Published By: Bantam
Pages: 336
Released On: 05/11/2026
It’s Christmas Day 1954 and Frank Grasby’s father is getting married at Rowantree Hall. To make matters worse, Frank is best man.
Various clergymen and Frank’s boss, Superintendent Arthur Juggers gather for the celebration. Guests line the chapel as the bride glides down the aisle. The blizzard whirls outside, cutting them off from the rest of the world as Reverend Welling steps into the pulpit. He starts to speak and stutters – then falls. The horrified guests rush to his side, but Welling is already dead. Poisoned by mistletoe.
As Juggers and Grasby investigate, they discover dark secrets in this hallowed hall. Time is running out to save the wedding. Where do you turn for help, when even the clergy can’t be trusted?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is book three in the Frank Grasby Mystery series – which I have loved. Sadly, Denzil died in 2025 and this third instalment was finished by the fantastic Ian Moore. It’s very sad to think we won’t get any more of Denzil’s genius storytelling.
The first book was Murder at Holly House with the second The Christmas Stocking Murders.
It’s hard to review this properly without spoilers but I’ll do my best.
It’s been a while since I’ve read the previous book and so I was worried I wouldn’t remember much but within a few pages I was right in there again.
It’s got this comforting, nostalgic feeling about it, almost like you get with a Marple or a Poirot.
Like the first two instalments, this is funny. I don’t find books funny on the whole but the humour in this is so witty and natural and works really well.
It’s more serious than cosy crime but it isn’t quite a full-on thriller. It falls somewhere in between but it gives you everything you want from a golden age-set whodunnit. It’s almost got a slapstick quality to it (that’s a positive by the way).
We’ve got the same old characters which gives it familiarity and continuity but with enough new characters to make it feel resh.
I think what I really like is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yes it’s a crime book and does need to be quite serious but it’s also fun and so it doesn’t feel like too much of a toll to the reader.
I read this on the day it became 100 days till Christmas (and as Mrs Claus I’m very excited) and whilst I want my Christmas to have less murders and witches, this really got me in the spirit. It’s not a Christmas book, but a book that happens around Christmas. But the season really adds to the threat of it all – the darkness, somewhat ominous foliage (think spiky holly and poisonous mistletoe) and the silence that fresh snow brings.
In a way, even though Denzil wasn’t able to finish it, this feels the most assured of the three, which instantly makes it better to read (not that there was anything wrong with the others). The characters are more sure of themselves, their relationships, the environment they’re in, the story as a whole, it’s all got a firmer grounding.
Could you read it as a standalone? Hard to say, because I’m not reading it as a standalone, so I don’t know how much you’d miss. You might be able to but I implore you don’t. You’ll get so much more out of it if you follow these characters over the three books.
It’s a shame we have been denied more of Denzil’s magic, the literary world is poorer for it, but Ian has done a wonderful job at completing it whilst keeping hold of the same tone and meaning. It’ll be interesting to see if Ian will continue this series or if this will be the end, it’s not completely obviously.
