Published By: Quercus
Pages: 336
Released On: 07/11/2024
It’s Christmas Eve at the Merry Monarch. Nestled amongst the Yorkshire Dales, the pub is preparing to host its annual scavenger hunt for its rabble of regulars. There’s the landlord, Mickey, his wife Sofia and their wayward son, James; local policeman Alex and his supernaturally minded deputy Don; as well as Sita, Mrs Fazarkaley, the Kapoors and Curtis, who’s never far from his beloved dog Barkley. Quite the crowd.
And this year, they are interrupted by a knock at the door from Maddie Marlowe, a journalist who was homeward bound to Edinburgh for Christmas – only to be stranded by car failure, and by the snow storm that’s closing in on the village.
But Maddie’s arrival won’t be the only surprise of the night. When the power is cut off and darkness descends, the hunt turns deadly. Maddie and her unexpected Christmas companions must try to find the murderer amongst them, as it seems one of the group would kill to win . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Okay so we all know how I feel about a cosy crime novel, especially one set at Christmas time, it’s just a winning combination for me. It’s amazing how I can read so many and still enjoy them. This didn’t quite live up to what I hoped but there are some positives.
For starters, her name is Noelle Albright, which just sounds so festive and perfect for a Christmas novel.
Noelle has created a real sense of space and atmosphere; claustrophobic in the sense of being stuck in one location, but also because they’re closed off y the snow and from help.
It follows everything I expect from the cosy crime genre, and it has this great nostalgic feeling for the classic whodunnits.
It tells the story more through dialogue than prose, and I’m in two minds about that. I like characters and whatnot, but at times it doesn’t feel very genuine to be having these conversations with their friends and neighbours, going over previous things tat everyone already knows about, just for the benefit of the reader. It made it seem a little false at times.
It is quite predictable. That’s not always a deal breaker, especially in the cosy crime genre, but it was on the verge of too predictable, which means it’s not quite got the same tension that hte setting gave it.
The pacing felt a bit off too. It took a long time to get going, introducing the characters and the village and history etc. and then it goes a bit too quickly for you to invest in, and the conclusion came around a bit quickly and I felt a bit short-changed considering how much I liked the opening.
It’s an easy read, and is quick to read and is enjoyable. It’s not the most tense book but I don’t mind it too much, as for me the whodunnits of books such as Poirot and Miss Marple weren’t that tense in my opinion, it was more about the journey and the atmosphere created.
I don’t think it’s suitable for those devotees of murder mysteries who want a hard-hitting story, but a definite win for lovers of the cosy crime novel. It has its flaws and its positives; it’s an interesting premise that just fell a bit short.
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