Blurb from AmazonIt's Simon's esteemed reputation as an auteur that brings him to the attention of Lady Hermione Kinsale. She needs another speaker for her week-long writers' workshop. But much to Simon's surprise-and chagrin - best selling mystery author Dorinda Darlington appears on the list of attendees. Simon knows first-hand how the reclusive author values her privacy...because Simon is Dorinda. The blatant impersonation has raised his hackles - and Simon's fit to kill. But someone beats him to the punch. "Dorinda" is found dead, flattened by a stone urn pushed from the terrace. Now, cloistered with a killer, Simon tunes his heightened senses to the movements of his fellow authors. And as the workshop develops into a tension convention, Simon grows more determined to take a bite out of crime - before bloody murder claims another victim. My reviewSimon is back and as usual surrounded by the small towns dramas, this time he is invited to a writers workshop at Lady Hermiones abode. Simon finds himself riled as he spots on the guest list none other than Dorinda Darlington (one of his secret author identities) as someone is posing as her. Ignoring his agents advice Simon confronts her and before long her body is found. Will Simon be the prime suspect as this isn't his first dead body? Why was she pretending to be the author of Simons books?I loved this almost as much as the first one. Simon is his usual funny and witty self and caught up in more small town scandal on a bigger scale this time. What I also liked is Giles is a much better character this time round having grown since our first meeting in Posted To Death.Wether you have read the first book or not isn't particularly relevant, you could pick this one up as a stand alone however if you can I would read the first book purely because it is a good story, 4/5 for me and I will be pursuing the next book in this series.
I WANT MY MONEY BACK.*cries*At first I was still hoping this second novel might be better than the first about this unnecessarily American and gay and vampiric "hero", since it was about a writer's weekend, but the unbearable egocentricity of the author (and his not-at-all endearing character) nearly make me throw up. Simon is pretentious and, like the book, boring, annoyingly stupid, and made all the worse so by the reader being expected to find Simon irresistible, charming and intelligent. Since that is never once given an ironic twist, and since the character can't display anything the author doesn't posess either - and doesn't actually ever try to show, instead relying on Simon to tell us again and again how wonderful he is - it does. Not. Work.ETA: unlike eg. Joan Hess's novels. She's one of the many ratherbignames James cited as his group, yet she always manages to write wry, self-effacing humour, showing her heroines as interesting, flawed and intelligent beings.I'm tempted to transcribe a whole chapter just to show how bad it is. Something like "I asked the butler who slept in which room" is spread over a whole chapter, with the butler always always always being referred to as "Lady Hermione's butler, Dingleby", with every sentence or so starting with "I did and then I did" and every tiny movement written out for no reason whatsoever (he opened the door and entered and closed the door etc. etc.). Furthermore, they always mention the others name in nearly every line of dialogue, as if the readers really were braindamaged which - ok - they have to be but I'm still annoyed by reviews and blurbs insisting this is delightful and endearing, "Yes, Simon."-"Ok, Giles."-"What shall we do next, Simon?"-"I think commit suicide, Giles?"-"Jolly well, Simon."
Do You like book Faked To Death (2004)?
Cozy mystery with a great premise- the main character (and amateur detective) is a vampire. Sadly, nothing at all is made of that little quirk. Due to pills that he takes, he doesn't have to drink blood, but he also can't hypnotize people with his eyes, or turn into a bat or a mist or anything cool. So what is the point? How much more interesting he would be if he had to deal with -and take advantage of- some of the traditional side effects of vampirism. Oh, and he's gay. Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay. I felt like I was being hit over the head with it, since it was mentioned repeatedly, but again, it had absolutely no bearing on the plot or the story, so what was the point? I just felt like this would have been such a richer story if those two characteristics had been more important to the narrative.
—Stephanie Jewett
As far as mysteries are concerned I expect genre-loving readers to still find this second episode at fault. The very classical rules of very classical detective stories require that the readers be given all necessary hints to solve it for themselves.It does not happen here and the identity of the murderer is entirely unexpected.As for the rest I was happier than with the first book: this series is apparently not meant to be more than just entertaining and -just- entertaining it is.The writing is quick, light hearted; there are repetitions and redundant statements but fewer than in the first episode not to mention that Simon is much more likeable here than it was there.It is an easy read for a lazy afternoon.
—Furio
Disappointing. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this one seemed to lose itself by the end. Some of Simon's actions, particularly as they related to his agent, were completely unbelievable. Not that I look for realism in a book like this (after all, there is always the nightly news for that). I was also disappointed to find the blackmail motive recycled here since it was basically the same basis for the murders in the first book in the series.Still fun to read. Just a little less fun than the first one.
—Todd
