Speak Ill of the Dead: A Camilla MacPhee Mystery [Paperback]

Mary Jane Maffini (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Camilla MacPhee Mystery | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Camilla MacPhee is the black sheep of her perfect, blonde family, although she runs a law office specializing in Justice for Victims of violent crimes. However, her uneasy association with the world of crime takes a bizarre turn when a vicious, vindictive fashion columnist with underworld connections named Mitzi Brochu is crucified in a downtown hotel room. The problem is that Camilla's best friend Robin was on her way to meet the victim, and has become the main suspect. Camilla sets out to vindicate her friend, but finding the real killer isn't easy, as just about anyone among the politicians and supermodels skewered by Mitzi's rapier wit could be said to have had ample motive. The investigation turns dangerous, as Camilla receives cryptic warnings while following a grisly killer's trail marked by more murders of humans and felines. The cast of characters includes a sleazy rock promoter, a nosy, sherry-mad old lady, a suave but mysterious hotel manager, a grumpy Mountie, and several manipulative sisters in this seriously funny first mystery novel by Mary Jane Maffini.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Camilla MacPhee is the black sheep of her perfect, blonde family, although she runs a law office specializing in Justice for Victims of violent crimes. However, her uneasy association with the world of crime takes a bizarre turn when a vicious fashion columnist with underworld connections named Mitzi Brochu is crucified in a downtown hotel room.

About the Author

Mary Jane Maffini is a lapsed librarian and a mystery addict. She is the author of six Camilla MacPhee mysteries, two Fiona Silk adventures, five Charlotte Adams books, and nearly two dozen short stories. She holds two Arthur Ellis Awards for best mystery short story, as well as the Derrick Murdoch lifetime achievement award. Speak Ill of the Dead was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel and Lament for a Lounge Lizard for best novel. Mary Jane lives and plots in Ottawa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Napolean and Co (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929141652
• ISBN-13: 978-0929141657
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,191,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm itching for the sequel..., April 15, 2001

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Speak Ill of the Dead: A Camilla MacPhee Mystery (Paperback)

Camilla MacPhee bursts onto the senses like a sarcastic gin and tonic. A tough lawyer with a very no-nonsense approach (and a deep disrespect for all things feline), Camilla finds herself in the very unhappy situation of being best friend to a murder suspect.

It doesn't help that the victim was an out-and-out unlikeable fashion critic who seemed to thrive on blasting women in power for wearing pumps that didn't match. No one liked her, and someone didn't like her enough to kill her. Now Camilla has to use every bit of wit she has (and she has plenty) to solve a crime before her friend ends up in jail. She just has to juggle her friends cats, the world's worst assistant, and a detective determined to date her sister, and a potential romance of her own - oh my!

Set in Ottawa during the tulip festival, this is a great book for anyone who likes a tough, albeit cranky, heroine with attitude. The mystery itself is engaging, and Camilla's life just sucks you right in. I for one, can't wait for "The Icing on the Corpse," which is the upcoming sequel.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD...a delight, April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak Ill of the Dead: A Camilla MacPhee Mystery (Paperback)

Well-written and witty, SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD is a delight! Its protagonist is Camilla MacPhee, a trained lawyer whose beloved died in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Camilla responded by becoming an advocate for victims of violent crime, running her tiny agency on a shoestring -- a task made more difficult since she's saddled with Alvin, the son of an old friend of her father's and the least productive office assistant since Bartleby the Scrivener.

As if she needs any more problems, Camilla's best friend from childhood, Robin Findlay, is the chief suspect in the murder of a celebrity fashion writer. Other suspects abound, in theory, since the late unlamented had the personality of a pit viper but, alas, Robin is on the scene with blood on her hands. Camilla must clear her friend by pinpointing the actual killer, if for no other reason than to rid herself of responsibility for Robin's six cats. A venerable story line, it's true; there are no new plots under the sun. But there are fresh new characters like Camilla, her loving (if overbearing) family, and the inquisitive Mrs. Parnell across the hall, to name only a few.

Cat fanatics be warned, though; Robin's are ordinary animals, absorbed in their private feline concerns; they do not solve the mystery. Camilla does that herself and, tagging along on her investigation, the reader gets to see a bit of the Canadian capital in tulip festival time and meet some interesting, amusing people.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is all in the title..., May 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak Ill of the Dead: A Camilla MacPhee Mystery (Paperback)

Camilla Macphee will have a difficult time solving this case. A fashion guru is gruesomely murdered in her hotel suite, and Camilla's best friend Robin is the key suspect. Trying to prove her best friend's innocence, Camilla, with a little help from her annoying assistant Alvin, tries to solve the twisted case.

This book will keep you guessing untill the last chapter. Since every character, somehow is involved in this case, you'll never figure whats going to happen next. But the murderer doesn't stop at one killing...he or she is leaving a trail of victims, and whoever the mystery murderer is,it seems they won't stop till they're caught.