Book Review: Booked For Murder

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Booked For Murder     Amazon US TPB Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada TPB
Val McDermid
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Gay / Lesbian
Series: Lindsay Gordon # 5
Spinster's Ink, May 2000, $12.00, 272 pp.
Trade Paperback

The AP wire reported that in London, Penny Varnavides, author of the popular Darkliner series, died when a bottle of beer exploded and a piece of glass cut her carotid artery. In California, Penny's friend Lindsay Gordon is stunned by the news.

Not long after hearing the news, a mutual friend, Penny's former lover Meredith Miller, sends an emissary from London to California pleading with Lindsay to come to England. Meredith believes she is the prime suspect in the murder of Penny and based on the track record of her amateur sleuth buddy, she thinks Lindsay can prove her innocence. The best-selling author died by means of the same plot device she was using in her latest novel. Three people allegedly knew the contents of the manuscript, including Meredith. Unable to say no, the former journalist travels to London in order to uncover the identity of the real killer because Lindsay cannot believe Meredith could commit such an act.

The fifth Lindsay Gordon novel, BOOKED FOR MURDER, is an entertaining tale that will please fans of the series and sub-genre readers in general. The who-done-it story line is crisp, exciting, and fun due to the female charcaters and their exchanges. Lindsay retains her brazen yet sort of classy persona and the return of secondary players from previous novels help make London swing. In all her wonderful novels, Val McDermid incorporates social issues into the murder mystery story line so that the audience is educated as well as entertained.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner