At the start of the Mold-on-Wold literary festival, eminent critic Bryce Peabody is found dead in his hotel bed. Natural causes - or something more sinister, involving one of the writers he has insulted in print? Or is there a more personal reason? Bryce's private life has never been simple, and at least two of his exes are also up in Mold on this summer weekend. Unable to help himself, crime writer Francis Meadowes soon finds himself being drawn into a role he knows only from fiction, that of amateur sleuth ... Fest is both a wry look at the contemporary literary world and a gripping murder mystery that will keep you guessing till the very end.