The Author Weekend

Zigman (Small World) skewers the publishing industry in this sly closed-circle whodunit. Faye Wader is the bestselling author of a mystery series featuring a math teacher-turned-gumshoe. Despite her success, she’s desperately jealous of Abby Schuss, a romantasy author with a larger fanbase. To narrow the gap between them, Faye plans a fan weekend on Massachusetts’s Great Misery Island. Fifty of her admirers sign up, including superfan Peggy Mercer. The ensuing events are recounted from the perspectives of Faye; her long-suffering assistant, Jade Smythe, who’s secretly invited Abby to the event for a panel; her agent, Hal Tinder, who fears he can’t sell Faye’s 15th novel given its emphasis on the protagonist’s menopausal anxieties; and her editor, Merry Golden. The weekend takes a turn when one of the guests dies, possibly by poisoning, and the remaining crew of mystery experts is left to unravel the case. The satire can be a bit heavy-handed: waiters describe the doughnuts available on Great Misery Island as “locally sourced,” and Faye’s publisher is called Hatchet House. Still, Zigman delivers a fizzy combination of send-up and murder mystery. It’s good fun. Agent: Stephanie Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (May)