five years younger) cherished Guy still carries the torch for Heidi. When LVPD Detective Plumley closes the case as accidental due to drugs, Guy is unable to resist investigating Heidi's death.

This is a tongue in cheek amateur sleuth who-done-it that readers will enjoy. Perspective changes with a different participant taking center stage with each chapter although Guy is consistently in the forefront and ergo the focus of the plot. The story line is amusing and contains several cameos from the famous and though the death occurs toward the middle, the inquiries are handled deftly so that the audience obtains a solid mystery. The big Guy and his woman are a dynamic duo and the support cast enables the reader to obtain a deep look at what happens at an ABA convention. THE POET'S FUNERAL is a unique super tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Booklover's Delight, May 24, 2005

By 

Cynthia Chow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Poet's Funeral (Hardcover)

This is a mystery for anyone who's ever seen image, marketing, and hype overshadow talent in the publishing business.
Guy Mallon was the owner of a small bookstore until he hired Heidi Yamada as his assistant. When the ambitious former professor's assistant decided that she would like to be a poet - despite her knowing nothing about poetry - she determined that her lover Guy would be her publisher. Their relationship lasts only as long as it takes to print her book, but her sudden popularity is assured as she stepped on a multitude of publishers, writers, and agents on her way up.
Years later, at the 1990 American Booksellers Association, Heidi's career is on the flux and resentment from her colleagues is high. When Guy discovers her body - lying is Elvis Presley's bed - there's a surplus of suspects, including her current lover, the bartender she transformed into a cowboy poet, a fanatical book collector, the publisher to whom Heidi has yet to turn in her overdue manuscript, and numerous lovers she used and discarded to aid her career. As Guy looks into the death of the woman he could never forget, he is both aided and hindered by a dubious photographer from Publisher's Weekly and he encounters huge egos, disillusioned writers, and manipulative publishers. All in a day's work.
This is a hilarious peek into the crazed world of publishing, and Guy is a delightfully diminutive detective. Eulogies for Heidi by the suspects provide an ironic lead into their connections with Heidi, a woman who stomped over everyone she met as she promoted her talentless prose. The assortment of characters satirize the worst and best personalities in the book field and provides a light-hearted glimpse into an ego-driven profession. John M. Daniel has created a mystery that is sure to entertain everyone who's ever opened a book and wanted to know more than just what appears on a page.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Bought Two!, July 27, 2005

By 

A. G. Lester (Dublin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Poet's Funeral (Hardcover)

I got so engrossed in this comic and complex whodunnit that, to avoid a quarrel with my wife over who got it at bedtime, I ordered a second copy. Daniel has transformed the hard-boiled format into the omelet. Guy and Carol are the kind of characters you hate to say goodbye to, so we're hoping they are the beginning of a series. The other characters are clearly drawn from life, but...whoizzit? The dialogue is crisp and witty, the pace constant, the references to real life people tantalizing. Come on JMD, more "short" stories, please!