by Lady Gizmo
Amazon Audible 4 hours 44 minutes | Narrated by Sarah Nichols
Available in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, & Paperback | Originally published in 1979
“Tis the Season to be Wary”
Ho, ho, hold onto your hat because this is not your everyday cozy mystery. Do not expect the usual elements of a sassy sleuth, doting detective, hometown setting, cafes, bookshop, cozy companion, nosy neighbor, or staunch sidekick where the expected tagline, “Why accuse me of this murder?” is blurted out by a suspect.
This book was advertised on Book Bub as a “top-notch” cozy mystery (Publishers Weekly) by an Agatha Award-winning author but was overwhelmingly categorized by reviewers on Amazon as a dark cozy or murder mystery. This psychological thriller was actually compared to an old Agatha Christie novel and Hitchcock classic. After I read the summary and was amused by the holiday cover, I immediately purchased it.
I listened to the audiobook (twice!) and was so glad I did because the fast pace of the story and all the people involved force you to concentrate on the details. And the deaths that occur keep you wondering, “What’s wrong with this person?” How can they be so callus and take a life because it makes them feel better after having done it? Well, the killer often tells the reader, “I hate them all” and has no regrets killing people that annoy them.
“This isn’t the neighborhood it used to be; it’s gone down recently.”
There’s “a bizarre series of murder taking place all over London. He’s striking more frequent now, and at more intervals … I don’t believe our killer has any family. Perhaps he did have once, but not anymore or he wouldn’t be behaving the way he is. Maybe Christmas doesn’t mean anything to him. He may not even be English.” This dialogue is between two cops realizing there’s a clever serial killer who operates on impulse and leaves no clues. But for the reader, the killer actually tells you why they must kill and what drove them to do it. This story of twelve murders in twelve days will have you listening closely, very closely, as to why this person just had to kill them, “kill them all.”
“I feel I lack the gift of friendship my mother had … last-minute shoppers buying things they hate for people they don’t care about, it’s all a nightmare.”
When someone is constantly complaining and becomes extremely irritable, for instance, when neighbors spontaneously wave at you while decorating their home, this is the response heard by the reader, “This is the season of brotherly love, after all. Of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Smile and wave again before I move away from the window, out of their view. I hate them all.”
“Not gone missing, gone dead.”
Sleuthers, settle into a quiet space with snacks and get ready to be transported to modern-day London during the holiday season with all its familiar surroundings and banter leading up to one particular traditional Christmas day dinner held at a bed and breakfast with all? of its guests. Whether you read the paperback or listen to the audiobook, you will only stop when the book is finished or the audio has been completed. For me, the story was enjoyable and the narrator was excellent.
“Before tomorrow, there is today.”
Marian Babson, a pseudonym for Ruth Stenstreem, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, but lived in London for the greater part of her life. The publisher’s tagline for her style is “Murder Most British,” a style reflected in each of her 75 novels. Any violence is not graphically described and the sleuths are usually amateurs. – Goodreads
ABOUT LADY GIZMO
Lady Gizmo has been a book club member since 2018. She’s always ready to support The Cozy Mystery Book Club with positive clicks and comments, and completes each year’s TBR to participate in our monthly livestreams.
Reading cozy mysteries via audiobooks and romance novels in paperbacks provides a nice retreat from reality when downtime is needed. Eating popcorn and watching Hallmark Channel is also one of her favorite ways to relax, especially around the holidays.
