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by Anne Perry This is the fourth of Anne Perry’s Christmas novellas, and just like its predecessors, it is centered on one of her secondary characters. This time it is the Reverend Dominic Corde, the former husband of Sarah, who was murdered in Ms Perry’s first ever book, The Cater Street Hangman. Now happily married to sensible Clarice, he is pleased to get a chance, albeit a brief one, to cover for Reverend Wynter in the rural village of Cottisham while he takes a vacation. He soon discovers what a well-loved man Wynter is, and that he will have his work cut out for him trying to match up to his standard. But not everything is as idyllic as it seems on the surface, and the Cordes will have a mystery of their own to clear up before they can relax and celebrate Christmas. Anne Perry’s novels are bursting at the seams with plot so it always surprises me that her novellas are so satisfying, but they are. This time it wasn’t even easy to guess whodunit as there are plenty of red herrings, and all in under 140 pages! There is more to enjoy than that of course; the tangible descriptions of the snowy, Christmas card village, the underlying theme of old sins, retribution and forgiveness and the true meaning of the season. Oh, and a realistic late Victorian background to it all of course. It all adds up to a grand morsel of enjoyment, and seems to contain as much if not more than most of the full length whodunits I have read recently. Dickens himself would have devoured these books along with the mince pies and negus, and maybe one day we may even encounter a character from her equally excellent WWI series. Highly enjoyable. |
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A Christmas Secret