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majkia's review against another edition
Fun mystery with mystery writers as prime suspects.
amandajeanne's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad. Not quite as good as the first in my opinion. As another reviewer has said, the ending was a bit of a cheat and I thought the epilogue was a bit disjointed. I was looking forward to the beginnings of the romance between St. Just and Portia..and the epilogue skips a whole year into the future??? Will the next book take a few steps back so we can see the development?
verityw's review against another edition
3.0
A fun cozy locked room (ish) crime with a literary twist. This took me longer to read than I expected, but I couldn't work out whether it was because I kept getting distracted or because it didn't flow as well as some of Malliet's other novels.
guardian's review against another edition
1.0
So bad, I couldn't finish. I'm 25% into the book and don't like the story or characters so it's time to give up and start a new book. The one-dimensional characters and simplistic writing annoyed me so much I had to stop.
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
This was on the library shelves in the new section and I'm glad I picked it up. This was a really fun read and I hope to read more of this series.
In this book, the author focuses on mystery writers, specifically one who has shot up to fame with a chick-lit mystery. Kimberly Kalder is a blonde, brash prima donna whose novel shot her to the top of the book charts and to the top of several other authors hate-list. So, when she's murdered at a mystery authors' conference, few people are surprised. Detective Chief Inspector St. Just had also been invited to the conference as an expert on crime and he's the first policeman on the scene.
Fun book, not unlike the chick-lit mystery the author is lampooning but a fun read.
In this book, the author focuses on mystery writers, specifically one who has shot up to fame with a chick-lit mystery. Kimberly Kalder is a blonde, brash prima donna whose novel shot her to the top of the book charts and to the top of several other authors hate-list. So, when she's murdered at a mystery authors' conference, few people are surprised. Detective Chief Inspector St. Just had also been invited to the conference as an expert on crime and he's the first policeman on the scene.
Fun book, not unlike the chick-lit mystery the author is lampooning but a fun read.
jesabesblog's review against another edition
2.0
This book was hard for me to get into. There are so many characters it takes forever to get them all described and established. The first third of the book dragged on too long.
Also, the ending felt like a bit of a cheat to me, though I suppose I maybe should have seen it coming.
Also, the ending felt like a bit of a cheat to me, though I suppose I maybe should have seen it coming.
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
2.0
This is the second in the series, the first being Death of a Cozy Writer. I thought the first one was okay and so decided to try another in the series. This started out definitely more interesting. Very Agatha Christie-ish, as in And Then There Were None.
We had the group of isolated visitors, in this case writers at a conference. There is a house that is cut off from the outside, power outage, fog, etc. There is a first victim, who is a very unlikable character. All this added up to a lot of promise for this book.
St. Just, the detective, is definitely more visible and engaged in this book than he was in the first outing of the series. The characters are all very classic of cozy “house” mysteries, the elderly female, the brash American, the meek submissive wife, the femme fatale, the young “con man” type, and the unlucky-in-love copper and others.
The book just didn’t live up to the promise of all the elements. It was definitely okay, but I don’t know if I would read any others in the series. I enjoyed about the first two thirds and then it just seemed to peter out.
We had the group of isolated visitors, in this case writers at a conference. There is a house that is cut off from the outside, power outage, fog, etc. There is a first victim, who is a very unlikable character. All this added up to a lot of promise for this book.
St. Just, the detective, is definitely more visible and engaged in this book than he was in the first outing of the series. The characters are all very classic of cozy “house” mysteries, the elderly female, the brash American, the meek submissive wife, the femme fatale, the young “con man” type, and the unlucky-in-love copper and others.
The book just didn’t live up to the promise of all the elements. It was definitely okay, but I don’t know if I would read any others in the series. I enjoyed about the first two thirds and then it just seemed to peter out.
girlygirlbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
This was an okay mystery novel. It wasn't one of my favorites. It took about 100 pages to finally get the death that is mentioned in the synopsis. The first 100 pages is kind of just a filler of back stories. It wasn't a thrilling lead up to the death either. I did like the writing style and the premise. I also wasn't even close to picking who did it, which I love when that happens. Overall I thought it was decent.
piepieb's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really liking DCI St Just, and am feeling sad that I only have one more book of his to read before A Haunting Season comes out in October (Fr. Max Tudor #5). What am I going to read next??! :)
I really like how, at the end, St Just gathers all the suspects together, Agatha Christie-style, to reveal the murderer. I'm so glad I discovered Malliet's writing!!
I really like how, at the end, St Just gathers all the suspects together, Agatha Christie-style, to reveal the murderer. I'm so glad I discovered Malliet's writing!!