Reviews and Interviews:
(June 18, 2009): Review at Suite101.com by Vickie Britton (Death and the Lit Chick):
"Malliet’s old-fashioned style is reminiscent of the traditional whodunits of the past by Agatha Christie [and] Dorothy L. Sayers, but with a distinctly humorous flair....The book is a clever mystery as well as a witty satire."
(June 14, 2009): Review in the Denver Post by Tom and Enid Shantz (Death and the Lit Chick):
"In the second outing for her stalwart police detective, Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just of Cambridge, the author treats us to an absolutely delicious skewering of the world of mystery publishing and its none-too-savory denizens."
(May 2009): Review in ReviewingTheEvidence.com by Linnea Dodson:
"Death and the Lit Chick shows why classics never go out of style....If you're a fan of the classic English manor house-style mystery, Malliet belongs on your bookshelf."
(April/May 2009): Review in Mystery News by Diana (Death and the Lit Chick):
"G.M. Malliet paints vivid pictures of her characters – she’s able in a few sentences to make them absolutely come alive for readers. It’s a characteristic I noticed in the first book in this series, Death of a Cozy Writer, which I loved. Death and the Lit Chick is even better.
The writing is A+ -- smooth, clever (in the good sense) and a pleasure to read. (The snarky bits about writers, mysteries and the publishing biz add to the fun.)"
(April 2009): Staff Pick, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA, by Lynne (Death and the Lit Chick):
"This book is particularly enjoyable because Malliet pokes fun at mystery writers - of which she is one, obviously - and their machinations in real life and in fiction. Malliet has selected a cogent niche for her books. I hope that this “lit chick” thrives for a very long time."
(May 2009): Review in Mystery Scene Magazine by Sue Emmons (Death and the Lit Chick):
"Delicious. That's the best word to describe the second outing of Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just....Malliet is laugh-out-loud funny in describing the cadre of crime writers encountered by the sometimes-flustered [detective]."
(April 26, 2009): Review in The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, by Diane Makovsky:
Readers who enjoy all things British, as well as a good whodunit, will find either or both [Death of a Cozy Writer; Death and the Lit Chick] just the ticket.
(April 1, 2009): Review in Library Journal (Death and the Lit Chick):
"Lots of humor and a bit of 'guess who this writer is' make this one a good choice for readers who enjoy intelligent cozies and traditional mysteries."
(March 25, 2009): Booklist gives Death and the Lit Chick a starred review:
"This second St. Just Mystery easily and triumphantly fulfills the promise of Malliet’s first book, Death of a Cozy Writer....Devotees of the Golden Agers (not just Marsh but also Christie, Sayers, and Allingham) will be captivated, but fans of the early Martha Grimes novels as well as the work of Robert Barnard and C. S. Challinor will also find much to like here. A real find for old-school mystery fans." — Judy Coon
(Feb. 23, 2009): Publishers Weekly gives Death and the Lit Chick a starred review:
Murder's afoot at Dead on Arrival, a crime writers' conference held at Edinburgh's Dalmorton Castle, in Malliet's superior second cozy featuring Det. Chief Insp. Arthur St. Just (after 2008's Death of a Cozy Writer). The same evening that Kimberlee Kalder, “queen of the 'chick lit' genre,” accepts an award for best debut novel from her publisher, Lord Easterbrook of Deadly Dagger Press, her broken body is found in the castle dungeon. St. Just, who's visiting from Cambridge, and the local DCI learn that not all were thrilled by catty Kimberlee's megaseller, Dying for a Latte. Suspects include Kimberlee's literary agent, who's worried another agent wants to steal her star client, a flamboyant publicist and various jealous authors. Malliet's satirical take on the mystery scene is spot-on. Adding spice is the inspector's new romantic interest, writer and criminologist Portia De'Ath, with whom the love-starved widower becomes deliciously smitten.
(Dec. 19, 2008): Death of a Cozy Writer chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Books of 2008:
"Fans and critics alike have lauded G.M. Malliet for this series debut—a stab at the classic English country-house murder
mystery. When a rich father invites his four grown children to a weekend in the country—and to meet his new wife—panic
sets in that he is going to write them out of his will. When both father and oldest son turn up dead, inspector St. Just is called in to solve the crime. Kirkus said that the book 'combines devices from Christie and Clue to keep you guessing until the dramatic denouement,' making the St. Just series one to keep an eye on."
Review in Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine by Norma Dancis
"Almost every sentence is a polished, malicious gem, reminiscent of Robert Barnard....the book is perfect for the lover of the classical detective story or the fan of great sentences."
Review at Meritorious Mysteries by Molly Weston
"If Agatha Christie and P. G. Wodehouse wrote a book together, it would be something like this one. Malliet adheres to the traditional mystery framework endorsed by Christie and enriches it with high jinks worthy of Plum himself."
Review in Mystery Scene Magazine by Lynne Maxwell
"Death of a Cozy Writer, the first novel in the St. Just series, fully lives up to the promise of its author's burgeoning reputation. Polished prose and a sophisticated, engaging plot propel this novel set in Britain."
Review: Mysterious Reviews
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.
Review: The Mystery Bookstore (Carol's Favorite)
"Good mystery, characters, descriptive phrases, and resolution. Malliet could have a great series on her hands."
Review: Multnomah Public Library (Ruth)
Death of a Cozy Writer [is] perfect - it had all of the elements that I love in a good cozy: dysfunctional English families, lots of suspects, murders that were not too graphically described and, best of all, a country house setting!
Mysterical-E Review and Author Interview by Julie Obermiller
"From the first page (prefaced by an introduction of characters), the reader is whisked away to the country manor, with the timeless feel of a visit with Christie's Miss Marple."
Written review on KUOW.org / NPR radio website by Nancy Pearl, plus Ms. Pearl talking about Death of a Cozy Writer (mp3 file)
"G.M. Malliet's Death of a Cozy Writer is a delightful homage to the great novels of Britian's Golden Age of Mysteries."
Review: Alibi Books by Roberta
"A good old-fashioned whodunit that Agatha Christie would have been pleased to claim as her own."
Interview at Jungle Red Writers blog with Hank Phillippi Ryan
Mystery Lovers Review
"G.M. Malliet starts up a charming new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector St. Just."
Des Plaines Library Staff Pick (Linda Knorr)
"Is Agatha Christie writing again? You would think so to read this British cozy mystery....Humor, red herrings, and a few unlikeable characters make this a very enjoyable cozy."
Review: Once Upon a Romance by Lori
"If you are an Agatha Christie fan or a Pink Panther fan, this story is right up your alley. This is a mystery in the truest form of the word. Yes, a crime is committed but there is no blood and guts – just a true mind-tumbling who-done-it for you to solve."
Review in Fresh Fiction by Denise Powers
"Death of a Cozy Writer is filled with twists and turns, making the reader constantly reassess who might be the guilty party. The story ends with a Christie-like denouement, revealing a killer and a motive that only the most attentive reader could have predicted. I myself was fooled; be warned, some of the clues are very subtle. Try Ms. Malliet's prize-winning debut for a classic cozy set in modern times."
Fairfax County Library Podcast Interview with Sam Clay (mp3 file)
Interview with Pamela at the Mayhem and Magic blog (also reprinted at the Midnight Ink blog)
Review: On My Bookshelf by Allison Marie
"Malliet's prodigious wit is used to great effect in this novel, and she's a fantastic writer."
Interview with Miriam R. Kramer for the Old Town Crier
Review: Gumshoe Review by Mary McElveen
This novel delivers exactly what you hoped it would: a new packaging of the old formula, and a very enjoyable read.
From Kirkus Reviews:
Detective Chief Inspector St. Just finds himself with a pretty puzzle when a father and son are murdered in a snow-shrouded Cambridgeshire manor house. The family of wealthy mystery writer Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk have arrived in response to a shocking wedding invitation. Long divorced from his first wife, he delights in keeping his unloved heirs on edge by constantly changing his will. Upon their arrival, they learn that he has already married beautiful, aristocratic Violet Winthrop, who Ruthven, his oldest son, announces was accused of murdering her first husband. Although Ruthven has usually been his favorite, Sir Adrian does not seem unduly upset when he is found brutally murdered in the wine cellar. As for his remaining children: self-absorbed George arrives with a girlfriend as stunning as she is pregnant; Albert is an actor with a drinking problem; and Sarah seems to take pains to remain unattractive while she writes successful cookbooks. In addition, the household includes a private secretary, a cook, her son the houseboy and an ancient gardener. When Sir Adrian is at last fatally stabbed in his study, St. Just looks among the houseguests and staff for the guilty party. As so often turns out in English country-house mysteries, the answer lies buried in the past.
Malliet's debut combines devices from Christie and Clue to keep you guessing until the dramatic denouement.
April 2008
From Cozy Library:
Oh-so-wealthy Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk, the cozy writer in the title, is NOT a nice man. He’s manipulative, mean-spirited and a candidate for World’s Worst Father. He rewrites his will as often as most people write grocery lists, letting each legatee know when he or she is in or out, pitting one against the other. As Death of a Cozy Writer opens, Sir Adrian has invited his four grown children to his Cambridgeshire estate for an engagement party. He’s marrying Violet Winthrop, a woman whose shadowy past includes a dead husband and the suspicion she murdered him and got away with it.
In the opening pages of Death of a Cozy Writer, the author concentrates on setting the stage and developing and assembling the main characters/suspects in Cambridgeshire. After the first murder occurs and Detective Chief Inspector St. Just arrives on the scene, it’s a by-the-book police procedural.
Although G.M. Malliet has written a book reminiscent of Dame Agatha Christie’s mysteries, Death of a Cozy Writer has a decidedly modern feel to it. The writing is clever, in the very best sense of that word, and a bit edgy, with a little coarse language that would redden the ears of Sir Adrian’s "Miss Rampling" character just a tad. Ms. Malliet has a keen eye for sensory details and the skill to describe them deliciously. Her similes are spectacular. And yet, her writing doesn’t draw undue attention to itself, flowing along smoothly and effortlessly, or so it appears.
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.
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library March 10, 2008.
From Publishers Weekly:
Fans of stylish English detective work will welcome Malliet's droll debut, the first in a new series. When Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk, a pompous cozy author, invites his four grown children to his Yuletide wedding to Violet Winthrop at his 18th-century manor outside Cambridge, none of the four is pleased at the prospect of a young stepmother who could inherit their father's vast fortune. Besides, Violet's considered a black widow who did in her first husband. Soon after Sir Adrian announces during a family dinner that he and Violet are already wed, eldest son Ruthven turns up dead in the wine cellar. Sir Adrian's subsequent murder in his office doesn't inspire tears from either his bride or his first wife. 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.
May 2008
Death of a Cozy Writer and Death and the Lit Chick: Now available everywhere.