Death and the Lit Chick

A St. Just Mystery, Book 2

By: G. M. Malliet

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audie Award Finalist, Mystery, 2014

Wildly successful chick-lit mystery writer Kimberlee Kalder is the guest of honor at an exclusive writers' conference at Dalmorton Castle in Scotland. But the fun ends when Kimberlee is found dead at the bottom of the castle's bottle dungeon. Who didn't want to see prima donna Kimberlee brutally extinguished like one of her ill-fated characters? It's up to Detective Chief Inspector St. Just to track down the true killer in a castle full of cagey mystery connoisseurs who live and breathe malicious murder and artful alibis....

©2009 G. M. Malliet (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic Reviews

"[In] her superior second cozy, Malliet's satirical take on the mystery scene is spot-on." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Malliet excels at stylish writing very reminiscent of the golden age of British mysteries. A real find for old-school mystery fans." ( Booklist)

"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)

Surprisingly Unexciting

I am a great fan of GM Mailliet's Max Tudor series--so it is challenging to understand how she has made this book be so cumbersome and tedious. A story of people who have gathered for a conference where a writer will be given an award, but everyone becomes a suspect in murder instead.

It's a pretty good setup for a decent mystery, but in some way, this lacks the cleverness and energy of her Tudor series. I just got weary of the focus of the story changing from one person to another endlessly laying out the background-- became sort of boring after a while. I found myself wondering whether the world of publishing (as told in this book) is more an interest to writers than readers.

I would not avoid this book--it was okay and I think I would have liked it a lot more if I didn't know this author's ability to write better ones. I recommend it with the suggestion that her Tudor series is more engaging. She is a good author--but this is not her best work. Davina Porter has done a good job of the narration--and that helps, but the book lacks something to make it a little more interesting overall.

Meh

Second in the series, do not read out of order.

It occurred to me that these books are re-do's of Lord Peter Wimsey books, at least in terms of overall theme. I was left with the VERY strong impression that some kind of computer program either wrote this book or aided in the writing. It's okay. I love Davina Porter and will listen to her narrate just about anything. Without her, this is not worth the credit. If you love her, it is.

Not very interesting

I liked the first book in this series but this second one is boring. It is just uninteresting and predictable.

Fun, cozy mystery.

Quirky characters abound as suspects which keeps the story lively and entertaining. Unfortunately, there is no clue dropped to point the reader to the killer. If not for this, I would have given it 5 stars. Still I recommend this book for cozy mystery lovers.

Delightful "Locked Room" Mystery

Where does Death and the Lit Chick rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Hmm. Among British cozy mysteries, it's right up there - a 10, I'd say. Good cast of characters, and, as an earlier reviewer mentioned, they are introduced in a very digestible way so I can remember everyone.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Magretta Simcock, aka Greensleeves, because she is a demanding, colorful, older woman with lots of character.

Have you listened to any of Davina Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I forget which ones. This one was ok, but she didn't really manage the American accent well, and, at times, I couldn't tell when a character was thinking or actually talking. Otherwise, she was good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I LAUGHED. I enjoyed the characters, and the mystery very much. Good tale, with great (and hilarious) characters. Really really liked this one.

Any additional comments?

A delightful cast of characters makes this book. This is my third G.M. Malliet book, and I've enjoyed them all. The "Seasonal" Max Tudor books seem to move faster (a bit), but the St. Just books (this is the second) are slower but more...complex and satisfying.

Great narrator old school mystery style not for me

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I'm not a huge fan of old school whodunnit mysteries where the detective brings everyone in a room together at the end to reveal all. Too contrived.

What was most disappointing about G. M. Malliet’s story?

Too many characters that I didn't care about. The killer was a minor character I didn't even remember!

Incredibly annoying

I was enjoying this book until the last hour - the murder was cleverly solved by the detective largely using clues we were never privy to. I at least would like to try and solve a mystery for myself....