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the_bee_writes's review
4.0
A strong-minded and very Victorian elderly lady gets send off to spend her Christmas with her daughter-in-law who has married an actor. Her granddaughter she is living with will spend Christmas in France an outrage in itself and on top of all an aunt of her daughter-in-laws new husband will spend it with them. She is far travelled and has a love for life and all its experiences that melts the lady's heart. Unfortunately she passes away over night which seems very odd to the lady. So she goes and investigates.
I have seldom enjoyed a book so much like I enjoyed this. Anne Perry brings Victorian times alive through her characters who are mainly trapped in Victorian convention, in their secrets as well as their passions. You might expect who the killer is but it is intriguing to find out why.
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Eine willenstarke und sehr viktorianische aeltere Dame wird zu Weihnachten zu ihrer Schwiegertochter verfrachtet, die einen Schauspieler geheiratet hat. Ihre Enkelin, bei der sie lebt, wird Weihnachten naemlich in Frankreich, ein Skandal an sich, verbringen. Zudem muss sie sich auch noch mit der Tante des neuen Ehemannes abfinden, die weitgereist ist und das Leben und alle seine Erfahrungen liebt. Die Dame findet sie jedoch gegen ihre Erwartungen liebenswert. Ungluecklicherweise verstirbt die Weitgereiste ueber Nacht, was der Dame sehr spanisch vorkommt. So macht sie sich auf und ermittelt.
Ich habe selten ein Buch so genossen wie dieses. Anne Perry laesst Viktorianische Zeiten durch ihre Charaktere, die in Viktorianischen Normen aber auch in ihren Geheimnissen und Leidenschaften gefangen sind, lebendig werden. Man mag wissen, wer der Killer ist aber es ist faszinierend herauszufinden, warum.
I have seldom enjoyed a book so much like I enjoyed this. Anne Perry brings Victorian times alive through her characters who are mainly trapped in Victorian convention, in their secrets as well as their passions. You might expect who the killer is but it is intriguing to find out why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eine willenstarke und sehr viktorianische aeltere Dame wird zu Weihnachten zu ihrer Schwiegertochter verfrachtet, die einen Schauspieler geheiratet hat. Ihre Enkelin, bei der sie lebt, wird Weihnachten naemlich in Frankreich, ein Skandal an sich, verbringen. Zudem muss sie sich auch noch mit der Tante des neuen Ehemannes abfinden, die weitgereist ist und das Leben und alle seine Erfahrungen liebt. Die Dame findet sie jedoch gegen ihre Erwartungen liebenswert. Ungluecklicherweise verstirbt die Weitgereiste ueber Nacht, was der Dame sehr spanisch vorkommt. So macht sie sich auf und ermittelt.
Ich habe selten ein Buch so genossen wie dieses. Anne Perry laesst Viktorianische Zeiten durch ihre Charaktere, die in Viktorianischen Normen aber auch in ihren Geheimnissen und Leidenschaften gefangen sind, lebendig werden. Man mag wissen, wer der Killer ist aber es ist faszinierend herauszufinden, warum.
khughes200's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
connorjdaley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was another freebie from Audible that I grabbed. I definitely did not notice what genre it came up under though and thought it was going to be a Christmasy story.
The story follows a grandmother that is being sent away for Christmas, so the daughter (I think) and husband can go have fun elsewhere. It starts out with her being a real hag, so I had assumed the storyline would be ‘A Christmas Story’-esque, but nope! (But also still, kinda, yeah…) A night into her stay at the location she was sent to, there’s a murder! This is actually a Christmas murder mystery.
There are several vague and kind of loose references to someone else doing investigations, so I figured this was part of some kind of series. Otherwise it reads as it’s own thing though. It’s rather short and doesn’t have much in the way of clues or investigation, but it is enjoyable.
The major off thing to me, although it doesn’t really matter, is the choice of a British man to do the audio narration seeing that the main character is an elderly woman.
Personally a 3/5* for me. It’s fine. Not bad. Free is free.
melissasbookshelf's review
4.0
Grandmama gets a mystery! The feisty, and somewhat mean Mariah Ellison spends Christmas with her daughter-in-law and her new husband in the bleak Romney Marshes. She meets a woman who rubs her the wrong way (who doesn't) and soon finds herself solving the unwanted woman's murder. Anne Perry manages to make Grandmama likable in this story and I found the audiobook enjoyable and easy to listen to.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
3.0
This is the third in Perry's Christmas mystery series. These books tend to focus on the supporting cast members from her series books. A Christmas Guest follows Grandmama Mariah Ellison as she is shipped off to spend the Christmas holidays with her daughter-in-law Caroline and Caroline's new husband Joshua. The vinegary Grandmama Ellison is none too happy about these arrangements. There she is expecting the usual fine holiday gatherings hosted by her well-to-do granddaughter Emily with lots of London entertainment and society only to be told that Emily and her husband are headed to France and Grandmama is not going along for the trip. Instead, she finds herself journeying to the chilly, windswept coastal village of Romney Marshes--where there is nobody who is anybody and nothing to do but visit the local church and admire its architecture or take brisk walks along the coast.
As if that's not enough, another Christmas guest is soon foisted upon them. Joshua's cousin Maude, who has not been in England for 40 years, has come home to find that the welcoming fires may be burning--but not for her. Her family pleads previous obligations that will prevent them from hosting her during the holidays and asks Joshua to take in another guest with nowhere else to go. Grandmama Ellison barely has time to work up a suitable snit over the unwelcome guest when a housemaid is unable to wake Maude one morning...and the woman is declared dead. Supposedly from a heart attack. But Mariah isn't satisfied. Maude was hale and hearty--outwalking the spry elderly woman in their few rambles along the coast and never seemed to be the least bit unwell.
Soon Mariah is on a quest--spurred by her "very proper feelings" that the dreadful news should be broken to Maude's family in person, she is soon ensconced in the family bosom and trying her hand at a bit of detective work. After all, if her granddaughter Charlotte and her unsuitable policeman husband can solve mysteries, surely she has the wits to do so as well. She begins by pretending grief over a brief, but serious friendship for the woman she had just met--but soon realizes how much she really had likde Maude and could have come to be such friends had they had the time. As Mariah uncovers secrets that resulted in Maude's murder, she uncovers truths about herself as well and...like her fellow Victorian, Scrooge, learns what it means to truly keep Christmas.
This was a very short novel. The mystery is not intricate, but the story is well told and it was nice to see Grandmama Ellison learn some very good lessons--about herself and about how to treat other people. A nice little slice of Christmas happy endings to make the season bright.
As if that's not enough, another Christmas guest is soon foisted upon them. Joshua's cousin Maude, who has not been in England for 40 years, has come home to find that the welcoming fires may be burning--but not for her. Her family pleads previous obligations that will prevent them from hosting her during the holidays and asks Joshua to take in another guest with nowhere else to go. Grandmama Ellison barely has time to work up a suitable snit over the unwelcome guest when a housemaid is unable to wake Maude one morning...and the woman is declared dead. Supposedly from a heart attack. But Mariah isn't satisfied. Maude was hale and hearty--outwalking the spry elderly woman in their few rambles along the coast and never seemed to be the least bit unwell.
Soon Mariah is on a quest--spurred by her "very proper feelings" that the dreadful news should be broken to Maude's family in person, she is soon ensconced in the family bosom and trying her hand at a bit of detective work. After all, if her granddaughter Charlotte and her unsuitable policeman husband can solve mysteries, surely she has the wits to do so as well. She begins by pretending grief over a brief, but serious friendship for the woman she had just met--but soon realizes how much she really had likde Maude and could have come to be such friends had they had the time. As Mariah uncovers secrets that resulted in Maude's murder, she uncovers truths about herself as well and...like her fellow Victorian, Scrooge, learns what it means to truly keep Christmas.
This was a very short novel. The mystery is not intricate, but the story is well told and it was nice to see Grandmama Ellison learn some very good lessons--about herself and about how to treat other people. A nice little slice of Christmas happy endings to make the season bright.
katenetz's review
4.0
So Christmas-y and fun! And nice to get to know some minor characters from the Pitt series.
kargoforth's review
4.0
It is not that this is a "great" book, but it is a Christmas book so I gave it 4 stars. Christmas novels are something I look forward to every year...for fans of Anne Perry, this one does not disappoint, though it is not as mysterious as some of her other books with Charlotte and Pitt are.
samanthabryant's review
5.0
A Christmas murder mystery is kind of a strange concept, but I was intrigued so I thought I'd check it out. While I'm not a devoted reader of mysteries, I do enjoy them from time to time, and had read [b:The Cater Street Hangman|853180|The Cater Street Hangman (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #1)|Anne Perry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388194745l/853180._SY75_.jpg|1809461] and enjoyed it.
This was so much fun! It's told by Mariah Ellison, a character from the Thomas Pitt novels, an acerbic grandmother. I enjoyed her so much, that it's gotten me interested in going back for more of the Pitt novels so I can meet her.
The story was a perfect blend of murder mystery and Christmas, with themes of regret and rehabilitation, forgiveness and closure. Touching.
This was so much fun! It's told by Mariah Ellison, a character from the Thomas Pitt novels, an acerbic grandmother. I enjoyed her so much, that it's gotten me interested in going back for more of the Pitt novels so I can meet her.
The story was a perfect blend of murder mystery and Christmas, with themes of regret and rehabilitation, forgiveness and closure. Touching.
judythereader's review against another edition
4.0
Charlotte Pitt's Grandmama finds herself at the shore with her daughter-in-law for Christmas. She's angry at being shipped off for the holiday, missing the city. When another guest is also foisted off on Caroline and her husband, Grandmama grows even angrier that there will be someone else to steal the spotlight. Then she is shocked when the poor woman dies and she begins to suspect it wasn't natural causes.
As Mariah determines to solve the case and find justice, she also finds out about other people and begins to understand herself more. It is a life-changing experience.
This was a charming little story. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the message about love and acceptance. It was a good story.
As Mariah determines to solve the case and find justice, she also finds out about other people and begins to understand herself more. It is a life-changing experience.
This was a charming little story. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the message about love and acceptance. It was a good story.