Invitation to Die

Written by Helen Smith

Narrated by Alison Larkin

Twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles is out of work…again. So when famous romance author Morgana Blakely offers her a job helping out at a conference in London, Emily accepts. Just as eagerly, American blogger Winnie Kraster accepts an invitation from Morgana to attend as a guest, not realizing she has, in effect, accepted an invitation to die.

As a cast of oddball characters assembles at the conference hotel, grievances, differences, and secrets begin to emerge. When Winnie goes missing, and then is found murdered nearby, Emily begins to suspect that someone involved with the conference is responsible. Could it be one of the organizers, one of the authors, a member of the hotel staff, or even the supplier of the chocolates for the conference gift bags? Emily teams up with guest speaker and eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to find out.

Offbeat and engaging, this entertaining comic mystery is the first full-length novel featuring amateur British sleuth Emily Castles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781480556362

Helen Smith

Helen Smith is a novelist and play-wright and the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award. In addition to Alison Wonderland, she is the author of Being Light, The Miracle Inspector, and two children’s books. Her plays have been produced to critical acclaim in the United Kingdom. She has traveled all over the world, and currently lives in London.

Reviews for Invitation to Die

[jtck121166 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Alarm bells ring when characters are all involved in amateur writing classes, competitions and, er, reviews.

Sample sentence: 'In the gray, historic city of Edinburgh, in Scotland, Archie Mears opened his notebook and took the lid off his pen.'

Vanity publishing. Rubbish.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, London, writers Droll humor and wacky characters are the best parts of this book. There is something a little dull with the plot, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It just didn't suit me.Purchased as Whispersync on the cheap courtesy of Book Gorilla. Alison Larkin is an expressive narrator.

[jbennett_733672 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I chose this book because it was advertised as a Kindle single and had good reviews which implied that it was fun.
It's not terribly well written, but I enjoyed it as a light read. The characters are flamboyant and the story moves along at a good pace.