My rating: 🌟🌟🌟 (3 stars)
Publisher: Sphere
'Tis the season for me to get my fix of murder mysteries at Christmas so this seemed like it'd fit the bill. The title promised I'd be getting "Another Little Christmas Murder" mystery but alas, this isn't it, people. Christmas is mentioned twice here once to say it's weeks away and at the end when the two main characters are headed to her family's home for Christmas. What this story does have is snow. Lots of snow. A hellacious storm descends on Wintry Wold in Yorkshire and that's really the hook here to what is at its core a country house murder mystery.
Now usually, I love a country house murder mystery but that wasn't what I signed up for when I chose this. Not happy. Also to the not so great side of the ledger, this was terribly slow. It takes place over about two days but the first half is quite a slog and chatty so it's not until almost 56% in that the real investigation to who has done the murder and why get underway. The end was done well and was swift in the tidy tie-up. Our main characters Dylis and Inigo ended the story just where I'd hoped and expected they would which was nice because they were the best of the characters presented (they saved the whole thing).
I'd recommend this as a country house mystery but don't believe the title, it's a lie and will only lead to disappointment or annoyance if you're looking for a Christmas murder mystery. Be advised.
Summary: When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist Inigo Brown, who is on his way to visit his uncle.
Arriving at his uncle's remote country house, Wintry Wold, the couple encounters a less than warm welcome from Inigo's new young aunt, Theresa. Why is she reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle, and is he really as ill as they are told?
As the snowstorm brings more stranded strangers to their door, Dilys starts to realise that all is not as it seems at Wintry Wold. When the morning brings news of the death of Inigo's uncle, Dilys sets out to investigate - was it a natural death, or was it murder?Arriving at his uncle's remote country house, Wintry Wold, the couple encounters a less than warm welcome from Inigo's new young aunt, Theresa. Why is she reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle, and is he really as ill as they are told?
As the snowstorm brings more stranded strangers to their door, Dilys starts to realise that all is not as it seems at Wintry Wold. When the morning brings news of the death of Inigo's uncle, Dilys sets out to investigate - was it a natural death, or was it murder?
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