Just Another Dead Author

My Thoughts:Just Another Dead Author is a cozy, bookish mystery that lets you wander into a writers’ retreat in the French countryside—and then turns it deadly. When a famed author drops dead mid-lecture, Berit Gardner, invited to the retreat, can’t help but dig in, and the local Commissaire (senior police officer) isn’t thrilled to have a novelist poking into her investigation.What worked best for me was the setting and cast—Bivald really brought the château to life with its mix of authors, agents, aspiring writers, and all the hidden tensions simmering beneath the surface. I loved how the quiet elegance of the place contrasted with the darker secrets. Berit made a great sleuth too—observant, calm under pressure, and willing to dig into the truth. The mystery kept me guessing with plenty of suspects, red herrings, and surprising reveals.That said, the story did start a bit slowly, with the first half focusing more on character introductions and atmosphere than plot momentum, which took some patience. A few twists felt lightly foreshadowed, and some of the secondary characters never fully came alive. The tone sometimes wavered between cozy charm and serious mystery, but overall I thought Bivald balanced it well and delivered a satisfying read.FInal thoughts:If you like mysteries set in literary circles, with clever sleuthing, quiet tension, and a touch of atmosphere, this one’s a treat. It’s more cozy than thriller, but still twisty and engaging with plenty of charm.I received an advanced review digital copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this second installment of the cozy mystery series featuring Berit Gardner, author & sleuth. The setting (a writer's retreat in France) was perfect, the characters, especially Berit, well drawn & the interactions interspersed with amusing dialogue. My only criticism would be that the beginning was a bit slow but once I got into it, it was great fun. Katarina Bivalvd is on my list of authors to follow for new releases.

Just Another Dead Author, book 2 in the Berit Gardner series.I enjoyed this cozy mystery, and really had no clue who the murderer was until the very end when they were revealed. I thought the setting was just perfect for a murder mystery, authors on a retreat who sort of don't even bat an eye when one of the famous authors with them dies under suspicious circumstances. I found it amusing that some of the authors were excited to be involved in a murder mystery as it is great for a book! Because this is a group of authors though, it also makes narrowing down a suspect quite difficult as some of them have done their own research into murder methods for their own stories. Which one of them could have taken that research and used it in real life? Also, the author who was killed, well quite literally everyone at the retreat dislikes him for some reason or another, so narrowing down motive is extremely difficult.Berit is a great sleuther, and continues to help the investigation, even when the local police are less than thrilled with her continued involvement. Perhaps she is the actual killer and is just trying to throw everyone off her scent by investigating the murder herself? Admittedly though, Berit is part of the author retreat, and has 24/7 access to the other suspects, so the police can't deny that Berit is a great person to assist. As the retreat continues, and they are no closer to finding the suspect, another grave incident occurs, and now this is a double homicide investigation. With the retreat coming to an end, will Berit and the local police find the suspect before they all return home? There are quite a few twists and turns in the case that keeps the readers on their toes!Some fav quotes:""I wouldn't mind walking over his dead body to succeed," she said quietly. "If I ever got the chance, I would dance across it.""""I don't trust thin people," John Wright said to a woman who looked like she had never eaten a single french fry in her life.""The setting was so idyllic, Berit had to remind herself that one of them was a murderer. Evening sun, vineyard, murderer.. Clinking wineglasses, an old transistor radio playing Edith Piaf, murderer. Laughing people, smiling people, murderer.""Do you know what my crime is, my real crime, the one I will be punished for if I ever get caught? I killed a rich white man. Perhaps the only life that has consistently mattered. Even historically."""It's hardly going to hurt him now," Nicole reasoned. "He's just another dead author.""Thank you so much to netgalley, poisoned pen press, and the author for a copy of this book!

I liked it, I thought it was kinda cool how it all unravels in a writers retreat. But I also found it a bit slow, a bit too long and sometimes a bit boring. But the beginning and end were really where my attention was. The audiobook was great, I’m glad that I had the audiobook to follow with the e-book because otherwise it would’ve taken me longer to get through it.

A group of authors, publishers and potential authors attend a writer’s retreat in France. While there, John Wright, the most famous author attending, is murdered. Berit is also an author, who involved herself on solving a murder in her small town, and she is determined to catch the killer. Roche is the police officer who fails to keep Berit away from the case. There are many characters, which complicate the case, but make it interesting for the reader. Recommended for cozy mystery lovers.