Sam Clair

4 primary works Complete

A Murder of Magpies

by Judith Flanders

Published 20 March 2014

"A witty, entertaining mystery featuring a hilarious, sharp as a tack new amateur sleuth from the critically acclaimed author of The Invention of Murder. It's just another day at the office for book editor Samantha Clair. Checking jacket copy for howlers, wondering how to break it to her star novelist that her latest effort is utterly unpublishable, lunch scheduled with gossipy author Kit Lowell, whose new book will deliciously dish the dirt on the fashion industry. But little does she know how much trouble Kit's book is about to cause. Before it even goes to print. When police inspector Field turns up at the venerable offices of Timmins & Ross, asking questions about an undelivered package that was addressed to Sam, she knows something is wrong. The messenger sent to deliver the package was murdered, and then Kit goes missing. Suddenly, Sam's nine-to-five life is turned upside down and she is propelled into a criminal investigation. Someone doesn't want Kit's scandalous manuscript published and unless Sam can put the pieces together in time, they'll do anything to stop it. With her deliciously fun, cleverly written debut novel, acclaimed author Judith Flanders introduces readers to an enormously enjoyable, too-smart-for-her-own-good new amateur sleuth, as well as a colorful cast of characters including Sam's witty assistant, effortlessly glamorous mother, and the handsome inspector Field. A whip-smart, impeccably crafted mystery, this tremendously entertaining novel will have readers flying through the pages"--

A Bed of Scorpions

by Judith Flanders

Published 1 January 2015

What's an editor to do with so many demands? Do you deal with the morning's pile of manuscript submissions first? Or the swine from sales who steals all the chocolate digestives? Or do you concentrate on your ex-lover, whose business partner has just been found dead in their art gallery, slumped over his desk with a gun in his hand? It's another day at Timmins & Ross publishing house, but when sharp-tongued editor Samantha Clair's CID boyfriend is brought in to investigate Frank Compton's death, her loyalties become stretched. And when one of Aidan Merriam's artists is found dead in identical circumstances, Sam takes on the art world and the CID, armed with nothing more than her reliable weapons: satire, cynicism and a stock of irrelevant information culled from novels.

A Cast of Vultures

by Judith Flanders

Published 24 March 2016

"There was every possibility that I was dead, and my brain hadn't got the memo. Or maybe it was that I wished I were dead. On reflection, that was more likely. Normally sharp-witted, book editor Sam Clair stumbles through a post-launch party morning with the hangover to end all hangovers. But before the Nurofen has even kicked in, she finds herself entangled in an elaborate saga of missing neighbors, suspected arson and an odd, unidentified body. By the time the grizzly news breaks that the fire has claimed another victim, Sam is already hot in pursuit. Armed once again with her biting commentary, her boyfriend Inspector Jake Field, and her stalwart Goth assistant, Sam must track down the murderer and face a pair from Thugs 'R' Us in this uproariously funny and fast-paced mystery in this critically acclaimed series from New York Times bestseller Judith Flanders"--

A Howl of Wolves

by Judith Flanders

Published 15 May 2018

Book editor and amateur sleuth Samantha Clair attends a play filled with gruesome deaths--one of which is real.

Sam Clair figures she'll be a good sport and spend a night out at the theater in support of her upstairs neighbors, who have small parts in a play in the West End. Boyfriend (a Scotland Yard detective) and allround good sport Jake Field agrees to tag along to what is apparently an extra bloody play filled with dramatic gory deaths galore. So Sam expects an evening filled with faux fatalities. Until, that is, the curtain opens to the second act revealing a dummy hanging from the rafters, who's been made up to look suspiciously like Campbell Davison, the director of the production. 

When Sam sees the horrified faces of the actors onstage, she realizes that this is indeed not a dummy, but Davison himself and this death is not part of the show. Now everyone wants to know who killed Campbell Davison? 

As Sam learns more about the murdered man, she discovers that he wasn't all that well-liked amongst the cast and crew, so the suspect list grows. The show must go on but Sam knows a murderer must be apprehended so she sets out to find out what happened and why.