Cozy mystery writer Sir Adrian Beauclerk--Fisk just loves to
cause trouble for his rather ghastly family. He constantly
changes his will, leaving his adult children in constant
limbo. His latest scheme to make havoc begins with the gaudy
wedding announcement just sent to family members—including
his ex-wife—summoning the brood to his sprawling estate for
the happy nuptials.
The Beauclerk--Fisk family is the definition of
dysfunctional. There's Ruthven, the oldest and heir
apparent, who's as cold-blooded and ruthless as they come.
His socialite wife Lillian is as shallow as the day is long.
The second son, George, is almost on a par with Ruthven but
always comes up short when compared to his big brother.
Natasha is the latest in George's string of girlfriends, but
she's unlike his usual airheads. Youngest son Albert is a
washed-up actor with a taste for booze and is protective of
his little sister. Youngest child Sarah writes cookbooks and
is somewhat eccentric but lacks the family mean streak. And
of course Sir Adrian himself, malevolent and spiteful, yet
he inspires loyalty from his cook. Lovely bride Violet is a
widow with a very scandalous past.
Once the entire clan (minus Sir Adrian's ex-wife Chloe)
gathers in Cambridgeshire, trouble is sure to follow. When
one member of the family is brutally murdered, everyone on
the estate becomes a suspect. Detective Chief Inspector
Arthur St. Just is on the case, aided by Sergeant Garwin
Fear. Will they be able to unravel the conflicting stories
to find the murderer before s/he strikes again? What does a
fifty-year-old murder have to do with the present case?
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.
From deep in the heart of
his eighteenth century English manor, millionaire Sir Adrian
Beauclerk-Fisk writes mystery novels and torments his four
spoiled
children with threats of disinheritance. Tiring of this
device, the
portly patriarch decides to weave a malicious twist into his
well-worn
plot. Gathering them all together for a family dinner, he
announces his
latest blow — a secret elopement with the beautiful
Violet... who was
once suspected of murdering her husband.
Within
hours, eldest
son and appointed heir Ruthven is found cleaved to death by
a medieval
mace. Since Ruthven is generally hated, no one seems too
surprised or
upset — least of all his cold-blooded wife Lillian. When
Detective
Chief Inspector St. Just is brought in to investigate, he
meets with a
deadly calm that goes beyond the usual English reserve. And
soon Sir
Adrian himself is found slumped over his writing desk — an
ornate knife
thrust into his heart. Trapped amid leering gargoyles and
concrete
walls, every member of the family is a likely suspect. Using
a little
Cornish brusqueness and brawn, can St. Just find the killer
before the
next-in-line to the family fortune ends up dead?
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