BOOK THREE IN THE AGATHA AWARD-WINNING SERIES

St. Michael's College, Cambridge, is prestigious, stately-and in frightful disrepair. To replenish its dwindling coffers, the College's Master holds a fundraising weekend for wealthy alums. But all goes awry when the glamorous-and despised-Lexy Laurant is found strangled on the grounds. There's a lengthy list of likely suspects: Lexy's debt-ridden Latino lover, her titled ex-husband who left her for another woman, and a garrulous oil-rich Texan with something to hide, among others. As Detective Chief Inspector St. Just weighs clashing egos, he discovers unsavory secrets . . . and a most shocking twist.

Accolades for the St. Just Mystery series:

Winner of the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel

Silver medalist for the IPPY awards in the category of Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Finalist for 2009 Anthony and Macavity Awards

Chosen by Kirkus Reviews as a Best Book of 2008

"Malliet's satirical take on the mystery scene is spot-on."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A real find for old-school mystery fans."—Booklist (starred review)

"An absolutely delicious skewering of the world of mystery publishing and its none-too-savory denizens, Death and the Lit Chick is even wittier and more skillfully constructed than her Agatha Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer."—Denver Post

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Agatha-winner Malliet's witty third cozy to feature Det. Chief Insp. Arthur St. Just (after 2009's Death and the Lit Chick), potential benefactors to St. Michael's College at the University of Cambridge gather at St. Mike's for an alumni Open Weekend. When someone strangles Alexandra Lexy Laurant, the glamorous socialite ex-wife of another attendee, pompous writer Sir James Bassett, St. Just investigates. The Cambridgeshire policeman soon uncovers a host of suspects, including Geraldo Valentiano, Lexy's playboy honey; Gwennap Pengelly, a TV reporter desperate for a scoop; Augie Cramb, a dot-com millionaire; and American financier Karl Dunning and his complaining wife, Constance. Crime novelist Portia De'Ath, St. Just's girlfriend, who longs for crusty Arthur to be more romantic, provides invaluable help in sussing out the killer. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Starred Review The reader who hasn’t yet discovered Malliet’s St. Just Mystery series has a real treat in store. This third in the series is every bit as good as its predecessors (Death of a Cozy Writer, 2008, and Death of the Lit Chick, 2009). This time St. Just is back in Cambridgeshire, England, and the romance between him and author Portia De’Ath seems to be on the fast track. De’Ath is working on her thesis at St. Michael’s College, Cambridge, and is asked by the college master to help entertain a collection of wealthy alums attending a fund-raising weekend reunion. One of the alums is found murdered near the college boathouse, and the suspects seem to include every other alum in attendance, plus the college staff and students. Detective Chief Inspector St. Just and his assistant, Sergeant Fear, are called in to solve the crime. Malliet’s description of Cambridge college life, the various faculty, staff, students and alums, is spot-on and highly entertaining. The conceit of slyly naming some characters after an attribute associated with their occupation or character (St. Just the detective, Mary Goose the college chef, and Dr. Malenfant the pathologist, for example) is clever without being overdone. Longtime cozy fans will be reminded of golden age classics starring Dorothy Sayers’ Harriet Vane and Edmund Crispin’s Gervase Fen. Malliet’s writing is both smooth and elegant and her humor delicious. --Judy Coon

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