In this clever reimagining of Charles Dickens’s life, he and fiancée Kate Hogarth must solve the murder of an old miser, just before Christmas . . . London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon … soon learn the dead man, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws. Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . . Praise for the Dickens of a Crime Mysteries!“Mystery fans and history buffs alike should cheer.”—KirkusSTARRED Review“Sharp, incisive, and delightfully twisty. I’m sure I won’t be the only reader exclaiming, ‘What the Dickens?!’”—Anna Lee Huber, bestselling author.“As easy to read as one of Mr. Dickens’ actual novels and as entertaining.”—New York Journal of Books“Fans of Anne Perry will love this one.” —Dianne Freeman, award–winning author
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1835, amateur-sleuth, journalist, London, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, historical-setting, history-and-culture
It’s 1835 and Charles Dickens is a journalist, amateur sleuth, and an engaged man. While on assignment in a town he has never visited before a young girl gives him a baby (Timothy Dickens) who she says is his and that the mother (her sister) had died in the recent destructive fire. This truly puts him in a fix as he has to get back to London. He houses the skinny little baby with friends and hopes that his fiancee will not find out about it until he can find the baby’s real father (good luck with that).
While caroling in the street, the small group of friends are present when a man named Jacob Harley falls to his death from the second story of his business partner, Emmanuel Screws. Charles then begins the complicated process of following the clues, red herrings, perilous incidents, and disturbing interactions to solve the question of who was responsible the death. Good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL MURDER by Heather Redmond
The Third Dickens of a Crime Mystery
An evening of Christmas caroling turns tragic when Charles Dickens and his friends witness a man plummet to his death from a second story window. While Kate doesn’t believe the old man physically capable, Charles is convinced that the disagreeable homeowner is a murderer. Charles is keeping busy trying to work on his book, find a good home for an orphaned baby, and help a growing mudlark, but when the body of the dead man disappears, the situation has the very makings of a novel!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens is a tale of redemption, and so it is with A CHRISTMAS CAROL MURDER by Heather Redmond. In this case, the redemption portion is a secondary story to the murder. Charles, falsely accused, is nonetheless faced with losing his fiance, his job, and his very livelihood and place in society. His future is in peril due to a misunderstanding and the commission of a good deed, causing him to look to redeem himself while trying to solve a murder.
That’s not the only similarity you’ll find to the classic Christmas story. It was one thing when Mr. Jacob Harley falls to his death wrapped in chains, but when the cranky Emmanuel Screws came on scene I had to giggle. Of course there’s a baby Timothy and a Mr. Cratchit too! Charles is also visited by three specters…or at least three mysterious figures during dressed like phantoms.
The third Dickens of a Crime novel is an atmospheric Victorian mystery that highlights the differing mindsets, foibles, and dangers of this bygone time. I enjoy seeing Charles Dickens struggling to find his place in the world and witnessing what could have been his inspiration.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL MURDER is a complex mystery that haunts a young Charles Dickens at Christmastime. Grab a cup of mulled wine and settle in for a delightfully literary holiday treat.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
Thanks to Kensington Books & Netgalley for a digital copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.
When I saw a description of this book I couldn’t wait to read it – a mystery with Charles Dickens as a young amateur detective! The premise of this fictional story, which takes place during the Christmas holidays in Victorian London, is that the mystery Charles solves is the inspiration for his classic A Christmas Carol – one of my favorites.
Although this was the third in the series of A Dickens of a Crime mysteries, it’s the first one I’ve read and was easy to follow without having read the earlier novels. The only complaint I have is the characters and plot points based on Dickens’ classic were predictable – names slightly changed (Jacob Harley for Jacob Marley, Mr. Screws for Mr. Scrooge, a ghost, a baby boy name Timothy, Bah Humbug!)
Charles is a likeable character and at this point is still a wanna-be novelist while making his living as a newspaper reporter. He is engaged to Kate Hogarth, who is living with her parents until the wedding, and assists him in solving the mystery of a man who appears to have been pushed out of a second story window, with chains around his body. I especially liked the recreation of the Victorian era – the horse-drawn carriages, the food and drink, the morals, the clothes, and customs.
Despite two murders, and being set in the cold of sooty London, this is a light, holiday cozy with a happy ending.
London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws.
Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . .
This was the first book for me in this series and this author and I really enjoyed it. Great character cast and who doesn’t love Dickens and Christmas. I did not figure out who done it, until the reveal. I was entertained and it kept me wanting to read more. The descriptions of London during this time period made me feel transported to there. I now want to go back and read book one and two. Even thought this is book 3 the author did a great job of bringing the reader up to date. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good historical fiction mystery, Christmas and/or Charles Dickens.
Heather Redmond’s Charles Dickens series is always an enjoyable read. A historical mystery presenting Dickens as a fictional character but woven with biographical facts of his life. As a journalist and amateur detective, he and his fiancee Kate are on a mission to solve the mysterious death of Jacob Harley.
A fun and adventurous story that turns the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol into a murder mystery that Dickens himself must solve.
Note: I was given an advance copy of this book by the publisher but opinions and reviews are my own.
December 1835. While covering the fire at Hatfield House, reporter Charles Dickens is given a four month old baby called Timothy Dickens. The childs aunt, Madge Porter, convinced that Dickens is the father.
Back in London, while out caroling he and his friends witness a man, Jacob Harley, fall from a second floor window, complete with chains around his neck. The house is owned by his business partner Emmanuel Screws. Dickens investigates but this will only be the first death, what could be the possible motive.
An enjoyable mystery, a well-written story with its very likeable characters. A good addition to the series.
I love this series and now a Christmas addition, what could be better?! Charles and Kate bring 1835 London living to life in an exciting cozy mystery. I love the hints of A Christmas Carol in the making and Charles growing into the name he makes for himself. Charles and Kate are as different as can be, as is their approach to finding solutions, but together, they work. I love the creative spin on this treasured Christmas classic and had fun sleuthing the case alongside the characters. This book can be read as a standalone but having read the series I had a finer appreciation for the characters, relationships and dynamics explored. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own and freely given.
A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond is the third in The Dickens of a Crime Mystery series, with the legendary Charles Dickens as the protagonist. Charles is out of town covering a fire in which a marchioness has died. He is fast asleep in his rented room when a young woman appears bearing a child that she insists is his. It seems his mother was also killed in the fire. Charles is aghast but knows he cannot allow this baby to die so it takes it back to London, to the home of his friends, William and his wife, Julie, whom he convinces to help him care for the child, with the help of their neighbor who can act as wet nurse until the mother is found or the father. Whichever comes first. His main concern is that his betrothed, Kate, not find out, lest she believe the whole sordid tale. Meanwhile, they are out caroling and a body falls out of a second story window, right at their feet. Thus begins a murder investigation in addition to everything else that is happening.
I started this book with a touch of trepidation but it quickly turned into an interesting mystery with lots of subplots and red herrings. People were not who they purported themselves to be, others turned out to have less faith in him than he anticipated, and people had to continue living their lives, no matter what was happening around them. The characters were brilliant and very real. They mystery was a good one, perfect for the setting, and Dickens was able to showcase his brilliance and that talent for which he would become well known in the future. It was a hair-raising story in which Charles, and his betrothed were able to remain steadfast in their feelings for one another. The murderer was caught and everything went back to pretty much normal. A first-rate read. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of A Christmas Carol Murder by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #achristmascarolmurder
More of a 3.5 but rounded to 3.
This is Book 3 in the Dickens of a Crime Mystery Series. I haven’t read either of the first 2 books but, despite references to the earlier books, it didn’t make this difficult to read.
What made this one difficult to read was the pace. It has a cozy mystery feel to it but with absolutely no thrill or action. It was slow from beginning to end. The mystery itself was pushed along by a lot of conversing which after pages and pages can become a bit tedious to read.
I really enjoyed the fact that this is a historical mystery series with Charles Dickens as the MC. I also loved the references to the actual book A Christmas Carol. That being said I don’t think I will go back and read the first 2 books as this one didn’t capture my interest.
I appreciate NetGalley gifting this E-Book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
A Christmas Carol Murder
A Dickens of a Crime Series #3
Heather Redmond
https://heatherredmond.com
Release date 09/29/2020
Publisher Kensington Books
The latest novel from Heather Redmond’s acclaimed mystery series finds young Charles Dickens suspecting a miser of pushing his partner out a window, but his fiancée Kate Hogarth takes a more charitable view of the old man’s innocence . . .
London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws.
Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . .
As my first read by this author and the by in this series, because of the famous main protagonist, I googled Dickens biography, as an eternal romantic, I just hope this fictional self and his soon-to-be wife have a better ending than their real counterparts.
While I had difficulties to enter fully the story, I loved the little hints peppering the pages as many clues about how A Christmas Carol came to life. From the staged ghost to the names of the protagonists and so on. It was so fun to pick up the tiny or not so tiny details sprinkling the tale.
Then at half mark I was finally in there. Once everything was on the table, I was glued to Dickens’ steps.
While in some ways I understand Dickens’ choices, I do not agree with him about not confiding in his betrothed and brother, it would have saved him some heartaches. I hated that Kate was relegated to be a side-character, she has no voice in this tale but it was alas the place of women in this time. The Victorian area was a Puritan one, full of hypocrisy. I much disliked his future-in-laws (but his father was close-by), how self-righteous they acted, ready to condemn and blame without even a trial.
He is a better man than me, I am a full of empathy woman but I would not have so easily forgiven to have been so quickly dismissed without even a hearing.
I much liked his friend William and his wife Julie and their new ward Lucy. But how sad is the treatment of Johnny Dorset. It is even a miracle he was not sent to an asylum as it was the place for the misunderstood, the insanes or those suffering from down syndromes or autistic disorder.
4 stars
I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Kensington Books and Netgalley, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
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I have a fondness for the works of Charles Dickens so of course I was drawn to this, the third in the series. Charles is a young 23 year old journalist, would be writer and engaged to Kate. He also has a big secret he’s keeping from her this December. Sometime earlier he left London on assignment to another town and was presented with a baby. The woman relinquishing the child claims that Charles is the father. Such is not the case but he takes the child and then turns him over to friends until he figures out what to do next. If that wasn’t enough for him to juggle, he and Kate go caroling only to have a man pitched out a window to land, dead, at their feet. did his business partner do the deed or somebody else? Charles has one opinion and Kate has another. The search for the answer begins.
I enjoyed the connections to the Christmas Carol as we know it with the idea that this event planted the seeds of the published story in Charles’ mind. The pace of the mystery was on the slow side but the descriptions of 1835 London with its glory and grime, made me glad I didn’t live in those days. An enjoyable puzzle with the expected twists, turns and red herrings.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Fun! I enjoyed reading A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond. One of my all-time favorite books is A Christmas Carol so each time Ms. Redmond presented a twist on the original, it was an “ah ha” moment! Very creative!
I received an advanced reader copy through Net Galley. This is my voluntarily given, honest opinion.
Reading this book, I determined that it runs flat. I read the book hoping that it would get to the part of a murder or at least a billed up. I found the characters had a good dialogue. Although the dialogue was ok, I felt they discussed random things that provided no contribution to the issue at hand. I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.
December 1935.
Charles Dickens works as a journalist for the newspaper of his fiancée’s father and is working on his first novel “Sketches by Boz” When he is out in Herefordshire, reporting on a fire that wrecked the local mansion, he’s approached by a young servant girl. She tells him that her sister worked for the marchioness and is dead now. This sister had a baby and he is the father. She hands him the child and disappears. He’s shocked as he’s never been in the vicinity before and certainly didn’t father any child. He doesn’t know what to do and plans to find the real father. For the time being, he takes the infant with him to London and asks his friends William and Julie to look after little Timothy. Afraid that his fiancée and her family will misinterpret the situation, he hides it from them.
It’s almost Christmas time and one night when he goes carolling with his fiancée Kate and his other friends to raise money for the mudlark children, they witness a body with chains around the neck fall from a 2nd-floor window. The unfortunate victim is Mr Harley and the house belongs to the unpleasant Mr Screws. They own a countinghouse where a Mr Cratchit works. (Notice how similar the names are to those of the main characters in Dickens’ Christmas Carol) When the body goes missing and the man’s ghost pays him a visit, Charles suspects foul play and he starts to investigate the case. He needs help from his girlfriend who’s most interested in this new mystery.
This is the third book in the series and unfortunately, I missed the first two. This book stands completely on its own, although there are references to things that happened in the earlier books. The colourful cast of characters are already well-known from history and in front of the book is a list of ‘personae dramatis’. I always like that and more authors should provide this service.
I like the premise of Charles Dickens as a detective; he was a journalist in real life so, what’s the difference with investigating things for an article? He’s been portrayed very much as a child of the time he lived in with very preposterous ideas of what’s becoming for a ’gently reared female’. It’s great to read an old-fashioned mystery from before the age of CSI and DNA, even fingerprinting wasn’t recognised.
Do you feel nostalgic sometimes for a time of a simpler and more prudish mentality? Where are the days that thinking about a woman’s knees was thought indecent? We don’t have to return to those attitudes, but the other extreme that we see today with chirurgical enhanced body parts into the indecent extreme isn’t necessary for me at all. So while I do enjoy the quaint expressions of time-relevant sentiments and opinions, I don’t necessarily agree with them. I shake my head in disbelief for a newly widowed woman that’s not allowed to leave her house, and certainly not to attend the funeral or interment.
Kate says to Charles that it is unnatural for a wife to kill her husband -and although there are more wives killed by their husbands than vice versa- history is full of evidence to the contrary. And I personally know several women who’d gladly strangle their husband at times.
We meet a more gentle-hearted Screws than the later Scrooge is. Kate is the first to recognise his better side. He was a genuine friend to the late Harley, who’s seen here as the real cold-hearted scrooge. Also, his attitude towards caring for his nephew’s widow and for Harley’s son, speak louder than words.
About the mystery itself, it’s well-integrated and there are actually 2 of those. However, the case concerning the baby was a little too easily wrapped up. Just like in certain Dickens’ books, in the end, a stranger turns up to explain the whole matter. I had a fairly good idea who was the murderer but shifted in my suspicions as the story cast its shadows on several suspects all in their own turn. It’s well put together and pleasant to read. It’s very interesting to see how the author integrates the original Dickens’ story with her own imagination and mystery. I assume that this is the case for the other books as well. So, I’m really interested to read more of this series.
I thank Kensington Books and Netgalley for a free copy of this book and this is my honest, unbiased review of it.