I have enjoyed G.M. Malliet other series for years, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I couldn’t resist requesting it.
The Detective Inspector St. Just and his fiancé Portia have gone to Cambridge for a conference. The Detective Inspector St. Just is really just in town to accompany Portia, however what happens at the opening dinner is definitely in his wheelhouse.

This book tackles how old school institutions work and even looks at book plagiarism. I found the latter point especially interesting. G.M. Malliet also drops an Easter egg for those who read her other series.

I gave this book 4 stars. I thought it was good, well-plotted and used red herrings sparingly without overdoing them. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a whodunit. However, I wonder if I might have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t my first book in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for my free Advanced Reader’s Copy.

I enjoyed the return of St. Just. A solid entry in the series and I look forward to many more titles with our stalwart DCI.

Detective chief inspector St. Just attends a reception for an author along with his author wife Portia at Oxford. The author ends up dead and his background iffy. The publishing company is in financial trouble. Lots of suspects in service or academic. Bad behavior everywhere. Excellent drama in academic setting.

G. M. Malliet has mastered the cozy police procedural in the St. Just mysteries. Death in Print is the fifth book in the series. Jason Verdoodt is the darling of the publishing world; a debut author of an international bestseller. Jason also is an Oxford professor and a horrible person. Castle Publishing, which owes its prestige to Jason, hosts a party for him at Oxford. Detective Chief Inspector St. Just of the Cambridge police and his fiancée, Portia, a mystery novelist and Cambridge don, are among the guests. When Jason is found dead, St. Just is thrown into the murder investigation.

The book is easy to read and provides some interesting commentary on the publishing world. I did have to suspend some belief that St. Just could be a major force in the investigation when the Oxford police are right there. I was slightly disappointed in the ending -- it felt rushed, as though Malliet was on a deadline and just had to finish the book. In my opinion, the series needs to be read in order. If you enjoy the St. Just series then check out the author's Max Tudor series (there is even a reference to Max in this book, which was fun).

I’ve been up and down on GM Malliet’s books over the years, and this one (and this series as a whole) definitely skews more toward the better end of her literary output.

This is far better than the Max Tudor books both in terms of quality of plot as well as embodiment of charm without devolving into hokiness.

For an “elevated cozy,” the structure and quality of mystery and solve is pretty good, and it’s got some decent atmosphere and better than average sense of place. I actually wish the whole series was set in Oxford, because that added a lot to the feel of the book and paired well with both its tone and style.

There’s not much to set this apart from others in its subgenre in terms of uniqueness and there are better historical cozies out there by almost any criteria, but it’s a good enough read if you’re a fan of this type of story, and the Oxford setting adds a lot to this installment in the series specifically.

I love St Just mysteries and this one is the best I read so far. There's even the mention of a former spy turned vicar that could be Max Tudor and I would very happy to read a new mystery featuring him.
G.M. Malliet delivers a complex, twisty and multilayered mystery that kept me turning pages and guessing till the last page. It's a page turner full of surprises but also full of sharp remarks about the life of a writer, publishing world and life in historical college in Oxford.
I loved every moment and and thoroughly enjoyed it even if Portia if more of a side characters.
Very entertaining and compelling I strongly recommend it

I was happy to read a new entry in the St. Just mystery series since it has been a few years. DCI Arthur St. Just and fiancée Portia are attending an Oxford reception for celebrated author Jason Verdoodt. When the author is found dead, St. Just discovers there are no lack of motives for someone to kill the author. A great read!

DCI Arthur St. Just and his fiancee Portia De’ath are invited to a reception for a bestselling author Jason Verdoot but are drawn into a murder investigation when Jason is found dead at the bottom of the stairs.
The book is easy to read and moves at a fair pace and has plenty of twists and turns.
Jason has many enemies and anyone of them could have been the murderer will St. Just get his man?
A great cosy mystery that kept me guessing !
Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House.

St Rumwold’s College, Oxford, is holding a reception to celebrate their tutor-cum-best selling author Jason Verdoodt. Verdoodt has hit the big time with his first novel, but not everyone is ecstatic about his success. His publishing company are concerned about him leaving them for a bigger company, his various girlfriends are worried that he might leave them for one of his other girlfriends, and generally speaking, he’s a bit of a git. So it’s not a massive surprise that before the reception really gets going, Verdoodt is found dead at the foot of a flight of stairs.
DCI Arthur St Just, in town with his fiancée, crime writer Portia De’Ath (honestly, that’s her name) and finds himself drawn into the investigation. But with many motives and a lot of suspects, can St Just find the killer?
This is the fifth St Just title from G M Malliet, who I’ve encountered a good while ago when I reviewed Wicked Autumn many moons ago. No idea why I didn’t return to the author as I did rather enjoy that book, and, as ever, I said that I’d return to the author and then promptly never did. No idea why – I was a young, edgy blogger at the time, so was probably sulking because the publisher didn’t send me a copy of the next book. Ah, my mis-spent youth…
Well, just as I enjoyed that one, I enjoyed this one too, for the most part. It’s a danger to set books in my old stomping ground of Oxford University, so I would point out a) yes, Tolkien was at Merton, but the College doesn’t boast about it and b) a bigger niggle, it’s not exactly a magical mystery tour from St Helen’s Passage to the Turf Tavern – you just follow the passage, you can’t get lost with a single right turn. Oh, and c) plenty of Fellows can say the word “Cambridge” without resorting to “the other place”. Trust me, I’ve been at plenty of college dinners…
Right, that’s got that off my chest. On to the book, which is a well-constructed mystery, with nicely paced reveals throughout and while I was never quite sure why the useless Oxford police were so willing to allow the competent Cambridge police DCI to join in the investigation, it does, thankfully, not bother with trying to pad pages with an unnecessary rivalry. The reader is kept guessing as to which of the victim’s sins have caught up with him and some nice concepts come into play as the book progresses.
It stumbles a bit at the end, with the murderer caught trying to murder someone – there’s some justification as to why St Just should have spotted them, but I’d rather the sleuth actually did this before arresting the killer. Also, there was quite a lot of the killer’s backstory that only comes out after the fact, as well as making them something of a psychopath at the end of the day.
All in all, I did enjoy this one despite my niggles above – sorry, but read a lot of books on holiday recently and it’s the niggles that tend to stick in my memory – and will definitely keep an eye out for more from the author.
Death In Print is out on August 1st from Severn House Publishing. Many thanks for the review e-book.

I received this Advance Reader Copy in return for an honest review. Although the fifth in this series, it's easily read as a stand-alone book. I loved this mystery, up until the final chapter when the denouement became a strange sort of 'xx did it'..... and a few pages later, you're told who 'xxx' is. And the reason for the murder was a bit far-fetched to me. Up until the last chapter, it was a wonderfully written mystery, set in Oxford and populated with great characters. I'm going to read the first four books as I really liked the protagonist and his fiancee. (Would have made this a 5 star review except for the last chapter).

Perils of publishing!

Detective Chief Inspector St. Just is attending a literary event in Oxford with his fiancé crime writer and Cambridge don, Portia De’Ath.
A reasonably new publishing house, Castle Publishing, the brainchild of Sir Boniface Castle, has burst on the scene poaching exceptional writers and editors and having now published a literary masterpiece by Jason Verdoodt, The White Owl.
Unfortunately the drinks and dinner for the bright new star of the literary world turns into a murder scene. Of course St. Just ends up pursuing the case along with the local constabulary.
The murdered man was a right manipulative piece. His modus operandi included sexual harassment, denigrating everyone, a sense of entitlement, a faked biography, and it now appears, plagiarism.
Sparse writing with delightful observations on St. Just’s part presents an engaging cosy murder mystery.
I did wonder about the prologue and what happened.
All was revealed later.
Get set for a fascinating read.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I was given Death in Print by G.M. Mallet in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley. Oxford is a lovely location for a murder mystery. This book reminds me of the Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour television shows because it has a theatrical element to the writing style and plot. I enjoyed the mystery, although it did feel a little drawn out. Overall, St. Just is a likable detective you would want on your side.

Jason Verdoot- Oxford tutor and author-is pretty annoying (and more) but people still show up for his reception at St Rumwolds. Among them, luckily, are DCI Arthur St. Just and his fiance Portia De'Ath, who also happens to be a mystery writer because Verdoot is found murdered at the bottom of the stairs. St Just offers his help to the Thames Valley force and together with Portia, works through the (long) list of suspects. This feels more like a cozy than a procedural but it's a good read for fans of British crime novels. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Will be fine as a standalone.

It has been a while since I have read anything by G M Malliet. I enjoyed the Max Tudor series a great deal and quite liked the first of the St Just books. However I found this, the fifth instalment, somewhat disappointing.

The writing is mundane and I detected no evidence of humour or satirising of the academic or publishing worlds in which the novel is set. References to Colin Dexter’s Morse were bolted on and a few real locations such as the Randolph do feature,but there was little Oxford atmosphere. The characters are a bit predictable.

The culprit was obvious at an early stage and the motive not difficult to guess, although there was a huge background information dump towards the end in order to create a red herring and another to explain the core murder. The second murder came late on and added nothing to the investigation.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Severn House for the digital review copy.

This murder in Oxford is another complicated case for St. Just. It happens while he and Portia are visiting and he gets pulled in by the man in charge. I love all his snarky thoughts that are never spoken aloud to suspects and witnesses. They are priceless! If you like subtle English snark you will love St. Just.

DCI Arthur St. Just accompanied his fiancé Portia Death to Oxford University for an event to celebrate author Jason Verdoodt and his bestselling first book. When he is found dead St. Just helps with the investigation.
An enjoyable modern cozy mystery, the fifth in the series which can easily be read as a standalone story.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

Another enjoyable British mystery featuring DCI St. Just and his fiancee/mystery writer Portia. They are in Oxford attending a publishing event when the guest of honor is discovered dead, apparently murdered. He was widely disliked, promiscuous, and had written an incredibly popular book. Suspects abound.

This is a witty series with a lot of dry British humor. St. Just and Portia don't spend much time together in this one as he is detecting and she is stuck in the hotel room writing and I did miss their interaction. Both the world of publishing and academe get agreeably skewered in this one.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

procedural, law-enforcement, author, university, murder-investigation, murder, due-diligence, England, sly-humor, publisher, mystery, secrets, crime-thriller, twisty, Thames-Valley, lies*****

How have I missed this author/series?
DCI Arthur St Just of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary and crime writer/Cambridge criminologist fiancée Portia De’Ath were attendant at the celebratory reception of best selling author Jason Verdoodt at St. Rumwold College when Verdoodt was found dead at the base of a major set of stairs. Not exactly an accident as the victim had had a combination of sedatives plus a very good wine and was not particularly well liked. Thank goodness that there is a cast of characters at the beginning! There are more than enough suspects, including the odd family running the publishing house that Verdoot was about to dump. All the characters are clearly represented, the plot twists are inventive, and the humor is somewhat sneaky. Loved it!

I requested and received an EARC copy from Severn House via NetGalley. Thank you!

G.M. Malliet writes three different mystery series. This is the fifth in the St. Just series; it is the first I have read and it worked well as a standalone. DCI St. Just of Cambridge is visiting Oxford with his fiancee, Portia, a crime fiction writer, to celebrate the success of author Jason Verdoot. The evening is spoiled when Verdoot is murdered. St. Just offers his assistance to Thames Valley police to investigate the many suspects.

This was a solid somewhat cozy mystery/police procedural with an interesting cast of characters. The author listed those characters with short descriptors at the beginning of the book which was much appreciated. There was some dry British humor interspersed throughout the book, as well as insight into the world of publishing. I enjoyed the references to the fictional Inspector Morse and the real actors who played in the two series about him; they are so much a part of Oxford popular culture.

"A celebration in Oxford for university tutor and bestselling author Jason Verdoot, attended by DCI St. Just and his fiancée Portia, is a night to remember...for all the wrong reasons.

University of Oxford tutor and bestselling author Jason Verdoodt has it all: acclaim, women, money...and an enemy or two. When he's found dead at the bottom of the stairs during a celebratory reception at St Rumwold's College, many wonder if seething jealousy of his literary success has turned someone's mind to murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just becomes inescapably drawn into an investigation that takes him down the historic streets of Oxford and into the hallowed halls of its university. Alongside his fiancée, crime fiction writer Portia De'Ath, he uncovers several motives for murdering the celebrated but insufferable Jason - whose next novel may be a threat to many in his orbit - and no shortage of suspects who are nursing a grudge from the first novel. Has someone decided to write revenge into the plot?"

To fill the Endeavour sized hole in your life.