The first book in a classic Golden Age mystery series perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule PoirotWhen Mordecai Tremaine arrives at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame on Christmas Eve, he discovers that the revelries are in full swing in the sleepy village of Sherbroome-but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.When midnight strikes, the partygoers discover that … the partygoers discover that presents aren’t the only things nestled under the tree…there’s a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas. With the snow falling and suspicions flying, it’s up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit-and prevent anyone else from getting murder for Christmas.
Murder for Christmas is a festive mystery for the holiday season: mulled wine, mince pies… and murder.
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a little slow going for me
This was a good “country house” murder mystery, with enough characters to make it interesting but not confusing. I liked the back story, surprising and believable. Good book! Will look for others.
Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan was originally released in 1949 and you can tell it is a classic. I loved the old-school whodunnit feel and the audio really puts you in the mood for the setting. The narrator is John Curless, and he was the perfect person to voice this book. It is told completely from the viewpoint of our main character Mordecai Tremaine, and he is such a fun viewpoint. Listening to this book reminded me of a game of Clue, or maybe the movie Knives Out, in the best possible way. There are tons of suspects and I for one did not guess the killer.
I thought it was pretty suspenseful throughout and I loved the setting in a country mansion. Lots of readers have mentioned that this is a Golden Age mystery, and I definitely agree with that. I haven’t read too many books set in this period, but I have loved all of the ones I have, and now I can add Murder for Christmas to that list. This was my first time reading this author and I had actually never even heard of him before, so I am looking forward to reading more of his books and the other books in this series. It seems they are being re-released now plus they are on audio, so I will be taking advantage of that. Even though this is book four of the Mordecai Tremaine series, it didn’t feel like I was missing anything, so I would consider it great as a standalone. If you are looking for a classic whodunnit this is the perfect read for December!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
I just recently discovered Francis Duncan. I am on the 3rd novel now but this one was so far my favorite. Love the main character Mordecai Tremaine the unexpected amateur detective. The plots are clever and the endings unexpected.
Mordecai Tremaine accepts the invitation to spend Christmas in Sherbroome out of curiosity more than anything else. Almost immediately, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, and that more than a few of his fellow guests are cagey – if not openly hostile. There’s no surfeit of Christmas spirit, that’s for sure; what little there might have been disappears promptly upon the discovery of a body, clad as Father Christmas no less, at the foot of the Christmas tree.
I haven’t curled up with an Agatha Christie-style mystery in some time and when Francis Duncan’s Murder for Christmas showed up on BookBub, I couldn’t resist. What better to read in the run-up to that most festive of days? And if Duncan’s conclusion wasn’t quite as surprising as Dame Christie’s, there’s no mistaking the genre. Similarly, the setting: not for a minute can the reader forget that this is England, in the years of sleepy villages, great houses, and roaring fires.
Readers who love a classic murder, and especially a classic English murder, will spend happy hours with Murder for Christmas.
I wish that some publisher would make all his books as ebooks.
An attempt at Agatha Christie that didn’t quite make the cut. A little too verbose. But still entertaining enough for me to read the whole book.
Quick and good flow, a bit of a twist.
The style of writing is nostalgic and fun. Worth the read.
I enjoyed this book but found that the amateur detective directing the mystery had traits that grew tedious. I had no desire to continue the series.
Did not care for it; it seemed like it would have a lot of promise but was a let-down
Fun mystery. Enjoyable.
Enjoyed the complex characters and the way the story unfolded to keep ‘who done it’ a surprise!
Boringgggg
a great who-done-it
I really enjoyed it and it was seasonal!
I was delighted reading this story. I thought the narrator did a superb job of making each character unique and distinct. Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I can’t wait to read/ listen to the other books in the guardian series.
I did not finish this book. Just did not hold my interest. Too wordy and hard to follow. Lost interest.
A good vintage Christmas cozy. I like the amateur sleuth and will reas the other books by this author.
Pleasant but definitely not to the level of Agatha Christy.