Bywater Books

Booked for Murder

by Val McDermid

$12.95

Why would anyone want to kill Penny Varnavides, bestselling author of the Teen Dreams series? Her demise can’t be the freak accident it first appeared — it’s an exact replica of the murder method in her forthcoming book. Only three people knew the plot of Penny’s unpublished novel: her literary agent, her editor, and her ex-girlfriend Meredith.

In an effort to clear Meredith, Lindsay Gordon delves beneath the glittering facade of the seemingly glamorous world of London publishing in search of a murderer. While hobnobbing with industry notables, Lindsay encounters an unsavoury mix of soured relationships, desperate power plays, underhanded fraud, and seething rivalries. Who, amongst this sordid group, wanted Penny Varnavides dead?

Reviews for Booked for Murder

“A jolly romp through the world of London publishing.” —Independent

“Funny and scary by turns; always sharp.” —Daily Telegraph

“The writing is tough and colourful, the scene setting excellent.” —Times Literary Supplement

“McDermid’s latest in her successful Lindsay Gordon series is another winner, providing plenty of plot turn and puzzlement as Lindsay is dragged away from her California home to England to help prove an old friend innocent of killing her ex, best-selling author Penny Varnavides. Her death is not the freak accident it was first thought to be, but a reenactment of a devilishly clever method used in her forthcoming book. Only three living people—her literary agent, her editor, and ex-girlfriend Meredith—saw the manuscript, which curiously turns up missing as Lindsay delves deeper into the glitzy world of London publishing in search of a killer. She uncovers a love triangle responsible for the break-up of Penny and Meredith, and some business details that just don’t add up as her safety becomes increasingly imperiled. When lover Sophie arrives from the States (just in time to stitch up Lindsay’s gashed face), complications multiply, making for one of the best women’s mysteries in a long time.” — Whitney Scott, Booklist