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

“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

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, 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 show more 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

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.

Mavis Hay wrote only three murder mysteries, which is a shame based on this book.
I chose this because it’s in a favorite category for me: the Country House Christmas Murder. Here we have a large and rather unwieldy family coming together for the holiday at the behest of the patriarch—the one with all the money.
The children are all grown and doing more or less well. Father is of course a petty tyrant who tries to control their marriages and careers through the use of his fortune. Not as hateful as some, Sir Osmond nevertheless manages to be more than annoying, and it’s no shock when he’s done in.
Suspects abound: the neglected bossy sister, the son, several daughters, and the pretty secretary. All these characters are show more well-developed, with motives aplenty. Our detective is Colonel Halstock, the Chief Constable of the county. The colonel is a smart, careful man who knows the family and feels a bit awkward at the circumstances. This doesn’t prevent him from doing his duty, and he pursues various threads even if he feels uncomfortable.
This is a very pleasant Golden Age British murder mystery. The only drawback that I could see is the rather thin denouement. A good three-star story, and I’ll be looking at her two other books. show less

The Santa Klaus Murder tells the story of a happy family Christmas gone very, very wrong. Of course, as the reader knows from the very beginning, the happy family is anything but. Between the controlling patriarch and the secretary that everyone thinks has designs on his fortune, no one is particularly happy to be at Flaxmede. Especially after Santa kills Dad. But in a house where everyone has a motive, who decided enough was enough? The poor inspector has to figure that out, luckily the actor lover of one of the dead man's daughter has volunteered his aid. Or is he just trying to cover up his own role? You'll have to read on to the end to find out.

A fun golden age murder mystery with the perfect amount of Christmas spirit. If you show more think your family's holidays are miserable, Hay's book will set you straight. Highly recommended. 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