I have to admit I was disappointed in G.M. Malliet’s first in her new series, Augusta Hawke. I read most of the Max Tudor mysteries, some of the St. Just ones. Although Augusta is an author, this book just wasn’t for me.
As mystery writer Augusta Hawke narrates the story of her involvement in the case of her missing neighbors, she starts off as she’ll proceed through the entire book, with an account that is easily sidetracked. Hawke’s home in Old Town, Alexandria, overlooks other houses. As she plots her books, she tends to stare out the windows at other places, but it isn’t until the police show up that she actually realizes she hasn’t seen her neighbors Niko and Zora Norman for about a week. She wonders, though, why the young couple would disappear without their baby.
Despite the best efforts of the police to keep her from investigating, Augusta puts together a small team, a neighbor and a PI who is a true crime writer. When Augusta finds herself trapped, she uses all the skills of her police detective character to save herself until the police can come to the rescue.
The author of the award-winning St. Just and Max Tudor mysteries launches a new series with a mystery writer narrator. The slow-paced story rambles at times, and lacks the humor of the St. Just mysteries. Fans will be better served by the previous books, although I finally bogged down in the Max Tudor books as well.
G.M. Malliet’s website is https://www.gmmalliet.com/
Augusta Hawke by G.M. Malliet. Severn House, 2022. ISBN 978144830602 (hardcover), 240p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley to review for a journal.
