The Murder Planner

L.C. Tyler

‘Ninety percent of detective fiction is crap…’ 

COULD you have a more ‘arresting’ opening line for a tale of murder most foul set against the backdrop of a publishing house?

With a deliciously dark and caustic brand of comedy setting the scene, it can mean only one thing… L.C. Tyler, the wittiest author in, yes, detective fiction is back to delight his army of fans, and he’s got a humour-packed humdinger for all lovers of irreverent crime romps.

A former civil servant and a past chair of the Crime Writers Association, Tyler (pictured below) is best known for his superb Herring comedy series starring unforgettable author and agent duo Ethelred Tressider and Elsie Thirkettle, and the dazzling John Grey historical series featuring a clever, sardonic lawyer operating during the reign of the restored King Charles II. And if you haven’t yet enjoyed the black humour and murderous deeds that make his books such an enjoyable and unmissable treat, then dive in now and discover the audaciously original The Murder Planner, a perfect blend of wit, stand-out characterisation, and devilish twists and turns.

Every perfect murder needs a cunning plot and nobody knows that better than Sable Knight, owner and Commissioning Editor at the London publishing house Day & Knight. Crime and detective fiction is Sable’s forte but behind the glossy covers and gripping blurbs there is a much darker and secret enterprise.

By day, Sable publishes crime books and by night, they’re brought to life. And her ‘special editorial services’ – an added extra developed by her former publishing partner Joe Day, now dead in either Spain or Portugal, Sable is not sure which – is turning out to be far more lucrative than the average publishing deal.

Some clients, otherwise known as would-be authors, need a little help plotting their entirely fictional killings and for the right (high!) price, Sable’s murder planning service can secretly commission other struggling writers – those who can pen good murder plots but not necessarily good stories – to devise purely hypothetical blueprints for a perfect crime. But when her latest client, the secretive Lady Flowerdew, walks into Sable’s office declaring, ‘I’m told you kill people and that you’re very good at it,’ the plot (or is that plan?) to murder her wealthy banker husband goes badly off script. And with a blackmailer now also in the mix, Sable discovers that the line between editor and accomplice is dangerously thinner than she thought.

This effortlessly funny, and yet wickedly plotted, murder escapade is an ingenious blend of hilarious satirical humour and literary lampooning as the best-loved tropes of traditional crime fiction are perfectly paired with piercingly acute observations and moments of pure slapstick comedy gold.

And with that now familiar twinkle in his eye, comedy magician Tyler conjures up an eclectic line-up of characters, each one exquisitely drawn and brought to life… but star of the show has to be the exhilarating Sable, a woman of razor-sharp wit, terrifying capabilities and penetrating put-downs but whose intentions often stray from the straight and narrow, and whose morals are most definitely questionable.

Written with the author’s priceless panache and limitless imagination, and packed full of brilliant twists, cunning red herrings and nail-biting suspense, The Murder Planner sees Tyler at his entertaining best…
(Allison & Busby, hardback, £16.99)