The Poet's Funeral

by John M. Daniel

Book Overview

"Daniel's sharp, sardonic wit and insider's view of book industry foibles are sure to make this bibliomystery a hit."--Publishers Weekly STARRED review

At the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association Convention, everything goes wrong. Julia Child's cooking demonstration in the Random House aisle blows up and catches fire. A top New York editor catches a pie in the face. Invitations to the most exclusive publisher's...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159058144X
• ISBN13: 9781590581445
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Length: 257 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

I Bought Two!

I got so engrossed in this comic and complex whodunnit that, to avoid a quarrel with my wife over who got it at bedtime, I ordered a second copy. Daniel has transformed the hard-boiled format into the omelet. Guy and Carol are the kind of characters you hate to say goodbye to, so we're hoping they are the beginning of a series. The other characters are clearly drawn from life, but...whoizzit? The dialogue is crisp and witty, the pace constant, the references to real life people tantalizing. Come on JMD, more "short" stories, please!

A Booklover's Delight

This is a mystery for anyone who's ever seen image, marketing, and hype overshadow talent in the publishing business. Guy Mallon was the owner of a small bookstore until he hired Heidi Yamada as his assistant. When the ambitious former professor's assistant decided that she would like to be a poet - despite her knowing nothing about poetry - she determined that her lover Guy would be her publisher. Their relationship lasts only as long as it takes to print her book, but her sudden popularity is assured as she stepped on a multitude of publishers, writers, and agents on her way up. Years later, at the 1990 American Booksellers Association, Heidi's career is on the flux and resentment from her colleagues is high. When Guy discovers her body - lying is Elvis Presley's bed - there's a surplus of suspects, including her current lover, the bartender she transformed into a cowboy poet, a fanatical book collector, the publisher to whom Heidi has yet to turn in her overdue manuscript, and numerous lovers she used and discarded to aid her career. As Guy looks into the death of the woman he could never forget, he is both aided and hindered by a dubious photographer from Publisher's Weekly and he encounters huge egos, disillusioned writers, and manipulative publishers. All in a day's work. This is a hilarious peek into the crazed world of publishing, and Guy is a delightfully diminutive detective. Eulogies for Heidi by the suspects provide an ironic lead into their connections with Heidi, a woman who stomped over everyone she met as she promoted her talentless prose. The assortment of characters satirize the worst and best personalities in the book field and provides a light-hearted glimpse into an ego-driven profession. John M. Daniel has created a mystery that is sure to entertain everyone who's ever opened a book and wanted to know more than just what appears on a page.

tongue in cheek amateur sleuth who-done-it

In 1977 Guy Mallon wanders into a used bookstore wheere he finds a signed copy of Kerouac's first book, which he hides. He buys the store and sells the Kerouac book at auction. Not long afterward, teaching assistant Heidi enters his store and persuades him to hire her, have sex with her, and publish her poetry though she has not written anything yet and he is not a publisher. In 1990 Guy and his beloved partner Carol Murphy attend the American Book Association (ABA) convention in Vegas. He finds a dead Heidi on the Elvis bed apparently form an overdose. Guy is shocked, but has doubts that someone as egotistical as Heidi would do drugs. Carol wonders if her too short (she is eight inches taller than he) and too young (five years younger) cherished Guy still carries the torch for Heidi. When LVPD Detective Plumley closes the case as accidental due to drugs, Guy is unable to resist investigating Heidi's death. This is a tongue in cheek amateur sleuth who-done-it that readers will enjoy. Perspective changes with a different participant taking center stage with each chapter although Guy is consistently in the forefront and ergo the focus of the plot. The story line is amusing and contains several cameos from the famous and though the death occurs toward the middle, the inquiries are handled deftly so that the audience obtains a solid mystery. The big Guy and his woman are a dynamic duo and the support cast enables the reader to obtain a deep look at what happens at an ABA convention. THE POET'S FUNERAL is a unique super tale. Harriet Klausner