Naked Once More

Having only read a few of the Amelia Peabody series and now this, I conclude that Peters built her career on writing quirky, feisty women with manners and brains. Jacqueline Kirby is Amelia’s counterpart 80 years in the future (or thereabouts). Both women consider themselves far superior to pretty much everyone else they meet, especially the men, and it gets a little annoying after a while. Jacqueline has nothing but contempt for the people who say they love her books because they are basically trash - send-ups of historical romance novels and were written because she needed money and knew they’d pay. Trouble is, only she knows they’re send-ups.

The other send-up, immediately recognizable, is of the Clan of the Cave Bear books. show more Jacqueline has been chosen to write a sequel to a wildly popular stone-age romance novel after the original writer has been declared dead following a 7-year absence. What she quotes, muses on and thinks about that first book is lifted directly from a lot of the praise and criticism of the Earth’s Children series. That Ayla/Ara is a total Mary-Sue, although the fictional book is trying not to make her discover absolutely every tool and early invention. That Jondalar/Hawkscliffe is hung like a horse and is constantly wringing the last drop of pleasure out of the heroine’s perfect body. It’s hilarious and deftly skewered.

As is the publishing industry of the late 1980s. A swamp of rivalry and jockeying for the best interviews/agents/articles/movie deals no matter how exhausting the PR circuit might be. It too seems to be right on the money, but oh just wait dear author. Just wait until there’s facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, SnapChat and Amazon.

Like Peter’s more famous character, Amelia, Jacqueline is an accomplished amateur sleuth and she gets there in the end and even stages a Poirot-like gathering of the suspects for the big reveal. How she gets there though is more covert than Amelia would have played it. Jacqueline is a master manipulator and sees deeply through people and circumstances to arrange people and things to her advantage. Sometimes it’s a little too bloodless to make her likable, but you have to admire her ability to do it and get off without making enemies right and left.

For example, she has to meet with the dead author's brother and plans her outfit carefully including a large and rather outlandish hat (a la Ariadne Oliver) even though she knows it's a bit over-the-top. But when he tries and fails to kiss her, we know why she wore it and how well it worked without her having to physically fend him off and make him feel rejected. Kinda brilliant, that. There's nothing more dangerous to a woman than a man who feels she has humiliated him.

This little bit sums her up fairly well -

“The town that had been so lively on Saturday night was nursing its hangover Sunday afternoon. The churchgoers had gone home to dinner, all the stores were closed, even the antiques shops. Jacqueline made a mental note to make sure she did not run out of essentials, such as vodka, on Sunday.” p 114 show less

I read the late, great Elizabeth Peters’ Naked Once More some 20 years ago or more — so long ago that the only thing I remembered about this fourth entry in the fabulous Jacqueline Kirby series was the dreadful secondary character, Brunnhilde Karlsdottir, who adds so much comedy to the story. How glad I am that I re-read this hilarious gem!

Jacqueline Kirby, a librarian-turned-romance writer, gets the opportunity to write the sequel to a hit romance book by an author tragically gone in her prime. Think Margaret Mitchell if she had written The Clan of the Cave Bear and then disappeared. Seven years later, she’s been declared dead, and her froggy and self-centered half-brother sees a chance to make a killing (again, think of the show more hullabaloo with Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind Part 2) with a sequel to his sister Kathleen Darcy’s own international best-seller Naked in the Ice. But as Jacqueline learns more about the circumstances around what happened to Kathleen Darcy, the more she suspects that someone wanted Kathleen dead.

I adored this novel anew. While it’s the fourth in the series, readers new to Elizabeth Peters (and her many, many, many fabulous mysteries and paranormal novels) won’t be lost at all. But a warning: If you start with this novel, you won’t be able to stop from reading more. I only wish I could give it six stars! show less

I enjoyed this one more than the other three Jacqueline Kirby books -- except for possibly #2, The Murders of Richard III, which I liked for Ricardian reasons. The first two books kept a somewhat distracting distance between the viewpoint character and the protagonist, which was not easy to read. All the books mocked most of the characters, but the mockery became a bit too intense and unkind in book 3. In book 4, the unkindness was toned down, and the protagonist was a bit more human and the text opened up a bit more reader critique of the protagonist herself.

I also enjoyed the title, which is a bit of an in-joke ....

9-30-2008

Writer Kathleen Darcy mysteriously disappeared seven years ago after publishing a hugely successful historical novel ‘Naked in the Ice’, it was determined that suicide was the likely outcome although her body was never found. Now that she has been declared legally dead, her heirs, agent and publisher are launching a search for someone to write the much-anticipated sequel. Author Jacqueline Kirby, the series protagonist Peters first introduced to us in The Seventh Sinner, easily lands the job.

Jacqueline, sardonic and bitingly charming as ever (think of an alligator in a pink dress, maybe) temporarily relocates to Kathleen’s rural digs – the center of her writing life as well as the site of her disappearance – and show more finds a lot more than she bargained for after moving into Kathleen’s cozy cottage. Not only do Kathleen’s mooching siblings and half-crazy mother (who all live in a grand estate paid for by Kathleen’s earnings) present an unexpected obstacle, but local characters in town seem to have a vested interest in how the final chapter of Kathleen’s life plays out. Right from the beginning Jacqueline finds herself drawn deeply into the real-life mystery of Kathleen Darcy herself and what really happened to her - which, oddly enough, no one else seems to be all that interested in.

I’ve read this a couple of times over the years, so I listened to it on audiobook through my account with audible.com. Most of Peters/Michaels’ books are narrated by one particular actress, Barbara Rosenblatt, who seems to embody the voices so well that I’ve come to think of her as Peters/Michaels herself! Peters only wrote five Kirby books, which is unfortunate because they’re among her best. It seems very obvious to me that the character of Jacqueline Kirby is primarily a self-portrait of Peters/Michaels/Mertz (she even refers to herself at one point, when going through a mental list of authors who were cat fanciers: ‘Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Barbara Michaels…’, which made me smile. Her intelligent humor and excellently fleshed-out characters make these books genuine pleasures to read over and over again. show less

The brash and decisive ex-librarian, now a best-selling author Jacqueline Kirby is back once more.

While meeting with her agent Chris at the Tavern on the Green, she learns he intends to retire. She will need to find a new agent. He suggests she interview Booton Stokes as one possibility.

Chris offers her the carrot at the end of the stick if she selects Stokes, a chance to write the sequel to Naked in Ice. One of the most well-known and loved books of the past decade. Kathleen Darcy the author has finally been declared dead by the courts. Booton Stokes and Kathleen's heirs will make the selection based on outlines produced by competing authors. What a prize this will be for the chosen author.

Jacqueline is chosen to write the sequel!

But show more can she keep her detecting in check? She already told Patrick O'Brien that she suspects Kathleen didn't commit suicide but was murdered.

A suspenseful but fun mystery with many threads going in several directions. show less

I am so sad that there are no more Jacqueline Kirby books since they always made me laugh with their wit. That said, this was a good end to the series. It was a challenging mystery; I was surprised at the ending. I laughed at some of Jacqueline's observations. It also skewered the publishing industry, not so gently.

If you've enjoyed other books in the series, you'll like this one. If you like well-written mysteries with clever humor, read the series.

Jacqueline's transformation from straight-laced librarian to flamboyant writer is complete in this last book in the series. The mystery was suitably complex, though like all the mysteries in this series, the reader doesn't get all the clues until the requisite 'winding up' scene where Jacqueline lays out all the pieces. Overall, the series is entertaining but not the best example of Ms. Peter's writing.