Augusta Hawke - (Augusta Hawke Mystery) by G M Malliet (Paperback)

About the Book

Successful crime author Augusta Hawke lives a quiet existence in her village outside Washington DC, until the police appear next door. Where are her neighbors, the Normans? They've been missing over a week. Sensing a bestselling story is unfolding next door, Augusta puts the investigatory skills she's developed during her writing to the test.

Book Synopsis

Sometimes it's safer not to know your neighbors' secrets.

Where are Niko and Zora Norman? Crime writer Augusta Hawke puts her sleuthing skills to the test to solve the mystery of her disappearing neighbors in the first entry in a new series.

While Augusta Hawke is a successful author of eighteen crime novels, since her husband's death she's been living vicariously through her Jules Maigret-like detective Claude and his assistant Caroline. Then a handsome police detective appears investigating a real-life mystery.

Where are her neighbors, the Normans? No one has a clue what's happened - except Augusta. Although she isn't nosy, spending all day staring out the windows for inspiration means she does notice things. Like the Normans arguing. And that they've been missing a week.

Once the Normans' car is found abandoned, Augusta senses material for a bestseller and calls on the investigatory skills she's developed as a crime writer. But she soon uncovers long-hidden secrets and finds herself facing real-life dangers her characters never faced . . . ones she can't write her way out of.

Review Quotes

[A] charming series . . . Malliet is a gentle satirist-- "New York Times Book Review on Pagan Spring"

Agatha Christie fans will enjoy the locked-room mystery-- "Library Journal on Devil's Breath"

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"

Highly professional work right up to the unmasking of the surprisingly well-hidden killer-- "Kirkus Reviews on Death in Cornwall"

Think Agatha Christie meets Ian Fleming-- "Library Journal on Demon Summer"

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"

You'll marvel at the author's low-key humor and crystal-clear depictions of small-town life . . . this is a true homage to Agatha Christie-- "Library Journal Starred Review of Wicked Autumn"

About the Author

Agatha Award-winning G.M. Malliet is the acclaimed author of two traditional mystery series and a standalone novel set in England. The first entry in the DCI St. Just series, Death of a Cozy Writer, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for Macavity and Anthony Awards. The Rev. Max Tudor series has been nominated for many awards as have several of her short stories appearing in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Strand. She lives on the East Coast of the US.