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    Christmas is Murder
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    Christmas is Murder
    Unavailable
    Christmas is Murder
    Ebook197 pages3 hours

    Christmas is Murder

    By C.S. Challinor

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Christmas is murder...when you're stranded with a killer

    Not even a blizzard can keep Rex Graves away from Swanmere Manor, a secluded Victorian hotel in the English countryside owned by the eccentric Dahlia Smithings. But instead of Christmas cheer, the Scottish barrister finds a dead guest. Was it a stroke that killed old Mr. Lawdry? Or an almond tart laced with poison?

    When more guests die, all hopes for a jolly holiday are dashed. Snowbound and terrified, no one can escape the cold-blooded killer. Rex takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery. A biography of President George W. Bush found charred in the fireplace might offer a few clues. Could the killer be the sherry-swilling handyman? The gay antiques dealer with the biting wit? The quarreling newlyweds? Surely it's not Helen D'Arcy, the lovely lass Rex seems to be falling for...

    Praise:
    "A must for cozy fans."—Booklist (starred review)

    "Christmas is Murder is a most enjoyable first mystery in what promises to be a fantastic series. Challinor writes with wit and cheek."—Rick Miller, host of ABC's prime time hit series Just for Laughs

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLlewellyn Worldwide
    Release dateSep 8, 2010
    ISBN9780738720104
    Unavailable
    Christmas is Murder
    Author

    C.S. Challinor

    C.S. Challinor was raised and educated in Scotland (St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh) and England (Lewes Priory, Sussex; University of Kent, Canterbury: Joint Hons Latin & French). She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She has lived in Southwest Florida since age 30. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild, New York, and writes the critically acclaimed Rex Graves cozy mystery series published by Midnight Ink, featuring Rex Graves, a Scottish barrister-sleuth. CHRISTMAS IS MURDER, the first in the Rex Graves Mystery series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. This title is also available in large print hardcover through Thorndike Reviewer's Choice. The fifth in the series, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. JUDGMENT OF MURDER, the eighth Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released in November 2016 to highly favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. UPSTAGED BY MURDER, #9, is slated for release by Midnight Ink Books in July of 2018.

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    Reviews for Christmas is Murder

    3/5

    54 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      First in a series, typical English cozy. Practically a locked room, claustrophobic setting. Very Agatha Christie. If you like her, tune in. Main character is QC from Scotland, Rex. He is delightful.
    • 3/5
      Rex Graves is invited to spend the holiday at the home/hotel of his mother's childhood friend. When the guests become snowed in murders start happening.A cozy mystery, this series is not for me. The solution was neither plausible nor probable. Came across several words which were misused which jarred my reading. It was fine for a quick Christmas read, but I won't be pursuing this author.
    • 4/5
      This is great fun to read. The first book in the series has Scots QC Rex Graves visiting the home/motel of his mothers best friend for Christmas. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm, Rex is greeted with a dead body and a cast of characters that are as diverse as they are interesting. With more bodies showing up, Rex needs to solve the mystery of who is killing the guests, and why? There are a couple of small "bumpy" spots in the story but on the whole I loved it.
    • 2/5
      Rex Graves is a Scottish lawyer who has been invited to visit his mother's best friend, Mrs. Smithings, at her inn for Christmas. Shortly before he arrives, the first guest dies and soon another follows. Rex is determined to solve the mystery of the murders before it adversely affects Mrs. Smithings business or the health of any of his fellow guests. Thanks to a large snowstorm what ensues is your basic locked house mystery.

      The characters here are mostly stock and thinly drawn. The plot is not particularly intriguing because we don't care enough about the people who die. This is intended as the first in a series and is the author's first book. Perhaps the rest will improve, but I don't think I'm going to take the chance of reading the second book. If you're a big fan of cozy mysteries though, this could be fine - the violence happens off stage.
    • 4/5
      This is great fun to read. The first book in the series has Scots QC Rex Graves (attorney for those of us in the US) visiting the home/motel of his mothers best friend for Christmas. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm, Rex is greeted with a dead body and a cast of characters that are as diverse as they are interesting. With more bodies showing up, Rex needs to solve the mystery of who is killing the guests, and why? There are a couple of small "bumpy" spots in the story but on the whole I loved it and can't wait for the sequel to come out so I can continue to look at life with Rex.
    • 2/5
      Christmas Is Murder is basically Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None in The Mousetrap's setting. Scottish barrister Rex Graves has been invited to spend Christmas at an inn in the south of England run by his mother's oldest friend. A heavy snow has cut off vehicular access from the village, so Graves arrives on foot to find that one of the guests has died tragically on the previous day. A second death soon follows. With no land or wireless telephone access to the village and no way for the police to reach the inn, Graves takes charge of the investigation.The author adds nothing new to this much-used plot. All of the characters are two-dimensional. Their behavior is erratic and the dialogue is unfocused. I found unintended humor in some passages, such as when Graves, intending to be helpful, tries to distract another character from dwelling on the second death by asking that character to describe the scene of the first death. How much sense does that make? My recommendation is to stick with Christie and pass on this book.
    • 1/5
      Obvious, sappy, and poorly written.