A Murder of Magpies (Sam Clair Series #1)

by Judith Flanders

Overview

A whip-smart, impeccably crafted debut mystery, A Murder of Magpies takes readers on a whirlwind tour of London and Paris with an unforgettably original new heroine

It's just another day at the office for London book editor Samantha "Sam" Clair. Checking jacket copy for howlers, wondering how to break it to her star novelist that her latest effort is utterly unpublishable, lunch scheduled with gossipy author Kit Lowell, whose new book will dish the juicy dirt on a recent fashion industry scandal. Little does she know the trouble Kit's book will cause-before it even goes to print. When police Inspector Field turns up at the venerable offices of Timmins & Ross, asking questions about a package addressed to Sam, she knows something is wrong. Now Sam's nine-to-five life is turned upside down as she finds herself propelled into a criminal investigation. Someone doesn't want Kit's manuscript published and unless Sam can put the pieces together in time, they'll do anything to stop it.

With this deliciously funny debut novel, acclaimed author Judith Flanders introduces readers to an enormously enjoyable, too-clever-for-her-own-good new amateur sleuth, as well Sam's Goth assistant, her effortlessly glamorous mother, and the handsome Inspector Field. A tremendously entertaining read, this page-turning novel from a bright new crime fiction talent is impossible to put down.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250080943
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Series:	Sam Clair Series , #1
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	467,029
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

JUDITH FLANDERS is the New York Times bestselling author of The Invention of Murder and one of the foremost social historians of the Victorian era. She is a contributor to the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Spectator, and the Times Literary Supplement. Before turning her hand to writing, Judith worked as an editor for various publishing houses, including the publications department of the National Portrait Gallery, London. She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Hilarious, big-hearted, clever, whip-smart and devious. A truly wonderful crime novel by a brilliant writer... Judith Flanders has found that difficult, magical ground between humour and crime, where the death is never trivialized, but the territory is hysterically pilloried. Brava!” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Long Way Home

“Deadly funny. Judith Flanders' wry take on publishing and murder should be on everybody's wish list.” —Donna Leon, New York Times bestselling author of By Its Cover

“The array of delightful and believable characters, as well as a neat turn at the end, will leave readers well satisfied and anticipating the next installment.” —Publishers Weekly

“A layered mystery in which fingers can be pointed in a variety of directions… full of charm and characters worth visiting again.” —Kirkus

“Wickedly funny… the perfect storm of an entertaining read… Loved it.” —London Times

“From the first page you want Samantha Clair to be your new best friend… [Flanders] keeps the reader intrigued and laughing in equal measure.” —Daily Mail (UK)

“Mordantly funny; at last a novel about the world of fashion that seems to find it as ridiculous as I do.” —Philip Kerr, author of A Man Without Breath

“I had no idea that the publishing world could be so funny—and so dangerous. A Murder of Magpies reminds me of the comic crime novels of Donald E. Westlake, with its own humorous, deadly edge.  Judith Flanders has created one of the most engaging main characters I've encountered in quite a while. Indeed, even the minor characters are memorable. I chuckled while I feared for their safety, and hope to meet them in another novel.” —David Morrell, author of Murder as a Fine Art

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
Social historian Flanders (The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London) makes her fiction debut with an amusing mystery set in the eccentric world of British book publishing. Samantha “Sam” Clair, a snarky middle-aged editor at London publisher Timmons & Ross, faces serious problems when gossipy journalist Kit Lovell delivers a potentially libelous manuscript with new revelations about the death of fashion icon Rodrigo Alemán. Soon a courier is killed and residences are burgled in attempts to swipe the manuscript, and Sam’s encounters with suave and seedy lawyers as well as Alemán’s brother hint at criminal activities connected to Alemán’s fashion house. When Kit disappears, Sam joins in the investigation with Helena, her elegant solicitor mother, and attractive Insp. Jacob “Jake” Field (a nod to Insp. Charles Field, the model for Dickens’s Inspector Bucket). The array of delightful and believable characters, as well as a neat turn at the end, will leave readers well satisfied and anticipating the next installment. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Deviating from her bestselling nonfiction, Flanders tries her hand at mystery in this debut. Susan Duerden gives voice to Flanders's first-person protagonist, publishing editor Samantha Clair. With consistency and emotion she creates a high level of authenticity in the reactions of a woman unaccustomed to big-money book sales, let alone murder and mayhem. Duerden maintains a swift pace without hurrying, and her accents are distinct as Sam travels by foot, rail, and air throughout Europe, searching for clues about her missing author, Kit Lowell. The only disappointment in this enjoyable narration is a flat delivery of the audiobook's sharp humor. However, Duerden’s light tone works well for a book that is edgier than a traditional cosy, and she delivers the occasional profanity with spunk. J.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2015 - AudioFile

2014-12-22
Even in the insular world of book publishing, murder has its place. British book editor Sam Clair has her routine—she gets up early to be in the office with her second cup of coffee before anyone else arrives—and she has her staple authors, those trusted to turn out best-sellers year after year. Kit Lovell, a feisty investigative writer deeply rooted in the fashion world, has just turned in one such manuscript, a book exposing the libelous inner workings of fashion giant Vernet, as well as evidence that the death of its head man, Rodrigo Alemán, was no accident. There are many people who would benefit from this never being published, and soon, a courier delivering the manuscript is dead. When Kit's apartment is broken into, followed by Sam's, it becomes clear that more than the manuscript's future is at stake, especially when Kit misses an important work lunch. Sam won't stand for her best author and good friend being kidnapped—or worse—and she steps in to investigate. Flanders creates a layered mystery in which fingers can be pointed in a variety of directions, from seedy lawyers to Alemán's own brother. Helping Sam are her spitfire mother, Helena, her sweet but isolated upstairs neighbor, Mr. Rudiger, and Detective Jake Field, with whom she ultimately starts a relationship (though their building attraction is curiously never shown). With so much to wrap up, especially as Kit's troubles are found to extend beyond his controversial reporting, the end result feels cluttered; in the rush to the finish line, delightful secondary characters get lost in the mix. The first novel by historian Flanders (The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London, 2014, etc.), though a bit frazzled, is full of charm and characters worth visiting again.

Kirkus Reviews