G. M. Malliet Archives – Carol's Notebook

Author: G. M. Malliet

Malliet did post-graduate work at Oxford University after earning a graduate degree from the University of Cambridge, the setting for her earlier series, the St. Just mysteries. Raised in a military family, she spent her childhood in Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Hawaii and has lived in places ranging from Japan to Europe, but she most enjoyed living in the U.K. She and her husband live across the river from Washington, D.C., in the colonial “village” of Old Town, Alexandria. Her hobbies include reading, hiking in the Blue Ridge, cooking vegetarian meals, and planning the next vacation. She writes full time nearly every day, and is writing a screenplay in addition to her mystery novels and short stories. She gets her ideas from people watching, particularly in airport waiting areas, train stations, parks, and restaurants.

I skipped #4 in the Max Tudor series, mostly because Father Max was getting married and having a baby and I just didn't want to read about the new family, but I just couldn't pass up the cover for The Haunted Season. Apparently I didn't need to worry about the baby. He is so well-behaved and calm and peaceful that he barely causes a ripple in Max's life. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised, his mother after all is nearly perfect and a healer to boot. Hmm, that sounded meaner than I meant it to. I don't dislike Awena, and in all honestly she's not in much of this book. Lord Baaden-Boomethistle is our deceased, decapitated by a wire strung between two trees while he was out riding his horse. We've got several suspects, mostly members of his family. There are a couple clues, a few secrets, and of course Max manages to put it all together, with some help from...

Good points - I like Max. He's a good guy with a true calling who doesn't judge others. For a not necessarily "Christian" mystery, I think it's better at presenting religious lessons than some of the preachier ones. He makes sense as a detective, too, since he's former MI5. It's reasonable that the bishop would send him to investigate. The abbey is a good setting and the nuns are an interesting lot. Each has a past, but those don't count anymore, since they've joined the sisters. The nuns are walking a fine line between being separate from the world and making money by selling their products and having guests stay. Max's relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Awena, stays in the background. I was afraid it would dominate this one after the end of #3, but it didn't. Awena's a great character, very in touch with nature and the seasons, but I don't necessarily like an overly complicated romance to intrude on a mystery. The...

Author: G. M. Malliet

The Haunted Season by G. M. Malliet

A Demon Summer by G. M. Malliet