Friday, December 8, 2023

Six murder mysteries featuring bookish people at bookish events

V.M. Burns is the Agatha Award-nominated author of screenplays, children's books, and cozy mysteries, including the Baker Street Mysteries, the Mystery Bookshop series, the Dog Club Mysteries, and the RJ Franklin Mysteries. Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, she currently resides in Georgia just outside Chattanooga with her poodles. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Her latest book is Murder on Tour.

At CrimeReads Burns tagged "six cozy mysteries where murder didn’t just happen between the covers of the book" but at a book event as well. One title on the list:
A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge

The second book in the Phyllida Bright Mystery series features the housekeeper of Mallowan Hall, the home of Dame Agatha Christie and her husband, Max Mallowan. When the neighboring village of Listleigh hosts a Murder FĂȘte organized to benefit a local orphanage, things in the quiet village take a sinister turn. Members of The Detection Club, a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself, will congregate in support of the charity which includes a writing contest for aspiring authors. The stakes at the fete are high as the winner will get an international publishing contract. At a cocktail party, one of the entrants imbibes a poisoned cocktail intended for the president of the local writers’ club who was thought to be a shoo-in for the prize. It’s up to Phyllida to find a murderer among a group of guests who are experts in murder—and how to get away with it.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue