Invitation to a Killer

by G. M. Malliet

Overview

Crime writer turned sleuth, Augusta Hawke finds herself drawn into her second mystery when a celebrity doctor is found dead at a party she is attending!

Callie Moore is no ordinary aspiring writer. Notorious wife of a Washington lobbyist, Callie believes no publicity is bad publicity and that publishing her scandalous memoirs will help her achieve her heart's desire: a diplomatic posting. She just needs crime novelist Augusta Hawke to be her ghostwriter.

It's hard to say no to Callie, but Augusta does agree to attend her dinner party. The guest list is impressive, and it's Augusta's chance to meet celebrity doctor Doc Burke. But before Augusta really gets a chance to chat with the famous humanitarian, the evening ends in his untimely death.

Signs point to a heart attack, but Augusta isn't convinced. Especially when his niece tells Augusta about the mystery woman who claimed the doctor's remains.

Augusta decides to host a writers' retreat and invite all the suspects, most of whom are connected in some way with writing. Isn't that what Agatha Christie would do? But the remote lodge soon becomes snowed in and the group starts to crack when it becomes clear the killer may not be finished killing. Can Augusta flush out the culprit before anyone else gets hurt?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448308255
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	11/28/2023
Series:	An Augusta Hawke mystery , #2
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	809,760
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Agatha Award-winning G.M. Malliet is the acclaimed author of the DCI St. Just series, the Rev. Max Tudor series and a standalone novel set in England. Her books been nominated for many awards, as have several of her short stories appearing in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Strand. The Augusta Hawke series is her first set in the U.S., where she and her husband now live.

Editorial Reviews

11/28/2022

Agatha winner Malliet’s entertaining sequel to 2022’s Augusta Hawke opens at a book signing in Alexandria, Va., where mystery writer Augusta Hawke is surprised to be approached by Callie Moore, an influential D.C. lobbyist’s wife. Callie asks Augusta to ghostwrite her memoirs, which she promises will be filled with “scandals that will rip this city—and the world!—wide open.” When Augusta declines the offer, Callie counters with an invitation to one of her “Instagram-worthy dinner parties” and the chance to meet prominent literary agent Rem Larssen. Augusta accepts and finds herself in the company of former CIA agents, a congressman and his long-suffering wife, a famous media consultant, and a plastic surgeon to the stars, all of whom seem to be writing a memoir or a novel. As Augusta says, “all these writer manqués in one room could only lead to trouble.” Indeed, a guest dies, and Augusta is soon on the trail of a cunning killer. Along with a fair play mystery, readers are treated to some wry observations on politics and publishing (“Saying Rem Larsson is your literary agent is like saying the Pope is your religious confessor”). Fans of witty female amateur sleuths should pick this up. Agent: Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

[A] charming series . . . Malliet is a gentle satirist

New York Times Book Review on Pagan Spring

Augusta is an engaging narrator, letting the reader in on the realities of being a bestselling author and the vagaries of the publishing world

Booklist on Augusta Hawke

Top notch . . . readers will find a tasty tale that doesn't disappoint. Perfect for fans of the wickedly funny cozy writers M.C. Beaton and Catriona McPherson

Booklist on In Prior's Wood

An enjoyable mystery . . . Amateur sleuth Hawke is engaging and humorous

Booklist

01/01/2023

In Malliet's second Augusta Hawke mystery, Augusta is approached by Callie Moore, who wants Augusta to ghostwrite her memoir so she can strengthen her chances at an ambassadorship. Augusta hesitates, but accepts an invitation to a dinner party at Callie's. There she meets a pair of former spies, a congressman and his wife, a literary agent, a former reality TV star, and a doctor known for his work with the poor. After dessert, Augusta finds the doctor sitting outside in the dark—dead. Though the cause of death is declared a heart attack, Augusta can't rid herself of the feeling that it was murder. Several months later, to test her theory, Augusta gathers all the dinner guests, allegedly for a writers' retreat at a remote lodge. With the help of the doctor's niece, she interrogates each of the suspects in an Agatha Christie-style finale to get to the truth about the doctor's death. VERDICT In this sequel to Augusta Hawke, Augusta is further developed and comes into her own as an investigator, though it could have used more scenes with her friend Misaki Jones and with Detective Steve Narduzzi. For Malliet fans.—Jean King

Library Journal

Narrator Erin Dion gives life to crime writer and newly certified private investigator Augusta Hawke as she finds herself drawn into the machinations of Callie, the wife of a Washington lobbyist who is desperate to become an ambassador. When a well-known philanthropist dies of an apparent heart attack during a party hosted by Callie, Augusta is suspicious and sets out to uncover the truth about what happened. Dion's characterization of Augusta is spot-on, injecting just the right amount of snarky inflection into Augusta's thoughts and highlighting her self-deprecating sense of humor. Overall, Dion creates believable characters, male and female, and handles quick dialogue with ease, creating a fun and exciting listen. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

June 2023 - AudioFile

2022-11-29
Virginia mystery writer Augusta Hawke reluctantly accepts an invitation to a dinner that might have been designed specifically to make her wish she’d stayed home.

Calypso Moore, one of the few people to come to Augusta’s latest book signing, is looking for a ghostwriter for the memoir she plans. Augusta couldn’t be less interested, but she still has questions. Why does Callie want to write, or not write, a memoir? And what does she have to say that anybody would want to read? The answers—Callie’s tired of living in the shadow of Tommy, her lobbyist husband, and intends to bolster her campaign to be appointed ambassador to Mandrekka by publishing a high-profile book, and she’s got lots of juicy stories to share, like the one about her Aunt Davinia’s fling with Prince Charles (as he was then known)—intrigue her just enough to take Callie up on her invitation to a dinner whose guests include high-powered D.C. literary agent Rem Larsson, celebrity surgeon David Burke, sought-after one-name stylist Montana, CIA agent Felicity Overstone and her invisible husband, Fred, and disgraced congressman Carnegie Hilton and his wife, Mary. Before the evening is over, Doc Burke will have died of a heart attack that will fool virtually every character in the book and absolutely no readers. When Augusta finally decides that he was probably poisoned, it’s too late to prove it, and she can only hunt down his estranged wife in Sierra Leone, ask questions about the car accident that killed his fiancee many years ago, and hope that one of the many guilty-looking suspects actually turns out to be guilty. Eventually one of them does, and no, it’s not the one you thought.

Flaming piffle, like the baked Alaska that provides a distraction from the poisoning.

Kirkus Reviews