Review
SLAY BELLS by T. C. Wescott
The First Christmas Village Mystery
Rose Willoughby is pleased to host the performers of Harper's Harpoons during the town's Christmas Festival. When Rose gets sidelined by a sprained ankle, Mrs. Maribel Claus comes to help with her lodgers, after all, the mister is quite busy at this time of year. After a night of legends and ghost stories the troupe's disagreeable manager is found dead on the snowy hill behind Plum Cottage, but with no tracks leading to or from the body the murder seems impossible. Could it be the Glockenvogel? Or, more likely, one of the performers? Mrs. Claus is known to be a good friend as well as a confirmed snoop, so she'll help the sheriff investigate and hopefully find the murderer before Christmas!
SLAY BELLS is a cerebral mystery. There is a charming setting filled with unique characters, but the main draw is the mystery...and an impossible mystery at that. While I found the various characters interesting and enjoyed reading about them, I wasn't particularly drawn to them. I was compelled to solve the murder, but not for the sake of any character, but rather for my own curiosity. Reading was more like watching a film from the outside rather than being a part of the world itself. That being said, it was a very good film, indeed.
Inspiration from the Golden Age of detective fiction is evident from the maps included to the very rhythm of the book itself. The reader is given the tools needed to solve the crime, if only she can distinguish the wheat from the chaff, the real clues from the red herrings.
The first Christmas Village Mystery is a fun Christmas themed brain teaser. Cleverly plotted, this traditional mystery makes the holiday season a little brighter.
SLAY BELLS is a cerebral mystery. There is a charming setting filled with unique characters, but the main draw is the mystery...and an impossible mystery at that. While I found the various characters interesting and enjoyed reading about them, I wasn't particularly drawn to them. I was compelled to solve the murder, but not for the sake of any character, but rather for my own curiosity. Reading was more like watching a film from the outside rather than being a part of the world itself. That being said, it was a very good film, indeed.
Inspiration from the Golden Age of detective fiction is evident from the maps included to the very rhythm of the book itself. The reader is given the tools needed to solve the crime, if only she can distinguish the wheat from the chaff, the real clues from the red herrings.
The first Christmas Village Mystery is a fun Christmas themed brain teaser. Cleverly plotted, this traditional mystery makes the holiday season a little brighter.
Thank you so much for the support and the kind review, Kathy!
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