Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

The Christmas Cuckoo by Mary Jo Putney
A Mini Audiobook Review

This is a lovely, heart-warming story. Just right for a quick, Christmas read!

Synopsis

Major Jack Howard, a weary veteran of the Peninsular Wars, has just returned to England and intends to return to an unwelcoming family home for Christmas. But when a pompous secretary gives him too many orders, Jack hops on the next stagecoach leaving

The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Mystery by J. Lawrence Matthews
A Short Book Review

It's Christmas morning, 1902, and Dr Watson calls on Sherlock Holmes to invite him and his brother, Mycroft, for Christmas dinner. Holmes refuses the invitation, as Watson new he would and remains steadfast despite Watson's cajoling.

When sand is found substituted for the wine in a bottle of Beaune, a Christmas gift from Holmes to Watson, Holmes fears that the new king's (Edward VII) life is in danger. What follows is a madcap dash around London, with Holmes and Watson one step behind those they are pursuing, ending with a delightful twist, making this a very heartwarming novella.

While not the mystery I anticipated, it was very entertaining and shows that the great detective could be outwitted. A great Christmas read!

Thanks to Ellen Whitfield of Books Forward for a review copy.

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer
Book Review

book cover image
Synopsis

Good old Uncle Willie - rich, truculent and seemingly propped up by his fierce willpower alone - has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, mince pies and misdirection, cleverly playing with beloved murder mystery tropes to create

Literary Christmas 2022 Reading Challenge
My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: In the Bookcase
Challenge period: Now to 31st December, 2022
Sign Up: Now
Aim: To read and review as many Christmas-themed titles as you can from a list you

The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Mystery by J. Lawrence Matthews
Spotlight

The end of the year is fast approaching and there is a plethora of Christmas-themed novels being released.

My Christmas reading usually takes the form of historical mysteries and I'm excited to share that the latest novella from J. Lawrence Matthews, the author of One Must Tell the Bees, is another interesting case involving Sherlock Holmes and, of course, Dr Watson.

Synopsis

Christmas morning, 1902: Sherlock Holmes discovers that the wine in a bottle of French Beaune (intended as a gift for Dr. Watson) has been switched with sand, and he suspects it means threat to the newly crowned King of England. Or does it? With Dr. Watson's help, he soon finds out...

I'm adding this to my Christmas reading list!

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION: From A Christmas Carol to Mr. Dickens and His Carol

It's the beginning of a new month which means it's time to play Six Degrees of Separation. This meme is hosted by Kate of Books Are My Favourite and Best. The aim is to link six books to each other from the starting point.

This month the starting point is another book I've read a number of times and which remains one of my Christmas favourites, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

So where to from here? Do I go the easy route and stick with the Christmas theme or tax my brain a little to come up with other links? I've tried to do both.

A Christmas Carol is a novella. This links to one that I've recently read. It is also set in Victorian England during

BOOK REVIEW/BLOG TOUR: A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Mimi Matthews

Publication Date: November 13, 2018
Perfectly Proper Press
eBook & Paperback; 172 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance/Christmas/Novella

Synopsis

A Courtship of Convenience

Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He's grim and silent. A man of little emotion--or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months