Killing Adonis (Poisoned Pen Press Mysteries (Hardcover)) - Hardcover

Donellan, J M

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1464207054 ISBN 13: 9781464207051

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2017

Synopsis

"This first mystery from Donellan will remind many readers of Tom Robbins' work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor... A most unusual mystery, indeed." ―Kirkus Reviews STARRED review

Freya Miller, funny and tenacious with a taste for vodka, escapes a recent tragedy by answering an advertisement for a nursing job that promises LIGHT DUTIES. LARGE PAY. NO QUESTIONS ASKED OR ANSWERED. Her new employer is the infamous, eccentric, and stupendously rich Vincetti family, heads of the Halcyon Corporation. Her task will be to care for their adored heir, Elijah, who is currently lying in a coma amidst an armada of premium machinery. The Vincettis claim this golden boy is everything from a saint to a genius, but they refuse to reveal how he entered a comatose state.

As Freya explores the labyrinthine Vincetti mansion and the secrets it holds, she becomes aware that the family members are far more deluded and dangerous than rumored. Why, during the next few weeks, do the heads of rival corporations rapidly fall prey to a series of elaborate executions? Do Vincettis pre-plan disasters like oil spills so that their rivals are squelched and their humanitarian responses get prime press coverage?

Freya befriends Jack Vincetti, the black sheep whose rare illness keeps him shut away. She's a fan of his sole novel, but now she learns that he is writing a new book with a storyline that has uncanny similarities to the recent murders.

Things take an even more bizarre turn when the Vincettis host a birthday party for Elijah, wheeling him out in a tuxedo and acting almost as if he is conscious. Freya befriends Elijah's fiancée, Rosaline, and discovers that she is the heir to one of Halcyon's major rival corporations. A wedding will merge the two companies and grant Halcyon dominance in the global pharmaceutical industry.

It has been said that comedies always end with weddings, tragedies with funerals. This story ends with both a bride and a body count. J.M. Donellan's dazzling North American debut novel mixes outlandish, eccentric storylines with cinematic zest.

About this title

About the Author:

J.M. Donellan is a writer, musician, poet, radio DJ and teacher. He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man whilst standing next to Oscar Wilde's grave in Paris. His other published works include A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India, Zeb and the Great Ruckus and the poetry collection Stendhal Syndrome. He has performed at the Sydney Opera House, TEDx, Sydney Writers' Festival, numerous bars, basements and not-quite-legal warehouse parties.

Review:

"Australian author Donellan (A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India) makes his U.S. debut with this delicious romp, which includes a bit of social consciousness. In a Brisbane bar, with a Moscow Mule in hand, nurse Freya Miller, who has always dreamed of becoming the Florence Nightingale of East Timor, is reconsidering her future. A friend shows her an ad for a private nurse that reads: "Light duties. Large pay. No questions asked or answered." In an alcoholic haze, Freya sends off her résumé and is shocked into sobriety when she's invited to come for an interview at the home of one of the world's most powerful families. So begins this racy, well-paced, action-packed, and funny tale of twisted love, gruesome death, steadfast friendship, awesome greed, and familial madness - not to mention penguins in sweaters. Donellan has a gift for witty turns of phrase and dialogue that jumps off the page and makes you smile." (Publishers Weekly)

"The plot of this delightful mystery keeps the reader up on what's happening without giving away the surprising ending until the proper time. Killing Adonis is a debut work for the author. I would like to spend some more time with Freya in the future." (Mary Ann Smyth Bookloons)

"I laughed from beginning to end with this book. I can't even. I just can't....I loved this book so much I highlighted examples of exactly why I loved this brilliant writing so much but realized it may not be appropriate for...em...people without a certain type of funny bone. My review won't do it justice, but this book is literally laugh-out-loud inappropriate (my favorite) and I really need to follow J.M. Donellan's works closely." (roxi Net Goodreads)

"From a small, bumptious publisher out of the mainstream in Scottsdale, Ariz. perhaps even thumbing their noses at the two-martini Manhattan lunch bunch comes this year's most mind-blowing and droll crime fiction book. Poisoned Pen Press will release Australian writer J.M. Donellan's debut novel Killing Adonis on Dec. 16. Notwithstanding the radar-like gathering of hot new releases by Maria's Bookshop's Jeanne Costello, and our finely attuned public libraries, you're probably going to have to order this book. I promise you won't be disappointed if you do....I can't keep relating the outrageous circumstances making up this brilliant story. There is nothing not to like about Killing Adonis." (Jeffrey Mannix Murder Ink)

"This first mystery from Donellan (A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India, 2009) will remind many readers of Tom Robbins' work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor. A most unusual mystery, indeed." (starred review) (Kirkus Reviews)

About this edition

• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1464207054
• ISBN 13: 9781464207051
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 306