The Santa Klaus Murder

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 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 show more 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

In '30s England, an aristocratic family gathers for the holidays—only for their domineering, purse-string-wielding patriarch to be found dead in his locked study on Christmas Day. Suicide or murder, and if the latter could someone dressed as Santa Claus truly have done it? It's readable and atmospheric, for sure—you've got your slightly caddish suitors, your neurotic maiden aunts, your beautiful and resolved but impoverished youngest daughter, your English country pile with halls decked, etc. But the ratio of events/detecting to length is off (even though this is far from a very long book), there are the period-predictable levels of classism, and the ending is a bit deflating and doesn't really make much sense. Not the worst thing show more I've ever read, but I finished the book about half an hour ago and am already struggling to remember the names of the main characters. show less

This book had quite a few problems, although it was enjoyable enough just to breeze through.

1) Way too many characters. The front page of the book has a list of them with a very short description which is very handy but made less useful by the fact that each character is referred to in multiple different ways that require you to check through the opening list. This makes it very hard to keep track of each character's motivations, movements etc and means only a few get much interesting characterisation. In general a lot of the characters are extraneous - for example, there are 4 kids in this book, only 1 of whom ever does anything even vaguely relevant - and some of the characters totally disappear after a certain point. This makes the show more impact of any particular clue a lot less because you had to try and remember everyone involved.

2) Strange way of revealing information. There was very little police work done and so many of the revelations came from characters giving a new statement and saying their old one was total lies or just that they missed out something major. Often this isn't really provoked by anything, they just do. Other clues aren't resolved for ages because the police simply don't question people properly. This also leads to a lot of trouble keeping straight what the current story is - multiple people apparently kept pacts to lie for each other for very little reason and so after one person gives their story they've often contradicted the other person's. It's not super confusing but it does leave you feeling like you're not really following a process of investigation, just waiting it out. It's also notable that the book opens with multiple chapters from different characters' points of view but it turns out they're documents that exist within the story, but they only make an appearance 2/3rds of the way through - and the main character takes ages to read them even then! So he makes multiple claims which you know are untrue but aren't hidden, which is confusing. And again it'd have been avoided if the people involved had actually said everything they'd experienced.

3) The ending doesn't solve anything! This is the most important point, probably. Everything gets wrapped up in 3-4 pages and it doesn't explain some really major things, most notably why the Santa Claus costume was adopted as part of the murder in the first place! It also doesn't really give conclusions for many of the characters. The book is *full* of red herrings and then the ending just ties together a bunch of obscure stuff. Massive ending spoilers follow. Part of the assumption was that the second Santa Claus handed out crackers to mask a shot. Yet it's also described that he *pulled the crackers* with them while he was there. It seems a massive stroke of luck for nobody, not even those with the crackers, to notice a shot, or not to think "wow that cracker noise happened while we weren't pulling crackers". They didn't have infinite crackers. It's also noted that nobody was expecting the crackers to be pulled that day. All it would have taken was one person to say "hey what the heck are the crackers for" or even just to speak to the guy *at all* and his entire disguise would have been ruined. Hell, even *looking closely* at him would have done it. Not a single point in the ending touches on how the murder was achieved. His alibi was also incredibly shoddy and would have fallen apart without a lucky meeting of other characters AND them totally lying about their positions! It's also notable that ALL the evidence against him is circumstantial. The only solid thing they have to pin on him is that he lied to the old chauffeur to try and get him to take the blame. Yet there was absolutely no reason for him to even have done that, and anyway that doesn't prove murder. I also found it ridiculous to think that *straight* after the murder he'd just be like "oh hey want to marry me" straight away and someone just go "oh yeah sure".

It's weird because it wasn't unenjoyable and I did have some fun for what it was. But there are plenty better stories and that ending was just naff. show less

A vintage Christmas country-house murder is just my thing. But my heart always sinks when I pick up a book where the novelist feels the need to list the characters. This was followed by a very slow start where all the characters were introduced, and then tedious chapters of who was in what room, when, like a game of Cluedo but played in very slow motion.

The blurb on the back describes this golden age whodunnit as 'long neglected'. But with negligible character development, and the large cast simply treated as chess pieces, I would say it was neglected with good reason.

Originally published in 1936, The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay is a very clever country-house murder mystery set at Christmas. With it’s great setting, a murdered aristocrat and plenty of suspects, the only thing I found slightly lacking was some humor. It is all told very seriously with a lot of clues strewn about the narrative, a few red herrings and twists to make this a classic Christmas mystery.

I found this novel dragged a little as each character at some point was suspected by the police and then had to be exonerated. The chapters were narrated by the various characters with the bulk of the investigation being told by Colonel Halstock, the Chief Constable, as he slowly puts the pieces together. I felt these multiple show more points of view helped to define the characters and gave them each their own identity.

The Santa Klaus Murder is a selection from the British Library Classics and although this is not destined to be a favourite of mine, I do appreciate that we have been given a chance to sample some of these lesser known authors from the golden age of mysteries. 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, 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 show more 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 selfish, curmudgeonly old coot invites his children — both favored and disinherited — along with their partners to a Christmas holiday with all the trimmings. Needless to say, the old man gets killed, and the chief constable of the fictional Haulmshire joins forces with a handsome, charming actor to solve the crime. Let me admit that I guessed the perpetrator completely wrong.

Author Mavis Doriel Hay deftly tackles what could easily have been a cliché: a stately home, an awful old man, his put-upon children and grandchildren and a Christmas crime. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and can’t wait to read another.