Devil's Breath (Max Tudor Series #6)

by G. M. Malliet

Overview

Agatha Award-winning author G. M. Malliet returns with Devil's Breath, the sixth mystery in her wildly popular series featuring handsome spy-turned-cleric Father Max Tudor.

Having realized there is no escape from his past as an agent, Max has offered his services to MI5 on an as-needed basis. Now it’s time for him to follow through. The body of glamorous film star Margot Browne has washed ashore from a luxury yacht and Max’s former colleague wants his help to find the murderer.

It’s a perfect “closed circle” murder since victim Margot must have been killed by one of the actors, stylists, screenwriters, or second-tier royalty aboard. The investigation into Margot’s lurid past uncovers a host of motives—it seems she was not the only person on board with a secret they’d kill to keep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250092793
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Series:	Max Tudor Series , #6
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	328,773
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

G. M.MALLIET's Death of a Cozy Writer received the Agatha Award forBest First Novel and was named one of the best books of 2008 by KirkusReviews. It went on to earn nominations for Anthony, Macavity, and LeftCoast Crime awards. The first books in the Max Tudor series—Wicked Autumn, AFatal Winter, Pagan Spring, and A Demon Summer—also werenominated for the Agatha Award. She and her husband live in Virginia and travelfrequently to the UK, the setting for many of her stories. Visit her atGMMalliet.com.
G. M. MALLIET's Death of a Cozy Writer received the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and was named one of the best books of 2008 by Kirkus Reviews. It went on to earn nominations for Anthony, Macavity, and Left Coast Crime awards. The first books in the Max Tudor series—Wicked Autumn, A Fatal Winter, Pagan Spring, and A Demon Summer—also were nominated for the Agatha Award. She and her husband live in Virginia and travel frequently to the UK, the setting for many of her stories.

Table of Contents

Cast of Characters xi

Part I All At Sea

Chapter 1 An Actor's Life 3

Chapter 2 Everything's Jake 11

Chapter 3 Take Two 15

Chapter 4 Tiny Dancer 19

Chapter 5 Warrior Pose 27

Chapter 6 Maurice 31

Chapter 7 Noblesse Oblige 37

Chapter 8 In So Many Words 43

Part II Ashore

Chapter 9 Fame 51

Chapter 10 Max Tudor, Front and Center 55

Chapter 11 George Greenhouse 57

Chapter 12 Team Players 65

Chapter 13 Drowning 75

Chapter 14 Pirates 81

Chapter 15 Maurice, Act II 91

Chapter 16 Romero 101

Chapter 17 Jake, Act II 113

Chapter 18 The Baron and the Baroness 123

Chapter 19 Tina and Co 135

Chapter 20 O Captain! 145

Chapter 21 A Room of One's Own 155

Chapter 22 No Angel 167

Chapter 23 Lyre, Lyre 177

Chapter 24 Suspicion 189

Chapter 25 There's No Business like Show Business 199

Chapter 26 Delphine 209

Chapter 27 A Poor Player 219

Chapter 28 Devil's Breath 225

Chapter 29 We Are Family 235

Chapter 30 Clarice 245

Chapter 31 House of Horrors 251

Chapter 32 Water Everywhere 261

Chapter 33 Holloway 269

Chapter 34 Denouement 273

Chapter 35 It's a Wrap 285

Editorial Reviews

02/20/2017
Agatha Award–winner Malliet abandons subtlety in her middling sixth Max Tudor mystery (after 2015’s The Haunted Season). Max’s friend on the local police force, Detective Chief Inspector Cotton, views the cleric-cum-detective as “an extraordinary man of seemingly endless patience, knowledge, integrity, and bravery.” And in keeping with the now larger-than-life qualities of the lead, the recipes of Max’s cookbook-author wife are being used at Buckingham Palace. Max looks into the death of an aging movie star named Margot Browne (not the only heavy-handed All About Eve reference), who was a guest on the yacht of a big-time film director. The case offers a classic golden age setup, but unfortunately Max’s sleuthing skills aren’t at their best. At one point, after learning that Margot’s corpse, recovered from the waters off Monkslip-super-Mare, bore strangulation marks, he still, bafflingly, speculates that she may have been accidentally poisoned and her body dumped overboard to cover up the mishap. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Max Tudor Series

"The Father Max Tudor books are just excellent. G.M. Malliet has crafted the English village of our dreams, with interesting small shops, a variety of inhabitants, and the local priest . . . who happens to be a former MI5 agent and also very handsome. Who wouldn’t want to live in Nether Monkshood? Here’s the fly in the ointment: people always die there, in the most unexpected and unpleasant ways. Though Max’s personal life is a source of contention (Awena, his beloved, is a pagan), Max’s ability to unravel a mystery is superb."—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"It’s great to see the return of Malliet’s wit in a high-seas whodunit that deftly skewers the Hollywood high life."—Kirkus Reviews on Devil's Breath

"Charming... enjoyable... This is a cozy little addition to a cozy little series, a cozy little niche in the world of cozy corner mysteries." —Library Journal on Devil's Breath

"With a cast of showy characters aboard, the who and why possibilities are ripe for entertainment... Malliet knows how to set a scene, and here she has lots of fun with the movie-world cast." —Booklist on Devil's Breath

"Devil’s Breath, like all of Malliet’s novels, has clever plotting, entertaining characters, stylish settings, and a deliciously unorthodox view of the human condition. Plus its laced with wickedly wry humor. You won’t want to miss this series." —Open Letters Monthly

"An excellent series... The book is titled 'The Haunted Season' for a reason..." —Mercury News

“A classic and ingenious whodunit laced with clues for the alert reader, A Fatal Winter out-Christies Christie. Pray you don't miss it.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Wittier than Louise Penny, lighter than Tana French, smarter than Deborah Crombie, G.M. Malliet has made a name for herself with her cozy-but-cutting English mysteries. A Demon Summer makes the case that she may be the best mystery author writing in English at the moment (along with French). She's certainly the most entertaining, with her delightful but surprisingly deep series about sleuthing vicar Max Tudor.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer on A Demon Summer

“With clever plotting that draws on classic elements of the British village mystery, characters conceived with care, an evocative setting and frequent doses of humor to leaven the inevitable sadness, Malliet continues her elegant and entertaining series, one that discerning fans of the genre will find stimulating, rewarding — and a ton of fun.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch on A Demon Summer

“I'm a fan of G.M. Malliet, and A Demon Summer is more of a return to the roots of the series. Father Max Tudor, former MI5 operative turned Anglican priest, must visit Monkbury Abbey at the order of his bishop. A peer has been poisoned, though not fatally, by a fruitcake prepared by the Handmaids of St. Lucy, a contemplative order. Just when Max is concluding the poisoning was accidental, one of the visitors to the Abbey is done to death. Once again, Max must find the killer . . . this time so he can home to his handfasting to the pregnant Awena.” —Charlaine Harris on A Demon Summer

“Entertaining . . . the ending with a traditional gathering of the subjects will please Golden Age fans.”—Publishers Weekly on Demon Summer

“The fourth fun entry in this charming English cozy series is delightful in tone. Think Agatha Christie meets Ian Fleming.” —Library Journal on A Demon Summer

“Contemporary cozies don't get much better than Agatha-winner Malliet's third Max Tudor mystery.”—Publishers Weekly (starred) on Pagan Spring

“Well crafted and entertaining, this is a superb winter read.” —Crimespree on Fatal Winter

“A traditional English mystery involving a small village, a dysfunctional family and an attractive vicar can't help but appeal to mystery lovers everywhere.” —Fresh Fiction on Fatal Winter

“Agatha Christie fans will relish Malliet's delicious second Max Tudor novel....Clever deduction and a logical fair-play solution are enhanced by the author's wry humor.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review on Fatal Winter

“Malliet doesn't miss a step in her stellar second case for her handsome vicar....This series shines for its wit, well-drawn characters, pitch-perfect dialog, and intricately structured puzzle.” —Library Journal, starred review on Fatal Winter

“[A] gift-wrapped package for cozy lovers and Agatha Christie devotees… thoroughly entertaining.” —Booklist on Fatal Winter

“There are certain things you want in a village mystery: a pretty setting, a tasteful murder, an appealing sleuth… Malliet delivers all of that.” —Marilyn Stasio on Wicked Autumn, New York Times

“G.M. Malliet's Sly humor rivals Jane Austen's.” —The Boston Globe on Wicked Autumn

“A winning entry in the quiet English village mystery genre.” —Mystery Scene on Wicked Autumn

“Takes the traditional English cozy mystery and plants it firmly into the twenty-first century.” —New York Journal of Books on Wicked Autumn

“Provid[es] the sort of comfort a quintessential cozy can offer.” —Kirkus on Wicked Autumn

“Malliet has mastered the delights of the cozy mystery so completely that she seems to be channeling Agatha Christie.” —Booklist, starred review on Wicked Autumn

“A superb new series... a true homage to Agatha Christie...Malliet, like Louise Penny, brings a contemporary freshness to the traditional mystery.” —Library Journal, starred review on Wicked Autumn

“This appealing first in a new cozy series from Agatha-winner Malliet introduces Max Tudor....Readers will look forward to seeing more of the Rev. Tudor.” —Publishers Weekly on Wicked Autumn

“A superb novel! Filled with humor and insight, G. M. Malliet creates a fabulous setting in Nether Monkslip and a great series hero in Father Max Tudor. Rarely have I read descriptions that have left me gasping, in both their hilarity and their painful truth. A wonderful read.” —Louise Penny on Wicked Autumn

“Intelligent, charming writing make this a standout and a return to the traditional English village mystery.” —Charlaine Harris, author of the True Blood series, on Wicked Autumn

“Exquisitely well written, a tongue-in-cheek village mystery to be savored.” —Julia Spencer-Fleming on Wicked Autumn

“G. M. Malliet has brought the village cozy into the 21st century.” —Charles Todd on Wicked Autumn

"One of the most delightful English village mysteries I’ve read since Agatha Christie stopped writing about Saint Mary Mead. G.M. Malliet’s sly allusions to both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot will make Christie fans chuckle, but Nether Monkslip is no village that time forgot—not with its new age citizenry and a vicar who’s a dishy ex-MI5. Highly recommended."—Margaret Maron, Edgar, Anthony, Agatha winner, and author of Christmas Mourning

"A contemporary and deliciously wicked homage to Agatha Christie's village mysteries, with an equally delicious hero who is infinitely sexier than Miss Marple. Once readers meet handsome, intelligent, witty MI5 spy-turned-Anglican priest Max Tudor, they'll be searching their maps for the village of Nether Monkslip!"—Deborah Crombie, New York Time sbestselling author of Necessary as Blood

"Hugely funny, exquisitely well written, Wicked Autumn is a tongue-in-cheek village mystery to be savored. G.M. Malliet's arch tone and wry humor make her a writer to be treasured."—Julia Spencer-Fleming, bestselling author of One Was a Soldier

"Miss Marple would approve."—Daily Mail (UK) on The Haunted Season

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
Max Tudor, the MI5 spy-turned-English vicar, is called back into service to investigate a death on a yacht. In his sixth outing (after The Haunted Season), Max must determine who killed an aging film star. Series readers may be disappointed at the lack of contact with Max's wife and the gossipy villagers, but Agatha Christie fans will enjoy the locked-room mystery featuring a limited cast of characters. [See Prepub Alert, 10/17/16.]--LH

Library Journal

2017-01-23
A former MI5 agent who's taken Holy Orders is recruited to investigate a murder on the high seas that's brought Hollywood to the English coast.Former starlet Margot Browne is less interested in aging gracefully than in appearing forever young to her adoring fans in her latest project, a film by famed director Romero Farnier, her former flame. At least, that's her perception of things, and Romero doesn't have the heart to tell her she's too old and washed up to be a star. Romero invites Margot as a guest on his yacht on a literal guilt trip, a trip in which she's literally washed up after getting killed and pushed overboard by one of his other guests. All this happens on the waters near Monkslip County, home of former MI5 agent-turned-Rev. Max Tudor, who is asked by his former colleague to investigate while she takes care of some personal matters. Though the murder is a closed-circle crime with a limited number of suspects, each of the potential killers seems too self-centered to have deigned to interact closely enough with Margot to kill her, from her boyfriend-in-name-only to some distant royals who turn up their noses at commoners. Max uses all his resources (which are mainly limited to his personal charm) to learn the secrets of the rich and famous only to find that even though everyone has something to hide, they all agree it's better to be notorious than unknown. Though dedicated readers may miss local favorites (The Haunted Season, 2015, etc.), it's great to see the return of Malliet's wit in a high-seas whodunit that deftly skewers the Hollywood high life.

Kirkus Reviews