Reviewed by Jeanne
There’s a long tradition of mystery stories set at Christmas;
in addition to Christmas mysteries, the British also have a tradition of ghost
stories set at that festive time, and Peter Swanson quotes from arguably the
most famous of these stories just before the start of this novella. The story opens with a woman preparing to
spend her usual solitary Christmas with a bit of housecleaning. She finds an
old familiar diary and soon finds herself immersed in a Christmas time some
thirty years earlier when she was a student.
Californian Ashley Smith is studying art in London and
planning on spending Christmas alone when she is asked to be a guest at a
country house in the Cotswolds. Fellow student Emma Chapman issued the
invitation, knowing that Ashley wouldn’t be returning to America for the
holidays. It’s something out of a fairy
tale, a wonderful English village with the manor house, Emma’s handsome brother
Adam, and evenings by the fireplace. But
Ashley confides to her diary that she’s a little uneasy. Maybe instead of a
fairy tale, she’s in a dark gothic tale.
After all, a girl was found murdered nearby just a few months earlier
and the killer is still at large—and Emma’s brother Adam is considered a
suspect.
This is a shivery tale, told from the points of view of a
somewhat naïve student and then from a mature woman.
Some of the surprises come early, but there’s a twist at the end that
made it memorable for me. If you like
Christmas mysteries, this is a good choice: the English setting, the dark undercurrents,
and the secrets. At just over 90 pages, it makes for a relatively quick read,
which is what I’m looking for at this very busy time of year. Swanson is the winner of numerous mystery
awards, and from this book I would say there are well deserved.
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