Faked to Death (Simon Kirby-Jones Mysteries) [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

As long as Simon takes his medication three times a day he can pass for human, which enables him to walk in the sunlight and be active in the daytime. He accepts an invitation from Lady Hermione Kinsale to appear at a writer's workshop but he's outraged to learn that mystery author Dorinda Darlington is also appearing. Simon knows she's a fake because he is Dorinda and he's absolutely livid that his agent who is also at the conference arranged this publicity stunt. When the fake Dorinda is murdered, Simon deduces that one of blackmailed authors killed her. He investigates because he's nosy.

The protagonist is a drama queen with a biting sense of humor. He is also a vampire who has few traditional powers (the side effect of the medication he uses) so he must solve the who-done-it by using his wits of which he has many. The mystery is well plotted and there are many suspects who could be the killer so the readers are able to like this delightful cozy with a supernatural twist. FAKED TO DEATH is a unique, refreshing and totally endearing satirical mystery.

Harriet Klausner

"Being dead has its advantages.
"I get much more writing done now that I'm a vampire. When one has not one but two yearly best-sellers to produce, it's just as well that three hours' rest per night is sufficient.
"The world of popular fiction knows me as Daphne Deepwood (historical romance) and Dorinda Darlington (hard-boiled female private-eye novels). Little do my devoted readers suspect that Daphne-Dorinda is really Simon Kirby-Jones, respected historian, author of acclaimed biographies of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart. Nor do they suspect I'm a vampire. And gay."

James has written a throwback to the old English cozy mystery perfected by Agatha Christie, except he adds an original twist. Instead of Miss Marple, we get Simon Kirby-Jones, a gay vampire from the American South who now lives in a small town in England. It's an idea that could have made for an interestingly unique touch. Unfortunately, James didn't deviate much from the formula.

When Simon is invited to a Writers Conference as himself, he's very surprised to find that his alter ego Dorinda Darlington is scheduled to appear as well. The phony Dorinda quickly insults everyone at the conference - held of course, at a secluded English manor - so it's no surprise when she ends up dead. Predictably, the police ask everyone to stay at the manor overnight and, not surprisingly, someone else ends up dead.

Simon, who just like amateur sleuths the world over (alive or dead), can't seem to keep his nose out of police business, investigates and figures things out before the police do. I had the mystery figured out long before the big denouement, although for a while I thought James was not only going to follow formula to a tee, but was actually going to steal one of Christie's most famous plot-twists. Thankfully, he didn't go quite that far.

Despite the predictability of the book, I did enjoy James' writing style. Simon Kirby-Jones is a likeable protagonist, even if he does tend to be a bit insufferable at times. Still, I expected more from the premise than was actually delivered. A good beach read if all you want to do is escape with a bit of fluff.