"A Death in the Family" novelist (4)
I believe the answer is:
agee
'a death in the family novelist' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for agee that I've seen before include "In Ayr not straight" , "off the straight on Princes Street" , "American writer" , "off the straight at Gleneagles" .)