Joan Hess is, I think, better known for her Maggody/Arly Hanks cozy series than for her Claire Malloy series, also cozy. Personally, though, although both series are fun, I slightly prefer the Claire Malloy books, possibly because I like academic tie-ins, and the Malloy books are set in a fictional academic town (of sorts).
But, unlike the Maggody books, most or all of which are Mysterious Press/Open Road and go on sale a lot, the Malloy books only rarely go on sale and are mostly $12.99 when not on sale, which is nutso for decades old backlist. Which is why it's nice to see the thirteenth in the series,
A Conventional Corpse, on sale in the US for $2.99. And grab it fast if you want it!
Kindle US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003J5UHWE
Kobo US:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-c...ional-corpse-3
Spoiler:
Quote:
Farberville, Arkansas is playing host to its first ever mystery convention. Sponsored by the Thurber Farber Foundation and held at Farber College, Murder Comes to Campus is playing host to five major mystery writers representing all areas of the field. Dragooned into running the show when the original organizer is hospitalized, local bookseller Claire Malloy finds herself in the midst of a barely controlled disaster. Not only do each of the writers present their own set of idiosyncracies and difficulties (including one who arrives with her cat Wimple in tow), the feared, distrusted, and disliked mystery editor of Paradigm House, Roxanne Small, puts in a surprise appearance at the conference. Added to Claire's own love-life woes with local police detective Peter Rosen, things have never been worse.
Then when one of the attendees dies in a suspicious car accident, Wimple the cat disappears from Claire's home, and Roxanne Small is nowhere to be found, it becomes evident that the murder mystery is more than a literary genre.
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