Book Review: Death of a Cozy Writer by G. M. Malliet (St. Just Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun take on the classical period cozy

Cons: Weak main character; over written

The Bottom Line:

A classic cozy

About cozy writer's death

Genre fans will like

New Author Debuts with Death of a Cozy Writer

With as much as I try to follow the mystery scene, it's been hard not to hear about G. M. Malliet's debut, Death of a Cozy Writer.  It's won a couple major awards and been nominated for several others.  All I've been hearing is good things for a mystery that takes gentle aim at the conventions of the British manor house cozy.  And I'm sure it comes as no surprise that this cozy fan enjoyed it.

Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk is a well loved cozy writer.  His books constantly hit the best seller lists in his native England, and his latest has been there for almost a year straight.

However, his children have a different opinion of their father.  The man considers it a sport to manipulate them into fighting with each other.  He changes his will constantly to slight which ever one has offended him most recently.

His latest stunt is a remarriage.  His children reluctantly show up at his Cambridgeshire manor for the occasion, hoping to talk him into calling it off.  But Adrian has some surprises up his sleeve.  However, instead of the normal fireworks, the bodies start piling up.  Who among the guests at the manor is a killer?

Unlike most of the cozies I read, the actual main characters in this book are Detective Chief Inspector St. Just and his assistant Detective Sergeant Fear, instead of some amateur.  They aren't introduced until after the first murder takes place, over a third of the way into the story.

Not that the book lacked for tension before that.  In fact, some of the scenes involving the family before the murder took place were absolutely riveting.  The drama and conflict were captured perfectly.  Naturally, things did pick up even more once the murder took place.  The climax was logical but a bit overly complex for my taste.  Everything is explained, however, and it does feel like something Agatha Christie would use as a denouncement, including having all the suspects together in one room.

Considering St. Just and Fear are the series characters, I felt they were under developed here.  Despite some facts about them thrown in here and there, they never truly came alive for me.  The suspects, however, are another story.  All of them seemed real.  I actually started taking sides in fights and rooting for how I hoped didn't commit the murders.

There is some humor to the book, but it isn't in your face.  It's much more subtle.  A line here, a description there.  Of course, the entire story is poking fun at the conventions of the golden age cozies, so I found that quite fun.  I'm sure it would have been even funnier if I were more familiar with the likes of Christie, Sayers, and their contemporaries.

Unfortunately, the author attempted to recapture the writing style of those greats, and the result was overly complex.  Every time I sat down to read, I had to readjust myself to the writing.  After a couple of pages, I was good to go, and I would hardly notice the extremely long sentences as the pages flew by.

So no, Death of a Cozy Writer is not a perfect debut.  But it is a very fun first mystery.  I certainly plan to visit with St. Just again in the near future.