Kellogg, Marne Davis 1946–

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Kellogg, Marne Davis 1946–

PERSONAL: Born July 29, 1946, in Denver, CO; daughter of John C., III (a corporate officer) and Margaret S. Davis; married Peter M. Kellogg (a corporate officer), December 29, 1979; children: Hunter, Peter (stepchildren). Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Attended private schools in Denver, CO, and Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Politics: Republican. Religion: Episcopal.

ADDRESSES: Home—CO. Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martin's Press, Attn: Publicity Department, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Worked as a Military Airlift Command flight attendant; King Resources International, interpreter; Frontier Airlines, regional sales manager; Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, CO, director of communications, 1976–78; People/Time, Inc., assistant Rocky Mountain bureau chief; The Kellogg Organization, Inc. (fundraising for nonprofits), Denver, executive vice president, 1981–.

MEMBER: Mystery Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

"LILLY BENNETT" MYSTERY SERIES

Bad Manners, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Curtsey, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Tramp, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1997.

Nothing but Gossip, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1998.

Birthday Party, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1999.

"KICK KESWICK" MYSTERY SERIES

Brilliant, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Priceless, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Perfect, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

OTHER

Insatiable: A Novel, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Marne Davis Kellogg is the author of the "Lilly Bennett" mystery series, noted for its fun and well-paced entertainment. Reviewers have praised Kellogg's appealing leading lady, the interesting cast of characters that accompany her, and her portraits of America's Western landscape.

Bad Manners, the series debut, was described by a Publishers Weekly critic as "a who's-sleeping-with-whom whodunit of a thriller centering around a dead Wyoming newspaperman." Readers learn that Lilly's scandalous actions with an influential politician led her to step down from her chief of detectives post, becoming a private investigator instead. The change takes her from California to her family's home in Roundup, Wyoming. The forty-five-year-old PI takes on the murder of a hated old man whose daughter is being forced out of the family's business. The Publishers Weekly contributor pointed to Kellogg's skillful description of place and character in this "smartly" paced mystery. George Needham noted in a Booklist review that "the plot turns on an outlandish bit of hidden identity and some questionable technology;" however, Needham recommended Bad Manners, which, he wrote, is told "with wit and verve."

In subsequent books, readers find Lilly solving various other crimes and beginning and ending numerous romantic relationships. In Curtsey, an heiress is killed at the Children's Hospital Christmas Dance, and Lilly investigates the reason for her murder. "More crisp action, prose, and dialog" are found in the third "Lilly Bennett" mystery, Tramp, according to Rex E. Klett in the Library Journal. Tramp finds Lilly probing into the death of Cyrus Valle, an extremely wealthy theater lover who founded the Roundup Repertory Company. In Nothing but Gossip, Lilly is preparing for her marriage to the Roundup Opera manager but gets distracted by the murder of a millionairess. The characters in Kellogg's Birthday Party, the final Lilly Bennett story, include showgirls, mobsters, and real-life entertainer Wayne Newton.

Kellogg next penned Insatiable: A Novel, a stand-alone book featuring society portrait painter Jacqueline di Fidelio and her British butler, Nigel Weatherby-Smythe, a reformed criminal, described by a Publishers Weekly reviewer as "a bitchy bisexual who serves as unreliable narrator." The story begins with Jackie in prison facing execution, then flashes back to the reason why she is there. Booklist contributor Jenny McLarin commented that the story was "funny, clever, and original."

Kellogg's next series of books stars Kick Keswick, who was born to an Oklahoma prostitute but became the mistress of Sir Cranmer Ballantine of the London auction house and remained so until his death thirty years later. In Brilliant, Ballantine & Co. is being managed by son Benjamin, and his incompetence has led to a buyout by Owen Brace, an American. Kick, who has a fifteen percent stake in the business, remains to save the firm when Owen and the others he brought in to run the business make a mess of it as well. Along with a romantic subplot comes the revelation that Kick has another identity, that of a jewel thief known as the "Shamrock Burglar" for her signature bunch of shamrocks left at the scene of each break-in.

Kick is married in Priceless and lives in Provence with her new husband, former Scotland Yard detective Thomas Curtis. Thomas, who knows of Kick's criminal past, disappears, as does the contents of a wall safe; soon after, a copycat burglar is leaving shamrocks in place of loot. Booklist reviewer Ilene Cooper called Priceless "a small gem, as carefully crafted as a Cartier bijou."

Thomas is back in Perfect, and he asks the now-retired Kick to help him recover the stolen jewels of the queen. A valet is the suspect, and Thomas sends Kick off to a Swiss resort, where it is suspected he is hiding, but first she must authenticate her cover as Princess Margaret of Romania with a Paris wardrobe, compliments of their expense account. Kick is in no hurry to find the thief when she arrives, however, and luxuriates in fine food and spa treatments. A Kirkus Reviews contributor described Kick as "a delightful protagonist: utterly indulgent and yet self-disciplined, needing only herself to get through life, but loving her husband for the fun of it." McLarin, writing again in Booklist, called Perfect "an adventure as airy and delightful as a chocolate souffle."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1995, George Needham, review of Bad Manners, p. 1062; January 1, 2001, Jenny McLarin, review of Insatiable: A Novel, p. 924; April 15, 2003, Patty Engelmann, review of Brilliant, p. 1448; May 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Priceless, p. 1512; August, 2005, Jenny McLarin, review of Perfect, p. 2000.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2003, review of Brilliant, p. 497; May 1, 2004, review of Priceless, p. 416; June 1, 2005, review of Perfect, p. 605.

Library Journal, August, 1997, Rex. E. Klett, review of Tramp, p. 139; May 15, 2003, Sheila Riley, review of Brilliant, p. 125.

Publishers Weekly, February 6, 1995, review of Bad Manners, p. 77; December 11, 2000, review of Insatiable, p. 66; June 27, 2005, review of Perfect, p. 41.