"There was every possibility that I was dead, and my brain hadn’t got the memo. Or maybe it was that I wished I were dead. On reflection, that was more likely.

Usually clear-headed editor Samantha Clair stumbles through her post-book-party morning with the hangover to end all hangovers. But before the ibuprofen has even kicked in, she finds herself entangled in an elaborate saga of missing neighbors, suspected arson, and strange men offering free tattoos.

By the time the grisly news breaks that the fire has claimed a victim, Sam is already in pursuit. Never has comedy been so deadly as she faces down a pair from Thugs ’R’ Us, aided by nothing more than a Scotland Yard boyfriend, a stalwart Goth assistant, and an unnerving knowledge of London’s best farmer’s markets.

From the acclaimed bestselling author Judith Flanders, A Cast of Vultures continues the sharp-witted series starring book editor and amateur sleuth Samantha Clair."

Minotaur dropped me a line and it looks such fun doesn't it!

Even though I've never read the first two , this this can stand alone. Sam Clair is an editor for a publishing company. She has a sharp wit when observing situations or interacting with characters. The mystery is a good one in A Cast of Vultures, even though the reader quickly learns the identity of the killer. The great part was deducing why the killer did it.

Flanders writes an excellent comedic mystery. Book editor Samantha Clair wakes to a fire in an empty house in her neighborhood. When a body is found inside, Sam strikes out to find out if one of her neighbors is a killer.

I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A Cast of Vultures, by Judith Flanders had me laughing out loud almost every time I opened it. I enjoyed the story, and the characters were well written and believable.
Sam, our heroine is in the publishing business, and not your typical armchair detective. She's basically an introvert, and would much rather sit at home with a good book, than be out chasing down suspects. Her friends and neighbors however, have different ideas.

This book is full of quirky, likable characters, and vividly described locations. I look forward to reading the first two in this series, as well as future installments.

Judith Flanders' clever and entertaining third mystery starring London book editor Samantha Clair, A Cast of Vultures (St. Martin's, digital galley), benefits from its heroine's witty narration and an engaging supporting cast. Problems at the publishing house where Sam works are overshadowed by troubles in her neighborhood, where an arson case turns up squatters and a dead body. Of course, Sam's going to get involved, as will her cop boyfriend, her attorney mom, her elderly but reclusive neighbor, and her spunky editorial assistant. But it's Sam who's up a tree -- literally -- at Kew Gardens and hanging on for dear life while a couple of thugs down below calmly discuss her murder.

from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever

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Action packed mystery! Sam finds herself climbing over someone's balcony in order to search their neighbor's apartment and she doesn't even know the person! Somehow her editor life becomes interesting when she is caught up in the middle of searching for a missing person, arson, thugs, murder and being social when she really doesn't want to be.

Great character development! Third book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone and you won't be lost. Funny and towards the middle the action hits! Sam is one tough cookie.

I really enjoyed this! For some reason I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. I'm happy when something can surprise me!

This is actually the 3rd book in this series but I haven't read the first 2. I didn't find that to be a problem. I never felt like I was coming into the middle of something and feeling lost. So I do think this could be read without the benefit of the other two. Although, since I did enjoy this one, I will go back and read from the beginning:)

I really liked Sam as a character. She was a solitary, book loving, sarcastic, dry witted woman. I chuckled several times at the things she said. Somehow she gets herself involved in a murder investigation. That only finds herself into trouble a few times. But thanks to her cop boyfriend, Jake, she'll manage to get herself out of them. I like Jake too but now that I think about it, I mostly enjoyed all the characters. Anyway, I thought the mystery was well done. The whole time I was interested in the "truth".

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. (less)

A Cast of Vultures presents a unique setting of a book publishing world mixed with the CID of London. I enjoyed the bird's eye view of the publishing industry.

Sam Clair finds herself between friends, the law and the accused,as she tries to reconstruct on which side of the law the dead man was. Her over-the-top snarkiness makes her a character to love or hate. Paired with several unfamiliar British words and many swear words, she is a bit of a tart that I didn't relate to well.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I have voluntarily left a review, and all opinions are solely my own.

While I couldn't resist an Agatha Christie/Bridget Jones mashup going in I was a little hesitant. I mean how would this actually work? Agatha Christie is known for her clearly plotted precisely done mysteries and Bridget Jones is known for kind of being a mess. How it worked was delightfully! Sam's voice is breezy, chatty, and occasionally snarky and lots of fun. It felt like listening to a conversation with a best friend telling me all about the crazy stuff that had happened to her. In the middle of it all is a tightly wound complex little mystery with arson and a missing persons case thrown in.

I wasn't surprised to see that the author had spent a number of years working as an editor at publishing houses just like the Sam, the main character in this series. The scenes at Sam's work just felt so authentic that I could just feel it came from experience. As a reader I really enjoyed the look into the not so glamorous world of publishing! Along with the publishing house, there are a number of characters sprinkled through Sam's world from the residents of "the empty house", to her boyfried who just happens to work for CID, to her gardening neighbor who never leaves his apartment, over to Viv another gardening neighbor who plays an important role in getting her mixed up with the mystery.

If you're going for just a straight mystery this may not be the read for as there is quite a lot going on and at times the mystery is in the background. It never felt forgotten, there were just times it was't the focus. If you're looking for a book with a fun, intelligent if sometimes frazzled main character, love a bit of publishing house gossip, and don't mind a dead body and an additional felony or two then you can't miss with this one! I did note that this is actually the 3rd Sam Clair book but I was actually unaware of that until I finished this book. I don't think you'll have any problem diving right in with this one!

There's no simpler way to put this: I love Judith Flanders' Samantha Clair mysteries! Sam and I agree on meetings, shopping, and socializing. Now if I were only one-tenth as witty as she....

The mystery is a good one in A Cast of Vultures, even though the reader quickly learns the identity of the killer. The trick is in deducing why. In addition, Sam's impromptu investigation has some very scary moments in her home and at Kew Gardens-- and they showed me the importance of having a flashlight app on my smartphone.

Flanders also serves up another brilliant glimpse into the world of publishing. This time Sam's publishing house is restructuring in order to save money. The problem is, the experts that have been brought in have no clue what Sam and her co-workers actually do. Sound familiar?

The author (who is also one of the foremost social historians of the Victorian Era) has served up what is, to me, the perfect blend of mystery, the world of books, characters with whom you want to be best friends, wit, and humor. I don't want her to ever stop writing them. They are a delight, and if you haven't read any of them, I urge you to do so as quickly as possible.

Sam Clair finds herself involved in an arson, a case of missing neighbors and some strange men. When she finds out that someone had died in the fire, it's time to investigate. Fun, well written mystery series.

Sam Clair, snarky yet mild-mannered, introverted editor and sometime sleuth, finds herself threatened by flames in the third Sam Clair mystery A Cast of Vultures.

Sam has a wickedly sarcastic sense of humor that she doesn't always express aloud, but we are privy to it in her thoughts as the story progresses. For example: "It is, tragically, still illegal to force people to buy books at gunpoint. I don't know why this kind of restriction is allowed to remain on the statute books." (location 31 on my Kindle)

Sam has a neighborhood friend named Viv. Viv's friend and neighbor Dennis goes missing. Logically this means that Sam and Viv must break into his apartment to determine if this was a planned absence or if something dire has happened to him. After yet another in a series of fires in the area, Dennis is found, but many questions remain.

Much goes into Sam's efforts to find out what happened to Dennis. From calling his co-worker to pump him for information to following a shady character at the market that was reportedly an associate of Dennis's, Sam gets involved deeper and deeper into the mystery. Someone isn't happy about her interference though and as things escalate her life is at stake.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were mostly well drawn and interesting. I read it as a stand-alone, but felt that I might have benefitted from reading the first and/or second book in the series. I felt that would have fleshed some of the characters out more. I did like reading about her job as an editor as well as her exploits as she attempts to solve the mystery.

The mystery was well done. It starts out kind of slow, but accelerates as the book goes on. By the end, I was turning pages very quickly to find out what happened next.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's well written. The characters are interesting. Sam has a lovely snarky sense of humor. And the mystery is well plotted out. Don't be put off by this being the third book in the series. It can be read as a stand-alone and enjoyed. Just a word, there is nothing about birds in this mystery. If there are any vultures, they are the human type.

This edition of A Cast of Vultures is due out February 21, 2017 from Minotaur Books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks St. Martin's Press and netgalley for this ARC.

Didn't make it through the whole novel. It was just too mundane and everyday for me

I really, really enjoy Flanders' Sam Clair series, about an editor who finds herself mixed up in mysteries. Her writing is just really funny and engaging, and Sam is a likable and entertaining character. Flanders also tooooootally nails the intricacies of the publishing world--and I'm just as interested in her assistant and their office politics as I am in the case of the moment (this one involves a friend's missing neighbor, though things quickly grow more complicated--as they are wont to do, in a mystery!). I could quibble a bit with the plotting of this mystery, which relies on a lot of coincidences, BUT I enjoyed this book so much--seriously, really strong writing and characterization--that I don't even care. I can't wait for more from Flanders. A/A-.

A bit forced in the beginning. So much snark that it was painful to read. By midway the smart aleck commentary is there, as if it's for filler. Thankfully though it's less. By page two hundred, I had a mixed feeling of both being interested in the story, but counting the pages to the end.

However, the story is good, and even though I had a hard time getting past the snark, Sam is a rounded character. The only character out of the whole book that felt flat to me was her policeman boyfriend, Jake.
I wish Jake had more of a presence than what felt like the occasional one or two liner.

I have not read the other two books that preceded this book, but I will, this does seem like a good series to get into.

A Cast of Vultures
By Judith Flanders
Minotaur Books
February 21, 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

The morning after a book launch where alcohol was the only real requirement, London book editor Samantha Clair was still recovering as she began her Saturday morning errand-running and marketing. As the go-between for her reclusive neighbor and another gardener, Sam is unprepared to resist the plea from Viv to check on her own missing upstairs neighbor. Dennis Harefield has only been missing for several days, but senior Viv is insistent that the middle-aged man would have notified her before voluntarily taking a trip. The police are unconcerned, and his case falls even further off their list of priorities when a fire that forces out squatters breaks out in an abandoned building. When a body is discovered and drugs found in Harefield’s apartment, the police have an easy answer and quickly make arrests.

Sam has her own concerns as Timmons & Ross undergoes the “Great Reorganisation Battle,” yet another restructuring with the mission of “fixing” their editing and publishing divisions. The editors have reason to be wary of the management consultants, who are skilled at corporate-speak but clueless about the actual process of book-editing. Since Sam has seen more than her share of redundant reorganizations, she decides to focus on investigating whether Harefield was truly involved in the fire, and if a possible development project could have played a role. Sam’s boyfriend Inspector Jake Field may resignedly live with the chaos of her life, but they have decidedly different opinions on the legality of squatters and just how much she should be involved in police matters.

This second in the series is at its best when it focuses on the minutia of book publishing. The bafflement of consultants in the face of their efforts to measure and profitize art is a delight, as is the editors’ exasperation. Readers have the pleasure of witnessing how, as much as the editors champion and finely hone the books, most of their time is spent coddling and coaxing their authors in the public arena. What further makes this novel so enjoyable are the acerbic and sardonic observations of Sam, whose sharp witticisms and humor isn’t above a pun or two. Sam’s famous solicitor mother swoops in to provide unasked for – but often much needed – advice, often forcing Sam to act more maturely than she would prefer. The mystery plot is strong and well-crafted, but this novel is never more entertaining than when it satirizes the convoluted and often absurd world of publishing.

Our solitary and self-sufficient 40-something London book editor, Sam Clair, has seen a lot of changes in her life since we first met her in A Murder of Magpies. She has formed a supportive relationship with her reclusive upstairs neighbor, Mr. Rudiger, gotten closer to her other neighbors, the Lewises and their son Bim, and made other friends in her North London neighborhood. She has also acquired a part-time live-in, Jake Field, a London Police Detective. Sam has never enjoyed the endless meetings, schmoozing, and socializing that are so much a part of the publishing world but has learned to function well in it. Jake calls it "after-work work" which Sam views with an acid tongue and jaundiced eye.

Sam has been a reluctant and fearful sleuth on previous occasions and she hopes that is behind her. Jake, understandably, views her meddling in police work unfavorably and is concerned for her safety. However, her new friend, Viv, gets her involved in a mystery. The elderly Viv, who knows everyone and everything about them is concerned that her upstairs neighbor, Dennis Harefield, has not been seen for several days. Dennis is an apparently blameless council employee but he has also not shown up at work. Viv does all the usual things, calls the hospitals and the police who are not particularly in interested. Dennis, after all, is a grown man in his forties. She persuades Sam to help her do a spot of breaking and entering at Dennis' flat. Nothing seems amiss other than general untidiness and no sign that he might have gone on a trip. It is a dead end until there is a fire in an empty house nearby and the body of Dennis Harefield is found in the wreckage. It appears that he was the arsonist and this is the most recent in a string of local fires. Upon searching Harefield's apartment, the police find a substantial amount of cash, leading them to suspect drug dealing. The problem is, there was no money there when Viv and Sam searched. Sam's questions about Dennis Harefield lead her into great danger. Someone is prepared to kill her to stop her.

I highly recommend the Sam Clair mysteries. Sam is very likable, with her often laugh-out-loud take on publishing, management consultants, and life in general. After a lifetime of stubborn self-sufficiency, she has gathered a group of loyal supporters headed by her terrifyingly efficient mother, Helena, and Jake. She adds more people to her circle with Sam, a street kid whom she befriends, and the squatters who were living in the supposedly empty house where Dennis Harefield's body is discovered. My only quibble is her rather drawn out and somewhat unbelievable escape from thugs intent on killing her. Sam is far from athletic, in spite of bicycling on her errands, but "needs must" I suppose. Sam Clair is a character I would love to meet in real life.

Thanks so much to Minotaur and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.

RATING- 4.5 Stars

I loved the premise of A Cast of Vultures, but unfortunately I could not connect with the writing style. I have not given a star rating because I was not able to finish the novel. I look forward to reading more from Judith Flanders in the future. I wish Ms. Flanders great success with the release of A Cast of Vultures.

**Review will be published to blog on 19 Feb 2017 at 10:00AM EST**

I chose this book because:

Sounds like it was a hell of a party and I want to know what happened! I didn’t realise this book was part of a series until I looked it up on Goodreads after I started reading it; I haven’t read the previous two books in the series.

Upon reading it:

The party had nothing to do with the crime. It simply started off with a hangover, and then Sam was approached with a mystery. I suppose because I had imagined a crazy party with one thing leading to the next, I found this book to be a little slow-paced for a mystery and got bored by her publisher life. The story didn’t hold me in suspense like most mysteries do. Sam’s main approach to figuring out the mystery was inquiring for word on the street, which is more passive than I would have liked. There wasn’t any sense of immediate danger to keep me on edge until halfway through the book. But Sam is a likable character. She’s down-to-earth, has a good sense of humour, and I had a good time acquainting myself with her as the story progressed.

I didn’t think it was necessary to read the previous two books in the series to get into this one, as each book is a different “case” and could thus standalone, but looking at other reviews on Goodreads, most people have recommended starting with the first book, A Murder of Magpies. Admittedly, I might have been more invested in the story and its characters if I had started there!