An Unfortunate Christmas Murder by Hannah Hendy
Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Reviews
Three Stars
Best for:
Fans of ‘cozy’ mysteries; those who enjoyed the first in the series.
In a nutshell:
During rehearsals for the annual Christmas play, a member of staff is killed in a freak accident. Or was it an accident?
Worth quoting:
N/A
Why I chose it:
I’m traveling (which means no cat photos with the books, sadly) and don’t have the brain power to focus on most books. This is keeping me company as I fly, and on my runs.
Review:
I love a series like this where the characters’ personalities are able to develop across the books. In a series that focuses just on one detective I don’t get as much in terms of character. Many of the folks from the first book appear in this one, of course with a few new ones.
This is considered a ‘cozy’ mystery in that there’s some humor, and a lot of character, but it is a bit odd how … violent the initial crime is. A women is crushed to death when a bunch of lighting from a stage crashes down upon her. And loads of people witness it, but don’t seem to be super traumatized, which I do find a bit odd That’s a brutal death.
Aside from that, the rest of the book focuses on trying to determine who killed Mrs. Large, and why. There is inter-school intrigue, a missing dog, and possibly stolen intellectual property. And the ending is fairly satisfying.
I’ve already borrowed the next two books in the series because I need all the light reading I can get right now.
