A Conventional Corpse

May 29, 2000
Bookseller Claire Malloy returns for her lucky 13th outing in another slyly satirical whodunit from Hess (A Holly Jolly Murder; the Maggody series). As the person in charge of the first mystery convention to be held at Farber College in Farberville, Ark., Claire faces numerous challenges keeping the participating authors happy. Laureen Parks, doyenne of the romantic suspense novel, is cranky because she can't smoke at the Azalea Inn, where everyone is domiciled. Sherry Lynne Blackstone, queen of the kitty cozy, has her fur ruffled because the inn doesn't allow pets. Dilys Knoxweed, writer of English mysteries, is stung by the insults from Walter Dahl, who pens poorly selling literary mysteries about heroes overwhelmed by their neuroses. Rounding out the list is Allegra Cruzetti, media darling and author of a runaway bestseller. As if the situation weren't fraught with enough potential disaster, obnoxious editor Roxanne Small, who has a personal connection to each of the writers, shows up to surprise them. When a conference attendee dies a seemingly accidental death and Roxanne ends up dead in a cistern, Claire once again turns sleuth to save the day. Juggling the problems of her relationship with Farberville detective Peter Rosen while sniffing out the truth proves no easy matter, but the witty, pithy Claire is equal to the task. Offering a teasingly intricate puzzle along with some zinging satire of current publishing trends, Hess has produced another first-rate mystery. Regional author tour.

November 1, 2002
Adult/High School-A light, humorous, uncomplicated mystery. Claire Malloy, bookseller and mother of a daughter who speaks in Capital Letters, is asked to facilitate the first-ever mystery convention on the campus of Farber College after the dynamic organizer of the event is hospitalized. The temperamental authors arrive, one with a forbidden cat in tow, to be housed in the Azalea Inn. The strict innkeeper adds even more to the bedlam. One conference attendee dies in a mysterious accident while a much-disliked editor is found dead at the bottom of a cistern. The policeman investigating the deaths is none other than Claire's ex-boyfriend, yet another frustration for her. Hess's snappy dialogue and descriptions of peevish characters move the mystery along. The ending is not entirely satisfying but the story is entertaining enough without a perfect finish. YAs will immediately relate to the daughter and her sleuthing mother and look forward to future Claire Malloy mysteries.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2000
Hess' Claire Malloy series has never enjoyed the following of her Maggody novels--perhaps because its comedy is less crazed--but this latest installment offers an enjoyable take on a familiar theme: murder at a mystery writers' convention. When the organizer of "Murder Comes to Campus" is hospitalized, bookseller Malloy is roped into leading the conference, which features five mystery authors, none of whom is pleased to be cooped up at tiny Farber College in Farberville, Arkansas. The egomaniacal authors are soon driving Claire even more crazy than her teenage daughter. Then Roxanne Small, an editor of many and enemy of most, turns up dead, leaving all five authors as prime suspects. Whether Hess meant any of these characters to resemble real writers is unknown, but a few of them bear striking resemblances to some familiar figures in the genre. Claire proceeds to solve the crime, with the help, of course, of the mystery writers themselves. Good fun for those who are, or would like to be, insiders in the crime-fiction world. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2001
Adult/High School-A light, humorous, uncomplicated mystery. Claire Malloy, bookseller and mother of a daughter who speaks in Capital Letters, is asked to facilitate the first-ever mystery convention on the campus of Farber College after the dynamic organizer of the event is hospitalized. The temperamental authors arrive, one with a forbidden cat in tow, to be housed in the Azalea Inn. The strict innkeeper adds even more to the bedlam. One conference attendee dies in a mysterious accident while a much-disliked editor is found dead at the bottom of a cistern. The policeman investigating the deaths is none other than Claire's ex-boyfriend, yet another frustration for her. Hess's snappy dialogue and descriptions of peevish characters move the mystery along. The ending is not entirely satisfying but the story is entertaining enough without a perfect finish. YAs will immediately relate to the daughter and her sleuthing mother and look forward to future Claire Malloy mysteries.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2000
Arkansas bookseller/sleuth Claire Malloy organizes a mystery convention at Farber College that goes awry. Five major writers and attendant quirks create problems, as does the appearance/disappearance of a hated mystery editor and the suspicious death of an attendee. An excellent choice.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.