Death By Chick Lit

by Lynn Harris

These days, it seems no one Lola knows can write a letter to the editor without having it optioned for a major motion picture. Sure, Lola thinks, I have a great geek-hottie husband and a cool apartment in “up and coming” Brooklyn—but just once, can’t I write some random article and have Jodie Foster call me for the film rights? Or jeez, okay, Minnie Driver. Just something? Then one night at a swanky book party, Lola finds her author friend Mimi McKee dead in the basement, throat slashed with a broken martini glass. And when the bodies of It-Girl writers begin to pile up, Lola starts asking dangerous Are the murders connected? Am I next? If not, um, why not? If I solve the mystery, then will my agent remember my name? As Lola digs deeper, the stakes grow higher. Will getting her hands on the killer—and the book deal bound to follow—mean losing the people she loves most? 

Genres: Mystery, Chick Lit, Fiction, Cozy, Book Club, Mystery Thriller

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Lynn Harris is author of the comic novel DEATH BY CHICK LIT, along with its prequel, MISS MEDIA, and several non-fiction books including BREAKUP GIRL TO THE RESCUE! She is also co-creator, with Chris Kalb, of the venerable website BreakupGirl.net. An award-winning journalist, she writes frequently for Glamour, Salon.com, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Nerve.com, Babble.com, and many others. She also wrote TabletMag.com's "The Rabbi's Wife" column, from experience. Her essays are included in many anthologies as well. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and young daughter and son."

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally passed this up. I personally am getting a bit tired of chick lit. However this turned out to be a bit more witty and fun than I expected. Some unexpected twists (At least as far as I was concerned), made the ending a bit of a surprise.

[Sharon Falduto]

Chick lit authors are turning up dead, and our heroine Lola--herself a writer who didn't quite get the acclaim she sought for her book--takes it upon herself to solve the murders. Finally, something NOT written by a Brit that still stands up to my exacting standards.

[Barbara Bengston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly enjoyable read.

[Margaret Pagnotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Witty and cute.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lola Summerville is jealous of all the chick lit authors who are signing book deals right and left and having their books optioned for movie deals before the printer has finished spitting out their first run. It doesn't help that everyone from taxi drivers to policemen are being asked to "tell their story" and make mega-bucks. And it's not like Lola hasn't written a book. She has and it's a good one--but no
one seems to notice. And she hasn't heard from her agent in ages.

Then, up-and-coming chick lit authors start dying faster than the deals have been made. And Lola has to wonder if the murders are connected--is there a chick-lit-hating madman on the loose? Will Lola be next? And, if she isn't on the hit list....well, then, why the heck not? Lola begins poking around when one of the suspects asks for her help and it isn't long before she's high-heels-deep in the mystery. She figures that if she can point the way to the killer, then she'll be able to sell the story in print and for a mega-bucks movie deal. She'll finally get the attention she deserves. But that won't happen if her investigations make the killer notice her first.

This is a fun, light-hearted mystery that pokes fun at the publishing world and the chick lit genre without lampooning or being too sarcastic. There are a lot of snappy, one-liners and a great deal of worry over relationships and impending mommy-hood--but all in good fun. This is definitely the book for anyone who wants to mix their mysteries with a chick lit flavor. There are several red herrings and a nifty twist to the plot before the culprit is caught. And a nice little happy ending for Lola and her long-suffering hubby. Three stars for a pleasant, fun read.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Jehnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ever faithful book-loving friend sent me Death by Chick Lit. It fills a great niche that she and I both read. We both love a good mystery and we both love a good mindless chick lit novel. So, when there's a chance to merge the two, it seems like a win-win situation. Lynn Harris's novel definitely fit that category.
Death by Chick Lit is a hilarious, satirical story about the media frenzy to publish anything and everything. Lola Sommerville, the novel-writing heroine, finds herself in the middle of a murder spree with fellow chick lit authors as the victims. Lola works to solve the crime for her own future in book writing while simultaneously feeling irked that the killer has not made her a target as well.
Harris pokes fun at everything in her novel. Situated in New York City, she describes the large bookstore - Starbooks - which she and her husband go to to stand in line for Harry Potter XIII, and the recently built Organic Depot.
There is nothing deep or meaningful about this novel. It is not the type of book that you will walk away from and feel more enlightened for having read it. But, if you need a break, you want something light and entertaining, and you want to put a book down and find a smile on your face, read Death by Chick Lit. It's a kick.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Burana, author of Strip City said this about this book: "Ms. Harris has cannily turned the chick lit stereotype on its cute little ear. This book is perfect for brainy girls who like their satires served up with equal parts sweetness, savvy, and a delightful twist of snark."

I think her review is a touch over the top but basically accurate. This book was a quick and easy read. It was a little too cutesy for my taste, but the humor keeps it from being overly annoying. I mean, you have to appreciate a detective named Bobbsey, being saved by a pair of Batcuffs, and lines like, "The broken martini glass that had slit her throat lay nearby."

On a serious note, it does call into question the "chick lit" label and its effect on women writers. What is chick lit? Is everything written by women, for women to be dismissed as "chick lit?" Does the label cheapen both literature and women (as suggested by Wilma, head of The (LOL!) Jane Austen Liberation Front).


On a more personal (and a touch random) note, if anyone--and I mean ANYONE--ever tries to make me play "My Water Broke" or sprinkles me with "baby dust" confetti at a baby shower, I will put a hex on her and her baby. Seriously. I have a friend who's a witch. I am NOT kidding. A straight up hex.

[Inge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't quite figure this book out. It's supposed to be this smart, feminist, satire of chick lit, right? I just felt like I was watching an extended Sex and the City episode while reading this book. Which is not entirely oft-putting; indeed, if you want silly one-liners, a semi-strong female protagonist, and lots of eye-rolling at quote unquote hip NYC folk, then this is your book.

I was surprised to read all the feminist-love for this book while browsing reviews and various interviews with the author. But I guess these days any construction of an intelligent, sort of independent, and quick-witted female heroine in pop culture is a marked accomplishment worthy of some amount of praise.

Read this if you want something light and silly. The sugary sweet ending had me gagging, but overall it wasn't a complete waste of a few hours out of my life. I'd be curious to hear what others think.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Death by Chick Lit contains some uniquely NYC funny moments but as a mystery it's not as much of a standout as I'd have hoped. The gist of things is that Lola Somerville, the recently-married author of a corporate expose misidentified, misshelved and largely overlooked titled Pink Slip discovers two bodies--a third ends up in Bergdorf's on its own--of authors who all seem to be climbing the chick lit ladder without any sort of writer's chops or demonstrable talent. The fact that their readings and book launches are frequently picketed by members of a group called the Jane Austen Liberation Front (JALF) is pretty awesome, but that's about where the literary humor ends. Lola is a somewhat neurotic thirty-something who fibs to her husband, to her friends, and is not above using other people's deaths to further her own career. Hmmm... not an altogether sympathethic protagonist.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick enjoyable read that was more of a satire than a mystery. Brooklynite, Lola Sommerville, has recently published a book, to very little acclaim, and she's trying hard not to hate all the successful chick lit authors around her--especially because some of them are her friends. However, she certainly doesn't want any of them to die. But when they do start dying (and Lola always seems to be stumbling upon the bodies), Lola worries that she may be next (and perhaps is even more afraid that she's not). With the help of her best friend, Annabel, and nerdily cute husband, Doug, Lola decides to play sleuth and see if she can both find the killer and score a book deal out of the adventure.

In Lynn Harris's New York, everyone has a book deal and this makes a nicely snarky backdrop to a slight but wittily fun novel.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looooved Harris' writing when I was in college (back during the Breakup Girl website days--now she does freelance stuff. I sometimes see parenting-related stuff she does for Salon), so when I saw she had written this goofy-looking mystery, I had to check it out. The premise is that a sort-of-unsuccessful writer Lola (who clearly is a little bit autobiographical) gets caught up in a series of murders--but all the victims are very successful chick lit authors! Lola takes up the investigation--but is she famous enough to be on the hit list??? Anyway, this was very funny, although very New York. I'll give it a A-.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be delightfully funny and a good mystery at that. It is written as a young woman who sincerely writes a whistle-blowing book that is basically overlooked by the popularity of Chick Lit. However, something is happening around her...the famous Chick Lit authors are being murdered and a good few are found by our Lola Somerville.

While Lola tries to figure out how to get her book "The Pink Slip" re-designated as 'Chick Lit.' she must solve the murders before she gets to the top of the list.

The book was funny, light reading, characters rememberable, and I would love to see a sequel.

[Redfox5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed with this one. It's not really much or a chick-lit or a who done it. It's nowhere near all good as 'Sex, Murder and A Double Latte' which managed to pull the cross over off perfectly. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It's just kinda meh, take it or leave it. I found it really hard to get into at the start and it wasn't until the last 100 pages that I got into a good flow with it. I didn't dislike Lola, I just didn't fall in love with her and her dappy ways. I even guessed who done it before Lola did, which almost never happens with me because I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to guessing games.

[Cristi DiGenova · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more intelligent than your average chick lit, but the voice was more slang than prose. Yet still smart, sort of like Junot Diaz. (Ok not that smart). Anyway. I also felt like it was a novel NYC dwellers would get a bit more out of than I did.

It was kinda weird that the main character was happily married at the start of the novel and I don't think there are any novels preceding this one in the story arc... I guess this is what the publisher's blurb means by "the author cunningly turns the genre on its head" ? Maybe I identified with her more this way? Maybe I kinda would rather have read the story where she meets her husband?

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this book the second star because I liked that it's a feminist critique of the publishing industry, but otherwise I wasn't that crazy about the book. The main character, Lola, is not particularly likable or sympathetic and a lot of the "satire" is just so over the top that it's ridiculous and not believable instead of clever and on point. The conclusion of the whodunit is at least a little surprising, but by the time I got there, I was so irritated with the rest of the book that it wasn't very interesting or exciting. So, good idea in theory, didn't really work in execution.

[Mickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good send-up of New York chick lit as seen through the eyes of a bestselling author wannabe. The protagonist is snarky and provides us with some keen satire, but she depends on too many insider Brooklyn jokes that the rest of us just don't get. The protagonist is funny and sharp, the plot amusing and dumb, as the author successfully pokes fun at writers, bestseller lists, journalists, techno-gizmos, geekery, dating and relationships. I would love to read satire by this author without the Brooklyn chicks-only slant.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really had to force myself to finish this book. There are about 100 pages of complaining about why chick lit is called chick lit. If you get past this, there is a boring mystery and really annoying characters. Our lackluster hero whines her way through finding 3 or 4 women chick lit writers murdered. She does find the murderer, but I really didn't care. The most interesting part of the hero is her green thumb.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lola is frustrated. All the people she know seem to be getting publishing deals and hitting the bestseller list while her book isnt going anywhere. And then some of the CHick Lit authors are getting murdered and she keeps finding the bodies.

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of tongue in cheek humor and poking fun. I really enjoyed Lola and her husband Doug. The mystery was interesting. The motive a little weak but still enjoyable esp. as the killer is caught. A fun read!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lighthearted, and painfully the "Me" demographic. (Our heroine despises it when other people are writing books and feels anxious in bookstores? Oh, and knows geek trivia. Yup, she's nearly me!)

The strange, sloppy not-really-all-that-hidden first person "third person" POV jarred me at first - and I wondered if it, itself, was a trope poking fun at "Chick lit" conventions. It was fun, though. The main characters thoughts punctuate every interaction with humor.

[Carah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I was a tad disappointed in this book. I don't think it was touted as the Next Best Book Ever, but it was really run-of-the-mill. The characters were *too* cliche, and the mystery wasn't really all that mysterious. The heroine was too whiny and self-centered for my taste. It felt forced or contrived.

Perhaps it was designed as a satire on the whole chick lit genre?

Or perhaps I am simply "over" reading chick lit-- at least until I get a few minutes alone on a beach with a book...

[Kate Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this and absolutely loved it. I gulped down the first half in one sitting then had to make myself slow down because I didn't want it to end. It's a real treat - hilarious (such a refreshing trait), zany, intelligent and a witty satire of the chicklit and detective genre. Don't let the title fool you into thinking it's only for girly girls - I'd recommend it to fans of all genres looking for a funny, intelligent read.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad disappointment. A selfish, annoying woman who is so narcissistic and who is generally annoying stumbles onto a mystery she thinks she can solve and then stumbles her way into being present when it is solved. She bumbles along, oscillating between neglecting her best friend and neglecting her husband, all the while wearing the mantle of smug married. I should learn when to stop and walk away.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so strange. It feels like it wants to be in first person, but it isn't. But sometimes it is. I think the author should have just written it in first person, something her editor should have told her. I'd have enjoyed it a lot more. Other than that, it's a good story, with a decent mystery, though I did figure out the killer. I bought this book a while ago and somehow forgot to read it, but I'm glad I finally did. I liked it.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an OK chick lit whodunit. Really, the best part of Lola's tale is the fun they poke at their own genre. Seems everyone is getting on the publishing bandwagon, much to Lola's chagrin. But, some of the top selling chick lit authors are being murdered and Lola puts herself in the position of discovering whodunit.

[Brandon Minster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book in the library and checked it out for my wife. She was busy reading a bunch of other books, so I read it. It was pretty good. I think I might have enjoyed it more had I read any chick lit, so I'd get when she was making fun of the genre. However, I've seen the movie versions of "The Nanny Diaries" and "The Devil Wears Prada," so maybe I know enough already.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I picked this up because the title made me double-take, but it turned out to be a funny, catty, well done little murder mystery. I almost fell for the red herring, and loved Lola's running commentaries and multi-sided character. Sure, she wants to stop a killer, but snagging a book deal for it wouldn't hurt either!

[Margaret]

A snappy, witty and slightly irreverent stab-fun-at-the-world-of-book-publishing story that didn't take itself too seriously. It managed to straddle the chick lit and cozy mystery genres without really being either. And the author even supplied some made-up words at times such as "golden-retrievering" just to see if you're paying attention I think. A light yet energetic read.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, although slightly funny, is full of cheesy lingo and tries really hard to be uh... hip... I guess. If you can handle phrases like, "what the dilly" being used in actual dialogue, this book may be for you.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended if you are any of the following:
-- a writer
-- a New Yorker
-- a Brooklynite
-- a fan of standard chick lit fare or mysteries

A smart, fun summer book... and everyone in my book club was surprised by the ending.

[Lelah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynn Harris is one of the most hilarious authors I have ever read. Her Lola Somerville books are a treat, and Death By Chick Lit was suspenseful, fun, and made me laugh out loud at least once a paragraph.