Mavis Doriel Hay (1894–1979)

Well that was surprisingly excellent. A real puzzle which I was thoroughly absorbed in, even though I was never really able to piece it together myself (the answer wasn't obscure though which is what made it even better). I really would have benefitted from making notes along the way as it was simply a wonderfully complex little puzzle, full of false trails and blind alleys, but with only one correct solution - which was summed up in an "evidence table" at the end which I really show more appreciated.

I have to say, I am really getting into these golden age whodunnits - especially these upper class English Manor House ones. This in particular had a motley assortment of toffs who seemed to lie and obfuscate at every opportunity, oblivious that they were unintentionally hindering the investigation from a team of mostly competent police and detectives who I felt a great deal of sympathy for.

I also love how they often waste no words and set ups. Everything is said or told with intent and reason and I'm finding this genre to be replete with tighly controlled writing which is refreshing to see compared to the more indulgent writing in modern works I see in other genres, especially given the number of characters and sub-plots often involved - as is the case here. There's some definite lessons to learn for budding writers.

A rare example of a festival themed story really shining due to its well crafted plot. I will be tracking down more of her works show less

“I have often found that the best way to persuade anyone to do something they suspect is to explain that they really need not do it.”

Sir Osmond Melbury, of Flaxmere. The patriarch. The know-it-all. The ‘’general’’ of the family. The one who has practically blackmailed each one of his daughters in order not to leave the home nest and abandon their father to eternal loneliness...The ones who measures people according to the width of their wallet. Not exactly easy to live with. So, show more no one really sheds a river of tears once he is found dead on Christmas Day, discovered by a guest who had been dressed as a Santa Claus (imagine that!). Who might the culprit be? A member of the family, one of the repressed daughters who is now free to live her life? A guest who has much to gain from Sir Osmond’s death? The candidates are many and Colonel Halstock has much to look out for.

The Santa Klaus Murder is a classic example of the locked-room mystery. The authoritarian patriarch, the psychologically troubled children, the long list of suspects, the obvious motives. However, in Hay’s novel nothing is THAT obvious. Motive or suspect. Each time I thought I had managed to discern the case, I discovered that I had merely followed a red herring and started all over again. And while the dialogue seemed a tiny bit stilted (not unnatural, given the era), I loved the descriptions of the imposing country house and the festive atmosphere that gets darker and darker. After all, Aunt Mildred was right. Nothing good can come from family gatherings…

Yes, broken record alert but bear with me. One can’t get enough of the gems found in the British Library Crime Classics Series.

“I nearly went off the deep end at that. The house seemed to be full of lunatics who never gave away anything they knew until it was just too late. But I did manage to tell the fool to explain himself.”

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less

A well-written murder mystery. It doesn't sabotage itself through determination to preserve a twist ending, but lets the truth bubble slowly to the surface. Hay makes good use of multiple viewpoint characters, allowing the reader to know more than any one character does, and giving different fragments of insight into the characters.

I must say, I have little patience nowadays for characters who deliberately keep evidence from the police, especially when it's obviously making things more show more suspicious rather than less. But it's an old book. On the plus side, I liked the competent, pleasant police officers who dealt professionally with an array of unhelpful Oxfordians.

For me personally, the Oxford trappings aren't much of a plus and are occasionally tiresome (self-indulgently Oxfordish undergraduates bore me). It also has unfortunately outdated depiction of a Yugoslavian character, whose stereotype is upheld by both the other characters, and more importantly by the text. Neither problem is a sticking-point, but they do mean I only rate this as a solid rather than a good book. show less

Es una delicia regresar a la clásica novela de intriga inglesa, siempre es divertido y gratificante leer algo como esto.

Por supuesto se notan mucho ciertas influencias de otros escritores ingleses mucho más conocidos, pero no por eso deja de ser un libro fácil de leer pero, sobre todo, ingenioso.

Lo mejor del libro, a mi parecer, son los personajes, todos ellos tan snobs y más el protagonista, es decir, el muerto de esta historia, por supuesto todos los implicados o la mayoría de ellos, show more tienen motivos y oportunidad, así que la premisa es esa, sospechar de todos, sin embargo, aunque el autor realizó un gran trabajo, tuvo algunos fallos que hacen que el lector, sobre todo el que lee mucho sobre este género, no pueda pasar desapercibidos y por lo tanto me fue muy fácil poner a mi sospechoso principal casi desde el principio, no me equivoque, pero tampoco es que fuera tan difícil dar con el asesino, demasiado obvios los otros sospechosos.

Por otro lado, me gusto el estilo narrativo, una novela coral pero que les da su tiempo a los personajes indicados, eso me gustó y se hizo bien, creo que me habría gustado saber que fue de cada uno después pero solo es mi vena cotilla la que lo quiere saber.

Por lo demás es un libro muy entretenido, que se deja leer rápido y fácil y que me hizo pasar un muy buen rato, además es el primero de este género que me permite terminarlo después de mi bloqueo lector, así que eso siempre es una buena noticia show less