The Writing Class

Amy Gallup was a promising writer once--published and highly praised at twenty-two. It was all downhill from there, and now, year in and year out, she teaches a writing workshop at the local university extension. And this semester begins just the same as the others. But then there's a threatening phone call, followed by obscene threats worked into the student's peer evaluations. Then a murder--and every one of the students is a suspect. The clues are hidden in their writing, and she (and we) can solve the murder only by looking more closely at each writer's attempts at fiction. Hilarious, vicious, and elegantly written, "The Writing Class" examines the desperation, perversion, and mania of the writing life through an unforgettable mystery story.

Jincy Willett is the author of "Jenny and the Jaws of Life "and "Winner of the National Book Award." She lives in San Diego, California.

Amy Gallup was a promising writer once, published and highly praised at twenty-two. It was all downhill from there, and now, year in and year out, she teaches a writing workshop at the local university extension. This semester begins just the same as the others, but then there's a threatening phone call, followed by obscene threats worked into the students' peer evaluations. Then a murder--and every one of the students is a suspect. The clues are hidden in their writing, and she (and we) can solve the murder only by looking more closely at each writer's attempts at fiction. Hilarious, vicious, and elegantly written, "The Writing Class" examines the desperation, perversion, and mania of the writing life through an unforgettable mystery story. "Riotous and] hugely funny . . . Willett's satirical abilities remain deliciously undimmed . . . Amid the antic, hilarious, gender-bending battle of the sexes that Ms. Willett whips up in this book, either one may qualify as a reason to kill. Either that, or to die laughing."--"The New York Times
""Willett's delicious satire savages every literary pretension imaginable."--"The Miami Herald "
""The Writing Class" is alternately funny, sweet, and suspenseful. It's a mystery written for book lovers, and books like this are what caused book lovers to fall in love with books in the first place."--"The Buffalo News
""Willett's zany humor is blended with intelligence and empathy for people worth knowing . . . She is never boring, and has a way of bonding the reader to herself."--"The Providence Journal"
"Can a class of wannabe novelists solve a murder in their midst? That's the premise of this dark comedy of the absurd from Willett, a boisterous satire of pseudointellectuals, impotent writers and the adult extension programs of public universities. The only things Amy Gallup, a once-noted California author, has published in years are blurbs of other writers' work. Amy's only income comes from teaching fiction writing to a motley collection of varyingly talented 'prepublished' adults. Someone in the class is making threatening phone calls and sending extremely cruel notes to other students. When two of the students are murdered, a deep sense of danger takes hold. Yet the class goes on. Amy's lectures actually constitute a damn fine guide to writing fiction, while Willett's prose has sparkling moments. The tension is so strong that readers can hardly resist the temptation to peek ahead and see which student is the killer."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)