Faked to Death: A Simon Kirby-Jones Mystery by Dean James

                 My favorite vampire sleuth is back in this second book of the series.  This time Simon is off to be part of a writers’ conference held at the home of Lady Hermione Kinsale.  She has brought together a group of respected authors for what is supposed to be an educational and inspiring week for aspiring writers.  Then the unexpected happens: an imposter and a murder.              

                During the conference, well-known author Dorinda Darlington is killed.  Well, she is but she is not. The true Dorinda Darlington is Simon.  He uses the name as a pen name in order to keep his true identity a secret.  The reason he was invited to the conference is for the historical books Simon writes under his own name.  To tell the truth, Simon was not too thrilled about going to the conference in the first place.  Then he saw the name Dorinda Darlington on the name of presenters.  Simon knew an imposter would be at the conference.  In order to figure out what was going on, he had to attend the conference himself.

                Pretending to be Dorinda Darlington is not the only thing the imposter is doing.  While at the conference, Simon discovers she is also blackmailing the other authors.  So is Simon’s agent, Nina Yaknova.  Simon already suspected Nina was behind the blackmailing scheme.  Now that he knows she is also a blackmailer, he begins to see who she truly is and questions his relationship with her.  That, however, must be put to the side to some extent.  There is a murder to solve.  Then there are two when a conference attendee is found dead.             

                Once again, Simon does not lack for suspects.  The other authors are quite unique characters and who knows what they are truly capable of.  First is Patty Ann Putney.  She writes mysteries and wanders around with a stuffed purple bunny.  Patty Ann treats the bunny as though it is alive.  Then there is Dexter Harbaugh.  His mystery novels are quite violent and anti-women.  George Austen-Hare is a little different.  He writes romances under a pen name.  George has also had more than one affair with people attached to the conference.  The famous British crime novelist is Isabella Veryan.  She has quite a secret she has been keeping for years.  Then there is Ashford Dunn.  He is a new American author with claims of being a lawyer.  The truth is he cannot write and Ashford’s success is expected to come from his good looks.  Any one of these people could be the murderer.  However, they are not the only possibilities.  There are a few others that could have done in the imposter and the attendee.       

                This book had so much going on. Not only were there the murders, but there were so many secrets as well. I loved trying to figure everything out. It was also good to see Simon and Detective Inspector Robin Chase working together again. I think they would make a great couple. Now if only Giles would get out of the way.