Wednesday, March 14, 2018

On My Radar: Judith Flanders' A Howl of Wolves




Yes, once again I've come across news of the upcoming publication of a book that makes me do a Happy Dance. Be thankful that you cannot see the aforementioned dance since my middle initial "G" does not stand for "graceful"!

I first became acquainted with Judith Flanders' writing through her social histories of the Victorian era because there was a time when I just read social histories, biographies of non-twentieth-century folks, and historical fiction. (Haven't changed much, have I?) When I read the first Samantha Clair mystery, A Murder of Magpies, it took me a while to realize that I was already familiar with the author. I enjoyed the publishing house setting, the characters, the solid mystery, and the snarky wit. Each Sam Clair book got stronger until the third (and most recent) A Cast of Vultures made my Best Reads of 2017 List. So what did I do when I learned that book four would be available on May 15, 2018? That's right: rubbed my hands together in glee and did a Happy Dance. Here's more about the upcoming book---


Synopsis:

"Sam Clair figures she’ll be a good sport and spend a night out at the theater in support of her upstairs neighbors, who have small parts in a play in the West End. Boyfriend (a Scotland Yard detective) and all-round good sport Jake Field agrees to tag along to what is apparently an extra-bloody play filled with dramatic, gory deaths galore. So Sam expects an evening filled with faux fatalities. Until, that is, the curtain opens to the second act, revealing a dummy hanging from the rafters, who’s been made up to look suspiciously like Campbell Davison, the director of the production.

When Sam sees the horrified faces of the actors onstage, she realizes that this is indeed not a dummy, but Davison himself—and this death is not part of the show. Now everyone wants to know: who killed Campbell Davison? As Sam learns more about the murdered man, she discovers that he wasn’t all that well-liked amongst the cast and crew, so the suspect list grows. The show must go on—but Sam knows a murderer must be apprehended, so she sets out to find out what happened, and why.

New York Times bestselling author, Judith Flanders once again brilliantly fuses mystery with humor in the fourth installment of her critically acclaimed ­Sam Clair series."


For fellow fans of Samantha Clair, this is good news indeed. For those of you who aren't acquainted with her yet, here's your chance! If you like to start in on the ground floor, the order of books in this series are:

  1. A Murder of Magpies (APA Writers' Block)
  2. A Bed of Scorpions
  3. A Cast of Vultures
  4. A Howl of Wolves

I wonder what book will make me do my next Happy Dance?



4 comments:

  1. This does sound interesting, Cathy. I admit I've not read the series yet, but I'm intrigued...

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  2. I remember that you liked this series and I don't remember why I didn't pick up the first book. So many series. I like the sound of the new one.

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    1. I think you'd enjoy it, Kay. (I know, I know...)

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