Coffeetown Press has reissued the first four novels of Hazel Holt’s Mrs. Malory mysteries, a classic “cozy” mystery series that takes place in the fictional English town of Taviscomb and features a forthright, middle-aged female detective:* Gone Away (AKA Mrs. Malory Investigates, 178 pp, ISBN: 978-1-60381-049-4—Paper, 978-1-60381-050-0—case-bound);
* The Cruellest Month, 172 pp, ISBN: 978-1-60381-052-4—Paper, 978-1-60381-053-1—case-bound;
* The Shortest Journey, 172 pp, ISBN: 978-1-60381-055-5—Paper, 978-1-60381-056-2—case-bound; and
* Mrs. Malory and the Festival Murder, 180 pp, ISBN: 978-1-60381-046-3—Paper, ISBN: 978-1-60381-047-0—case-bound).
The retail price of each book is $15.95; $23.95 for case-bound editions. Bookstores and libraries can purchase paperback and case-bound editions through the Baker & Taylor catalog; bookstores can also order paperbacks at wholesale prices by contacting info@coffeetownpress.com. All four books are available in Kindle ($4.95) and paperback ($15.95) editions on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, and Amazon.fr. Other electronic versions can be purchased on Smashwords ($4.95).
“I am, of course, delighted that the first four Mrs. Malory books have been reprinted,” says Mrs. Holt. “I still manage to produce one a year. Since the main characters appear in all books, it is best to read [all nineteen] in sequence, but each can stand alone.”
When asked if she has much in common with her fictional heroine, Holt says, “Mrs. M has many of my opinions but not my lifestyle—she is far more energetic, a bit younger, and much more involved with local affairs. I’ve never sat on a committee in my life. I'm delighted to say I’m NOT a widow, but I do have a son (who was a lawyer but is now a successful novelist), a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. I read English at Cambridge but was never an academic as such. I also have a good friend who is much like Rosemary.” To read more from this interview, please see HazelHolt.Coffeetownpress.com.
Hazel Holt is a graduate of Newham College, Cambridge. Her long association with Barbara Pym led to her becoming Pym's literary executor. Her biography of Pym, A Lot to Ask, met with wide critical acclaim. A former television reviewer, editor and feature writer, she now lives in Somerset, on the edge of Exmoor, with her retired husband and their Siamese cat, Flip. Her son is writer Tom Holt.