Uplifting!

Thank you Anne Perry for this uplifting installment of the Christmas Mystery Series. The series features minor characters from red main series who uncover murders at Christmas time. This one featured "Grandmama" Ellison, a mean spirited Scrooge like character. It was both an insightful and inspirational read! ( )

My favorite of this author's work. Main character grows while solving murder. Well narrated and recommended. ( )

En la Inglaterra victoriana, en vísperas de Navidad, la muerte del juez Judah Dreghorn conmociona al condado de Lake. La viuda trata de esclarecer los hechos con la ayuda de Henry Rathbone, un amigo de la familia. Todo apunta a que Ashton Gower, condenado por un caso de falsificación de documentos, está más que implicado en la muerte del juez. Pero Henry da con otros dos oscuros personajes que trataron de embaucar a Gower…

Para el superintendente Runcorn, compañero y amigo del inspector Monk, la navidad tiene un aire especialmente gris. Pero este año decide desconectar de su vida londinense y pasar las Navidades en un pequeño pueblo de Gales. Su descanso se verá interrumpido por un hallazgo fatal: el cuerpo apuñalado de Olivia, hija del reverendo de la localidad. Inmediatamente Runcorn se pondrá a disposición del agente encargado del caso, cuyas complejas claves irán desentrañando poco a poco.

Cantankerous and vinegar-tongued Grandmama arrives on a holiday visit to the home of Charlotte's parents, where a fellow guest--an outcast from her own family--is subsequently murdered. Like the heroes before her in Anne Perry's Christmas novels, Grandmama is called upon to play the role of amateur detective.

Grandmama is a bitter old woman who criticizes everything. As she starts to investigate and learn about the other woman, she does comparisons between the two of them. It makes her rethink some of her attitudes and she’s a better person at the end. This was a quick and decent story with a bit of Christmas sprinkled throughout. ( )