The Author's Guide to Murder
A Novel
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
"A pure delight from start to finish! Williams, White and Willig are in top form in this clever, engrossing whodunnit with a heart.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The New Couple in 5B
Agatha Christie meets Murder, She Wrote in this witty locked room mystery and literary satire by New York Times bestselling team of novelists: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.
There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists.
The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book together, but the authors’ stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don’t quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious.
Why did the authors really come to Castle Kinloch? And what really happened the night of the great Kinloch ceilidh, when Brett Saffron Presley skipped the folk dancing for a rendezvous with death?
A crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance—this novel has it all, as only three bestselling authors can tell it!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Three authors unexpectedly become murder suspects in this breezy mystery. Naïve cozy author Cassie Pringle, cynical erotic romantasy author Kat de Noir, and stuffy historical fiction writer Emma Endicott pose as best friends collaborating on a book in order to attend famous writer Brett Saffron Presley’s workshop, held at a castle in Scotland. But the trio have an ulterior motive that only comes to light after Presley is found murdered. In the process of trying to clear their names, they clash with the attractive local detective and the handsome estate manager and navigate everything from hidden rooms to romantic entanglements. This story’s fun premise becomes even more whimsical and fresh in the deft hands of authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, who never take themselves too seriously but still infuse the book with authentic intensity and emotion. You can count on Cassie, Kat, and Emma to not only find the killer but the true meaning of friendship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Williams, Willig, and White, who most recently collaborated on The Lost Summers of Newport, fictionalize the origins of their partnership in this delightful send-up of the book industry. The faux-friendship between authors Cassie Parsons, who writes baking-centered cozy mysteries; Emma Endicott, whose historicals center the lives of underappreciated women; and Kat de Noir, whose work leans toward the racy and supernatural, has been arranged by their publicists so the three can apply together to a writers' residency at a Scottish castle. The residency is run by loutish local author Brett Saffron Presley, and when Presley is found stabbed to death by a stag's antler on the night of the town festival, the American women become the primary suspects. Though the plot is rather run-of-the-mill, its pieces fall into place gracefully, with surprise romances and knowingly silly deus ex machinae propelling the action. The characters are both sympathetic and hilarious, and there's an unapologetic glee in how much everyone hates the boorish victim. While the story's meta aspects are perhaps a touch self-indulgent, genre fans will eat it up. This is good fun.Agents: (for Williams and Willig) Alexandra Machinist, CAA; (for White) Amy Berkower, Writers House.
