A Christmas Hope

Calling this a Christmas story is a bit of a stretch. It's pretty much a little Victorian murder mystery novel that just so happens to take place during the holiday season.

Claudine and her husband (he's awful, a total wanker) attend an ill fated Christmas party where an un-virtuous young lady (i.e. prostitute) is murdered on the terrace . Things like this simply do not happen at high society parties. Three young man who were on the terrace claim that the drunken welch poet beat her to death, but Claudine thinks otherwise. She briefly talked to the poet earlier in the evening and although he may have been drunk he certainly didn't seem like a killer. Claudine vows to get to the bottom of this and discover who really murdered the girl. show more Quite a Christmas story eh?

For fans of historical mystery novels.

I received this book for free from Library Thing in return for my honest, unbiased opinion. show less

Full disclosure -- I'm an Anne Perry fan. Fifteen years ago a friend put me on to Perry and I've read her Pitt series, WWI series plus a few Christmas. No doubt I’m addicted.

Perry's Christmas mysteries are the winter equivalent of "beach books". Not actually novels, more novellas, A Christmas Hope is the latest offering and perfect for a wintry weekend when a quick cozy, with a backdrop of Victorian England (1868 London here), will fit the bill. Perry fans will be happy as a Christmas Hope adds to another beloved characters back story and new readers can enter Perry’s Victorian world without needing to be familiar with her other works.

Perry typically uses supporting characters from her two Victorian mystery series (featuring show more Thomas Pitt and William Monk) as the main character for each of her Christmas stories. A Christmas Hope features Claudine Burroughs, a character who works in Hester Monk’s medical clinic in the William Monk series. A murder mystery provides the back drop for Perry to also tell the story of Claudine’s troubled marriage. Though enjoyable, the mystery itself was predictable which is why I’d give A Christmas Hope 6 out of 10. show less

Alas, either Anne Perry is running out of ideas for her Christmas novellas, or I'm becoming jaundiced, cynical and generally Scrooge-like.

This is an OK short mystery -- a whodunnit -- in which the main protagonist is a peripheral character from Perry's William Monk series, Claudine Burroughs, who works at Hester's clinic. She is one of those women whose intelligence goes unremarked in the world she inhabits, as she's no longer young and never was attractive; she's also childless and in a dull, tedious marriage to a rather unpleasant man. Then, she happens to be present at a holiday party, where she is charmed by one of the guests, a young man as out of place as she is -- and who is later accused of murdering a young woman, a show more streetwalker whom he has brought to the society gathering. She undertakes to clear him.

The upside of this is that Perry doesn't ask her readers to swallow the idea of an implausible romantic relationship between Claudine and the poet, Dai Tregarron. If she is charmed, it is by his wit, poetry and insight. The downside? Well, at this point, you probably have a reasonable idea of what the outcome will be if not whodunnit.

Unless you're addicted to the author & the Christmas books, I would say, don't bother with this one. It's not all that meaty, and the short length emphasizes the sometimes sententious tone that Perry no longer bothers to camouflage in convincing dialog and interesting plot twists. Far too much philosophy lite for so few pages. My view? Meh. show less

Claudine Burroughs finds the fulfillment that she doesn't find her marriage through volunteering at Hester Monk's clinic for London's prostitutes. Although she doesn't love her husband and has nothing in common with him, Claudine fulfills her social obligations by accompanying her husband to dinners, parties, and special events, including a society Christmas party. The festivities end abruptly when a young woman of dubious moral character is assaulted and possibly fatally injured. Claudine is among the first of the guests to rush to the scene. A Welsh poet with a reputation for heavy drinking and womanizing is accused of the assault, but Claudine isn't sure that he's as guilty as he appears to be. Perhaps the three young men from good show more families who witnessed the assault are not as innocent as they claim to be. Claudine enlists the help of Squeaky Robinson, the clinic's bookkeeper, in ferreting out the truth.

Claudine is not as sympathetic as some of Perry's other characters. Her motives for volunteering at Hester's clinic don't seem to be entirely altruistic. She seems to regret choosing a comfortable life with a man she doesn't love over a less stable but more fulfilling existence. Her husband's only fault seems to be that he is unkind to her and cares more about appearances than true virtue. However, Claudine seems to be equally unkind to him, so it feels a lot like the “pot calling the kettle black”.

Claudine isn't looking for clues, but she is looking for someone among the witnesses who will tell the truth. Along the way she has an opportunity to counsel some young adults about the consequences of the choices that are available to them, using her own life as an illustration. She also reflects on the true meaning of Christmas. It shouldn't be a time to ignore the ugly things in life. It should be a time for generosity of spirit and a hope for change.

Reading Anne Perry's Christmas novellas has become a holiday tradition for me. They are a good reminder that, beneath the glitter of the holiday decorations and festivities, there are hurting people, and one of the best gifts we can give at Christmas time is something that will alleviate even just a little of others' suffering.

This review is based on an electronic advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. show less

Winning a free copy of A Christmas Hope through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers made me happy because I've been a fan of Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries since I first read one about twenty years ago.

This one focuses on Claudine Burroughs, an unhappily-married, childless lady who has been a secondary character in the William Monk series since at least The Shifting Tide. The work Claudine does at Hester Monk's clinic for prostitutes is still the best part of her life. From what we get to see of her husband, Wallace, it's easy to understand why. It's November 1868 when the book starts. It's a childless marriage. There are no medical tests to tell which member of the couple is infertile. Neither has committed adultery so far as Claudine show more knows, so there are no love children to answer the question.

If Claudine were living today, she could seek help for dealing with her verbally abusive husband. Sadly, her best prospect for a happier life, other than Wallace changing for the better, would be for him to die in an accident or of natural causes.

No, Wallace is not the murder victim in this book. That dubious honor goes to a young prostitute. Three young men, sons of three powerful families whom Wallace wishes to cultivate, say she was murdered by a Welsh poet known for his drinking and womanizing. Wallace would be content for Treggaron to be caught and hanged, but Claudine doesn't believe him to be guilty. True, they met for only a few minutes shortly before the brawl in which the girl died, but Claudine was one of the first to the scene.

Now that Hester's husband is officially a policeman again, Claudine can't take this problem to them. Instead, she turns to Hester's Portspool Lane Clinic's bookkeeper, Squeaky Robinson. The incident in which Squeaky aided Claudine that's mentioned here happened in Execution Dock. I enjoyed Squeaky's reactions to the conventions of the gentry as he learns them from Claudine. The case seems hopeless, but they both investigate, Claudine amongst the gentry and Squeaky amongst the disreputable poor.

Two of my favorite scenes were the ones where Claudine really tells her husband off and the one where she tries to help a young lady avoid her own fate.

Yes, there is hope to be found in what seem to be hopeless situations during a pre-Christmas season over a century ago. I recommend this novel to Anne Perry fans and fans of historical mysteries in general. show less

In November 2014, I was very surprised to discover the title of "A New York Christmas" and that it was the 12th Christmas novel by Anne Perry as she was a new author to me as discovered when I first read the blurb in the “Early Reviewer” Nov-2014 listing from LibraryThing. I was very happy that I was selected to receive an Early Reviewers copy of the title from the monthly batch of offerings. I love Christmas so I can enjoy a novel with a Christmas theme at any time during the year but it always adds to the festivities to discover and read a “new title” by a “new author” (to me) during the actual holiday season. I could have devoured this treat in one sitting but some morsels should be savored and so I read it in two show more sittings.

This Christmas, I knew that I would like to enjoy another title by Anne Perry so I added "A Christmas Hope" (Christmas Stories, #11) to my wish to read list and my husband delightfully added it to my birthday bag that I receive in early November. I loved the character of Claudine Burroughs and the author's rich description of daily life and holiday events pull you into the setting that begins in November 1868.

Now, I shall add the first Christmas novella by Anne Perry to next year's holiday reading list and continue from the beginning. It will be a seasonal tradition of rich reading joy.

And for all Downton Abbey fans, this would be a wonderful Christmas gift of reading pleasure. show less

A quick read that captured and kept my attention for the two hours or less it took to read. This tale takes us into the life of Claudine Burroughs, a minor character in the author's series about William Monk, and gives us much more insight into her back story. The mystery itself was fairly easy to solve, but the book was nonetheless an interesting read, at least for me, given that I do like the Monk series best of Anne Perry's books, and it gave me that background about Mrs. Burroughs. Although the story takes place during the Christmas season, that aspect of it is not overwhelming, so this is a suitable read at any time of year. Thanks for the free Early Reviewers copy!