A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman

 

Title:  A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder

Author:  Dianne Freeman

Narrated by:  Sarah Zimmerman

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 21 minutes

Source: Thank you to @diannefreemanwrites, @kensingtonbooks, and @greatreadsbookpromo for the gift copy of A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder.

When do you start to read Christmas books or watch Christmas movies?  I usually wait until November, but I am also usually tempted each year to start early with great new Christmas reads.

George, Frances and their family have been invited to celebrate Christmas with George’s sister Fiona and her husband Robert at their estate in Norfolk.  Frances, Fiona, and the children find their neighbor, Dr. Joshua Penhollow, dead in a field and it does not appear to be a natural death.  He was the coroner and the elderly constable in town is not interested in investigating Dr. Penhollow’s possible murder. With the roads also blocked by a storm, the investigation falls on the ladies.  Will they find the murderer?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This it the 9^th book in the Countess of Harleigh mystery series.  It can be read as a standalone, but it’s better if you have read the series and know the characters.  That being said, I joined the series a few books ago and have really enjoyed it.

·       A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman is a Christmas cozy mystery.  I love cozy mysteries and Christmas.  This was a perfect book for me.

·       I liked how the kids were writing their own mystery based on A Christmas Carol.

·       George was out clearing roads with Robert during a large part of the novel, but he was back for the ending.  Fiona and Aunt Hetty helped Frances out with the investigation.

·       It was interesting getting to know the neighborhood during the investigation. 

·       I loved the characters.  It was enjoyed to “meet” the new characters and watching the “old” characters grow through this series and book.

·       There was a good ending to the mystery that I did not guess.

·       This story was very entertaining on audiobook.  Narrator Sarah Zimmerman had different voices and accents for the variety of characters.

·       This book is set in 1906 and is Edwardian.

·       I would classify this book as historical mystery, cozy mystery, Christmas, audiobook, Edwardian.

Overall, A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman was a charming and delightful book that is a perfect read for the holiday season.