The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

""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!

1144840048
The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

""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!

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The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel

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Overview

""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!


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A pure delight from start to finish! THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO MURDER is a mystery packed with twists and turns, some loving (and hilarious) jabs at the publishing world, and a wee dram of romance — all set at a writers retreat in a Scottish castle. What could be better? 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

Three pros unite again for this fun, dramatic mystery with an exotic setting and delightful characters. Library Journal (starred review)

“An engrossing and sumptuous tale, this novel is a fantastic spring read.” — Good Morning America on The Lost Summers of Newport

“Three stories elegantly intertwine in this clever and stylish tale of murder and family lies from Williams, Willig, and White…This crackerjack novel offers three mysteries for the price of one.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Lost Summers of Newport

“This triple POV novel comes from the minds of three historical fiction powerhouses, so you know it's going to be a delight.” — Buzzfeed on The Lost Summers of Newport

The Lost Summers of Newport—by a trio of historical fiction icons, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White—is an elegant approach to the old ‘trouble in paradise’ scenario, spanning generations of deceit in a New England mansion.” — Chicago Tribune

“If, like me, you’re mourning the season end of the HBO series, The Gilded Age, I have good news: Atlanta author Karen White along with Beatriz William and Lauren Willig have penned The Lost Summers of Newport, a historic mystery spanning more than a century of the once-wealthy Sprague family residing in an extravagant Gilded Age home in Newport, Rhode Island.” — Augusta Chronicle

Library Journal

★ 08/01/2024

Three authors walk into a bar. That's how Cassie Pringle, a cozy mystery writer; Kat de Noir, writer of erotic romantic fantasy; and Emma Endicott, who writes historical portraits of forgotten women, end up at a writers' retreat on an isolated Scottish island. The besties are researching and writing a book called Fifty Shades of Plaid while staying at Kinloch Castle. Then, fellow author Brett Saffron Presley is murdered on the night of the village dance celebration. On an island where everyone is interrelated, it's natural for Detective Chief Inspector Euan Macintosh to eye the American writers with suspicion. Their stories don't add up, and each of them has a history with the dead man. Knowing that they're suspects, the three women decide to find the person who really killed the man they all hated. This novel by Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White is a fun send-up of the publishing industry in which mystery-writing, imbued with humor and mixed with tropes of the genre, is turned on its head. Women sexualize men, and there's even a dramatic helicopter rescue. VERDICT Three pros unite again (after The Lost Summers of Newport) for this fun, dramatic mystery with an exotic setting and delightful characters. Readers who recognize and like satire will enjoy.—Lesa Holstine

Product Details

BN ID: 2940191496306
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 11/05/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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