As the wildly successful darling of the publishing industry, chick lit mystery writer Kimberlee Kalder is the guest of honor at an exclusive writers' conference at Dalmorton Castle in Scotland. But jealousy and resentment are soon replaced with shock when Kimberlee is found dead at the bottom of the castle's bottle dungeon.

Who didn't want to see prima donna Kimberlee brutally extinguished like one of her ill-fated characters? It's up to Detective Chief Inspector St. Just to track down the true killer in a castle full of cagey mystery connoisseurs who live and breathe malicious murder and artful alibis...

"Murder's afoot at Dead on Arrival, a crime writers' conference held at Edinburgh's Dalmorton Castle, in Malliet's superior second cozy featuring Det. Chief Insp. Arthur St. Just (after 2008's Death of a Cozy Writer). The same evening that Kimberlee Kalder, 'queen of the 'chick lit' genre,' accepts an award for best debut novel from her publisher, Lord Easterbrook of Deadly Dagger Press, her broken body is found in the castle dungeon. St. Just, who's visiting from Cambridge, and the local DCI learn that not all were thrilled by catty Kimberlee's megaseller, Dying for a Latte. Suspects include Kimberlee's literary agent, who's worried another agent wants to steal her star client, a flamboyant publicist and various jealous authors. Malliet's satirical take on the mystery scene is spot-on. Adding spice is the inspector's new romantic interest, writer and criminologist Portia De'Ath, with whom the love-starved widower becomes deliciously smitten." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Acclaim for the bestselling Death of a Cozy Writer, the first St. Just Mystery: A] delightful homage to the great novels of Britain's Golden Age of Mysteries.--Nancy Pearl, NPR commentator and author of Book Lust

Chosen by Kirkus Reviews as a Best Book of 2008, nominated for a Left Coast Crime award (the Hawaii Five-O for best police procedural), and has been short-listed for the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. Death of a Cozy Writer won the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel and a silver medal for the IPPY awards in the category of Mystery/Suspense/Thriller. Cold-blooded murder is, like, totally un-cool As the wildly successful darling of the publishing industry, chick lit mystery writer Kimberlee Kalder is the guest of honor at an exclusive writers' conference at Dalmorton Castle in Scotland. But jealousy and resentment are soon replaced with shock when Kimberlee is found dead at the bottom of the castle's bottle dungeon. Who didn't want to see prima donna Kimberlee brutally extinguished like one of her ill-fated characters? It's up to Detective Chief Inspector St. Just to track down the true killer in a castle full of cagey mystery connoisseurs who live and breathe malicious murder and artful alibis . . .

Acclaim for the bestselling Death of a Cozy Writer, the first St. Just Mystery: A] delightful homage to the great novels of Britain's Golden Age of Mysteries.--Nancy Pearl, NPR commentator and author of Book Lust Chosen by Kirkus Reviews as a Best Book of 2008 Cold-blooded murder is, like, totally un-cool As the wildly successful darling of the publishing industry, chick lit mystery writer Kimberlee Kalder is the guest of honor at an exclusive writers' conference at Dalmorton Castle in Scotland. But jealousy and resentment are soon replaced with shock when Kimberlee is found dead at the bottom of the castle's bottle dungeon. Who didn't want to see prima donna Kimberlee brutally extinguished like one of her ill-fated characters? It's up to Detective Chief Inspector St. Just to track down the true killer in a castle full of cagey mystery connoisseurs who live and breathe malicious murder and artful alibis . . .