A Murder Before Christmas

A 1920s Festive Historical Mystery (Lady Caroline Murder Mysteries, Book 6)

By: Isabella Bassett

Narrated by: Sandra Churchill

Snowstorms, pilfered recipes, and long-forgotten secrets. It’s the Christmas season, the way only Lady Caroline and Uncle Albert can do it.

Join the unlikely duo in a delightful holiday escapade filled with good cheer and murder.

Christmastide, 1925

With only days left until Christmas, uncle Albert is in a tizzy. The annual Twelve-Birds-Of-Christmas Dinner is looming, and his scheme to procure a copy of the latest book craze to sweep the Royal Society for Natural History Appreciation has been thwarted.

Now, in a desperate bid to secure a Christmas miracle, Lady Caroline and Uncle Albert travel to an isolated castle on the Yorkshire moors in pursuit of the only available copy of the coveted book.

But when the duo meets their eccentric hosts, the countdown to Christmas takes an unexpected turn. Soon, Lady Caroline is embroiled in a mystery involving a bird in a chimney, a chocolate biscuit recipe, and a missing assistant.

As a snowstorm moves over the moors, secrets swirl like snowflakes, and the puzzle turns deadly. Cut off from the civilized world, and with a killer on the loose in the castle, Lady Caroline puts a dangerous ploy into action. She hopes to solve the mystery, catch the killer, and make it home for Christmas.

The villain has other plans.

Will Lady Caroline's perilous ruse succeed? Will she make it out alive? And most importantly, will Uncle Albert be able to hold his head high while tucking into a Heron Pudding at the Royal Society this Christmas?

A Murder Before Christmas is Book 6 of the Lady Caroline Murder Mysteries series. In the glamorous world of 1920s Europe, money and privilege rub shoulders, and murder is never far behind. Follow Lady Caroline, intelligent and witty, with a fondness for breaking rules, on a fun romp through the golden age of crime, in an entertaining mystery with no gore or gloom.

©2023 Isabella Bassett (P)2024 Isabella Bassett

Dragged

Didn’t hold my interest. I found this a bit tiresome and the plot weak. Most of the mystery was simply a dialogue within the protagonist’s head. Also, it’s difficult to believe that the mother of the family would allow lady Caroline such freedom to investigate the murder after only meeting her. The plot was a bit far fetch. The narrator’s voice was too slow for me. I ended up speeding up the tempo.

Characters were boring

I felt the story folded too slowly and characters lacked intelligence. The siblings felt bland.