Book review : The Twelve Saints of Christmas by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Twelve Saints of Christmas
Heathcliff Lennox Mysteries Book #12
by Karen Baugh Menuhin
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3,7 stars rounded up to 4.

---> If you love classic Golden Age mysteries, then you might like this one even if written by a contemporary author.

In fact, the writing style is very reminiscent of that of "whodunits" from the first half of the 20th century with a very small addition of humor and a little more coziness which in this book is given by the affectionate bond that the two protagonists feel towards their wives, and by the cheerful presence of 3 cats and 1 dog who liven up the scenes from time to time.

__PLOT IN A NUTSHELL ___ England, December 1923.
Major Heathcliff Lennox (ex-RAF pilot) and ex-Inspector Jonathan Swift of Scotland Yard are not at all 2 elderly people as one might expect, but rather 2 charming young people interested in investigating crimes and mysteries, who work for Scotland Yard only for cases involving very wealthy people.

Shortly before Christmas Lennox (who always travels together with his butler and his beloved pets, a dog and a cat) and his best friend Swift are sent by Scotland Yard to shed light on a strange death that occurred at Temple House, near Bath.

Temple House is run by a secret order of old aristocrats who call themselves "The 12 Saints", each of whom has no heirs and who have the common goal of giving money to needy organizations every Christmas.

The two pseudo-investigators must shed light on the death of one of the saints, the circumstances of which are unclear and lead to suspicion of murder.
The perfect harmony soon turns out to be only an external image, in fact jealousies and old secrets emerge which lead to another murder and a very complicated mystery to unravel.

_________ ****** ___________

The writing style is fluid, the dialogues are witty and always aimed at explaining the story of the moment or the private story of the two main characters, there are no stupid digressions and stupid useless chatter as in many contemporary mysteries set in the 1920s.

The story is told in the third person and one of the things I appreciated in the investigative couple is that both characters have equal weight and ability (and sometimes even confusion) in the investigation.

---> I hate the old cliché that sees the main character as super intelligent (and also presumptuous like Sherlock and Poirot, whose books I adore, but in this kind of detective the two of them are enough for me) and his "trusty right-hand man" is slow on the uptake ( like Dr. Watson and Hasting poor things).

Here the investigative couple continuously interacts on an equal basis and I really liked the friendship that binds the two characters and the loyalty towards each other that arises from it.

---> This is book #12 in a series where the two protagonists are initially single and then over the course of the books they find their soul mate and then get married, however the romance is subtle and barely hinted at (as in the detective books of Agatha Christie and his contemporaries) however sufficient to give humanity and to make the two characters more real and to give more warmth to the plot.

---> Although the book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. What you need to know about the past of our protagonists is told in a concise and light, but satisfying way.

----> The mystery is very well thought out by the author and until the end I would never have guessed the real culprit.
---> The author's skill lies in creating various hypotheses in the reader's mind that always seem plausible, but which ultimately turn out to be inaccurate.
The culprit was really a surprise to me.

---> What lowered my rating was the fact that the two investigators also stumbled in the dark until the end (and I was also surprised by this!).

In fact, despite carrying out several interrogations, the two are often accused of being incompetent and although they kept a cool head in the face of these offenses and pretended to be close to the truth, in reality they too only discovered the culprit in the final scene.
Maybe a little more cunning in the two characters wouldn't have hurt.

----> What I loved 200%, being a great animal lover, was the constant and lively presence of 3 cats (1 was from Lennox and 2 lived in Temple House) and 1 dog (also from Lennox).
Obviously they had nothing to do with the investigation, but seeing them sprawl here and there, tearing ribbons and baubles from the Christmas tree, sleeping curled up around Lennox, made reading the book more pleasant and serene for me.

I really think I will read more books in the series and next time I will start from book #1.

----> :-( Christmas atmosphere = barely perceptible
(and that little only thanks to the pets).
This also contributed to lowering my rating, in fact, as I always write in my reviews, if the word CHRISTMAS appears in the title, then I expect a festive atmosphere.

Thanks for reading my opinion, I hope it could be useful to you for choosing or discarding this reading.
If you found English errors in my text, please forgive me, it's neither my native nor my every day language.

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Book review : The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning by P.J. Fitzsimmons

The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning
Anty Boisjoly Mysteries Book #2
by P.J. Fitzsimmons
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3,8 stars rounded up to 4.

Very nice "Whodunit" set in 1920s England and written in a bit of Wodehouse's style.
Overall I liked it "a lot", actually very much!

_____PLOT__ 1928, England.
Anthony ( Anty) Boisjoly goes to spend the Christmas holidays with his shy aunt Azalea in the small, picturesque village of Graze Hill, Hertfordshire.

Unfortunately, Christmas day immediately begins in a negative way: Aunt Azalea visits a friend in the village, a well-known war hero, and finds him dead, stabbed, under the Christmas tree.
The village policeman immediately insinuates that the only probable culprit is Anty's aunt and the commissioner sent by Scotland Yard will do the same.
Anty has nothing left but to work hard to find the real culprit in order to clear her aunt.
____________________

It took me a little while to appreciate this book, but once I got over my initial difficulty to get into it I began to grow fond of the main character and started to laugh at his way of telling the story: with irony and humor.
The entire story, the events, the mystery and its solution are in fact told in first person by the protagonist and while in the first part the MYSTERY didn't look so enthralling ( and I also felt a little annoyed by the constant humorous jokes), in the second part it became very engaging and wittily thought out by the author.

I really liked how the protagonist put together all the pieces of the puzzle (which was really complicated) and the final explanation of the murders solution, the ending indeed was beautiful and very satisfying!!

The DIALOGUES are witty and lively, with some really funny scenes, to the point that sometimes I found myself laughing out loud!.
I think this character and the book series would be a great idea for a BBC miniseries.

There aren't many CHARACTERS, but they aren't few either and in the first part I found myself a little confused and none of them stood out in a particular way among the others.
As the story gradually got to the heart of the mystery, however, everyone's bizarre personality was finally highlighted and that was the point where everything became more interesting and I hoped that none of the good guys (or supposedly good guys) would die and that none of those I liked were the culprit.

...And talking about the CULPRIT:
I was never able to guess until it was revealed by Anty!!
Therefore the ENDING WAS EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE and the writer, in addition to the mystery's solution, added a personal happy ending to each character.

__ CHRISTMAS ATMOSPHERE __
There are many books of various genres with the word "Christmas" in the title (or Yuletide or Mistletoe or similar), but there are very few of these that offer a Christmas atmosphere.
This fun "whodunit" didn't fail me!
I enjoyed immersing myself in the welcoming atmosphere of the snow-covered English village, magical and cozy like the one on the postcards.
The author was very good at the descriptions and the mulled wine in the pub, the typical church of the small village, the singing of the carol dedicated to Saint Stephen (although a little bizarre and hilarious) and the preparations for the final party help the reader to breathe a festive atmosphere

This is book #2 in a series (of which I will read the following books and maybe even the first), BUT IT IS PERFECTLY READABLE AS A STANDALONE.

RECOMMENDED TO all those who love reading the classics of the Golden Age
(even if this is written by a contemporary author) and to all those who want a well-conceived puzzle made more tantalizing by the addition of irony and humor.

Thanks for reading my opinion and please forgive any errors in my text, English is not my native language.

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Book review : The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown

The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall
A Standalone 1920s Christmas Mystery
Lord Edgington Investigates series Book 4
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is part of a series ( Lord Edgington Investigates and this is installment #4) but was written by the author as a standalone and I was happy with the choice of the "English mysteries" group because I love "whodunits" set at Christmas.

The writer has a smooth and funny writing style and I loved the protagonist, a young 17-year-old, nephew of Lord Edgington, who still doesn't have a clear path in life, he doesn't know what his best qualities are but he doesn't hold back in front of nothing (even if he often would like it)

___ THE PLOT ___ England, 1925. When Lord Edgington receives an invitation to spend the Christmas holiday with an old colleague from the police, he expects fine food, good conversation and the warmth of a roaring fire. But on arriving at Mistletoe Hall with his family, they discover the house deserted and no explanation for where their host or his servants could be. After a while they found a body in the garden and as more guests appear, the master detective begins to question what could connect the disparate group of newcomers and if the culprit could be among them.

The narrator is the young nephew of Lord Edgington, while the second protagonist, the one in charge of the investigation is the eccentric Lord, who, receiving the invitation to his friend's estate, brought with him his daughter, the 2 grandchildren, the faithful driver, the cook and the waiter.

___ MY OPINION ___ I only gave 3 stars because there were aspects that I liked in this book, while for others I couldn't wait to move on to the next book.

__WHAT I LIKED ___ I liked all the main characters (therefore Lord Edgington's family and his nephew's friends), except Lord Edgington himself. I liked in particular the young nephew, who, ironically about himself and sometimes about his family, in a kindly manner obviously, frequently tears laughter at the reader.

The Christmas atmosphere is very present in the book thanks to the descriptions of decorations, songs, festive dishes, the search for the tree and the emotional warmth that is perceived among family members.
It may seem obvious, but not all mysteries set at Christmas are truly Christmassy and when they aren't, it disturbs me greatly, I perceive it a bit as a rip-off.

__ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE __ I hadn't read, in the plot presented by Gooodreads, that the book was a bit like "And there were none" by A. Christie, a book that many love but which I didn't like at all ! (I love all of A. Christie's mysteries except 3, and that is one of the 3 that I didn't like).

The main reason is that there is a claustrophobic atmosphere, and while in Christie's book, the characters are stuck in a house on an island, here they are stuck in a house full of horrible extravagance, surrounded by so much snow that it is impossible to leave. The killer is there and everyone is in danger.

THIS MAY BE FASCINATING IN A "WHODUNIT" TO MANY PEOPLE, so don't be put off by my impressions.
The other book which, in my opinion, inspired this book is "Mystery in White" (1937) by Jefferson Farjeon (the plot is similar in many ways, I also liked this in many respects, but the sense of claustrophobia disturbed me ).

---> The second thing I didn't like is more serious: in my opinion the mystery wasn't exactly well constructed. It makes little sense.
____WARNING SPOILER ___ [ the culprit, the policeman, wants revenge on his former superiors for having framed his father, who was actually guilty of murder, many years ago.
So far so good... it doesn't make sense, however, that he would invite other people to the estate and kill them just because they had delinquent fathers and were ashamed of it... I find this motive really weak ]__SPOILER END ___ .

---> Furthermore, among all the guests there is a female character who is never actually suspected, although it is clear that she lies about her acquaintance with the host. And yet even at the end it isn't really made clear what his connections with that person sound like.

---> Lord Edgington then suspects someone who claims to know the dead man well, citing the fact that the dead man had never mentioned that boy in his life.
Well in the end it turns out that the boy is telling the truth and therefore all Lord Edgington's logic loses sense... that is: if your friend never told you about someone, it doesn't mean that someone didn't know your friend well.
In this case I found Lord Edgington a little presumptuous and a little too convinced of his own ideas.

---> Detective Lord Edgington also makes me nervous with his way of speaking, he talks, talks, talks and in fact never says anything concrete...even his nephew tells him several times to stop talking through riddles...because that way nothing is understandable.

___IN CONCLUSION___ the book isn't bad for me, but I've read better. However, I advise you to try reading it, because overall, if the sense of clautrophobia doesn't bother you, you might like it.

I will definitely give this author another chance, because his sparkling writing style captured me!

(last note: sorry for my English, it's not my language and I wrote the review quicker than usual, before going to work...sorry for any errors in my text)

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Book review : Murder on a Midnight Clear by Sara Rosett

Murder on a Midnight Clear
1920s High Society Lady Detective Mystery Book 6
by Sara Rosett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very nice Christmas cozy mystery set in the early 1920s!
The snow and the warm atmosphere of the rich country estate, just before Christmas, were the backdrop to a well-articulated double mystery, with some kisses and a romantic couple as a protagonist.

___THE PLOT___ December 1923, England .
While Olive secretly follows her boyfriend Jasper to find out what he is hiding from her about his private life, she is involved in a car accident.
Nothing serious, but the drivers of the other car, who are guests in a beautiful country villa (where Jasper is also a guest together with an actress friend of his), insist that she be examined by a doctor and take her right to Holly Hill Lodge , the aforementioned estate.
It turns out that the butler of the mansion is missing since the day before, a weird thing, that will be resolved with the discovery of the butler's body.
Olive already enjoys a certain reputation as a whodunit solver and intends to investigate together with Jasper while waiting for the police to arrive in the following days (in the meantime the roads were blocked by the massive snowfall).
Added to this is the complication of a spy organization plotting against the King and the country.

---> At the beginning it took me a while to get into the story (let's say the first 20% of the book), but I think that's because this is the installment #6 in the series and even if it's perfectly readable as a standalone, being already fond of the characters after having read the previous ones brings an advantage: one is already involved in their personal stories and is able to get excited from the first lines.

In my case, however, I spent the first chapters getting to know the two protagonists and only after a while did I feel involved in their feelings and attitudes. As a result, I finally felt comfortable in the story, with a pleasant atmosphere of a villa full of almost eccentric guests and of a hospitable landlady followed by her cute dogs.

___ OLIVE and JASPER , the 2 MAIN CHARACTERS __ I liked this modern couple from the 1920s. They have only been a couple for a short time, but they have known each other since they were children and the level of confidence between them is perceivable.

It's true that Jasper hides something from Olive, but it's only because he's forced for work by forces greater than his personal will. Olive, for her part, feels that something isn't entirely clear and it's obvious that as his friend and now his girlfriend, she wants to know more.

She manages to discover the truth and this is good for both of them and for their relationship which is strengthened, because as always truth and honesty are the things that give stability to relationships between people.
A renewed complicity is born between them, which gives the reader the good feeling that they complete each other.

__ MYSTERY and DETECTION PART___ From 25% of the book on wards the intrigue begins and then the investigation on two fronts: the solution to the murder and the discovery of the spy, an enemy of the country, who was carrying information abroad.
This obviously continually teased my mind so that I too could discover useful clues and formulate hypotheses.
SPOILER[ The two cases, of murder and espionage, are somehow connected, however they have 2 different culprits.
While at the beginning I couldn't understand who the murderer was, towards the end I identified one of the 2 culprits (I didn't know which of the 2 crimes he was guilty of though).
A somewhat predictable scene revealed it to me: the culprit poisons himself to shift suspicion onto an innocent person... a classic that we often see in films.
However, this is not what left me slightly dissatisfied in the end. ]SPOILER END

What made me feel like the book was missing something in the conclusion is the fact that:
SPOILER[ Jasper and Olive find out who the spy is, they don't reveal it to the police, but only to Jasper's friend who is actually his superior at work for the Government.
She leaves with the spy (who is unaware that she has been discovered) for Germany and tells Jasper that she will let him know something by letter.

---> I agree that the spy had to lead to someone more important in the enemy organization, but the author could have put in the epilogue, a letter from Miss Ravenna (Jasper's superior) saying that the organization had been foiled and that the spy and its leaders had been arrested. ] SPOILER END
Instead, none of this happens and the epilogue is totally useless.

But of course this is my personal dissatisfaction, probably other readers felt 100% satisfied with the ending.
Despite this little reproach of mine to the writer, I enjoyed reading it, the general atmosphere is festive and Christmassy enough to be able to recommend it as a December reading (oh there are many books that take place during the days of Christmas and Boxing Day, however they are not at all Christmassy and it might seem like they take place at any other time of the year.

----> It's readable as a standalone, but if you're not in a rush to read something festive, start with book 1 of the series, it'll definitely be more enjoyable.

NOTE : I'm from Italy and I'm writing my review in a language that is not my native tongue, So please forgive any errors in my text. Thanks for stopping here :-)


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