Unsolicited
First Paragraph
When I received the telegram in Skopelos, I should have wired my regrets immediately: “Thanks, but no thanks. Having far too much fun leading sailing holidays. Must respectfully decline offer to take charge of family firm. Stop.”
Instead, I said I’d be on the next plane, and it nearly cost me my life.
I’d had reservations about coming back to manage the small, sedate publishing house I’d inherited, but my worst fear was that I would die of boredom. No one told me that book publishing was a murderous business, and that within a single week in the not-so-distant future I would barely escape death in a dozen exotic forms.
“…an action-packed, suspenseful thriller, with mystery that grows downright spooky before it is all very satisfactorily wrapped up in an exciting man-against-the-sea climax off the coast of Nantucket. There’s never a dull page in this international page-turner…we hope to hear from [Kaewert] again. She is good.”
“I was thoroughly captivated by this book. The plot moved along at a fast pace, and certainly held my interest throughout. All of the characters were believable, and Alex, himself, is a likable and effective protagonist. As I read, I was reminded more and more of the early Dick Francis novels…Like Francis, Ms. Kaewert writes about a milieu with which she is familiar, and this adds to the realism of the novel. I recommend this new mystery highly, and await further offerings from this author.”
“Kaewert writes in the style of Dick Francis – part mystery, part thriller, good plotting with characters we all care for.”
“Publishing can get pretty deadly in England, as evidenced in Julie Wallin Kaewert’s engaging and complex thriller, Unsolicited…Unsolicited appeals on several levels, not the least of which is the character of Alex, a protagonist directly from the Dick Francis school of strong yet vulnerable, self-reliant young men. The author skillfully incorporates the compelling subject of the missing manuscript…into the framework of the story. Adding to the pleasure here are vicious rivalries between various publishers in London, giving the novel an air of authenticity unusual in mysteries. Definitely a sleeper.”
“…a rollercoaster ride of thrills…With typical British style and wit, Unsolicited is one of the better examples of the English way of writing. Eschewing explicit sex and violence, she creates a story with an actual plot. How amazing.”
“…Kaewert, who for many years worked for a London publisher, uses this background admirably in Unsolicited…With its complicated plot, unassuming amateur sleuth and low-key love story, the book is very much an old-fashioned, classical English mystery that, but for a few modern twists, could have been written in the days of Michael Innes or Nicholas Blake.”