A Christmas Visitor

If I have a complaint about Anne Perry's writing, is her tendency to hammer home ideas to the point of reader irritation. Her curse for being repetitive strikes in A Christmas Visitor when she constantly tells the reader how honest and upstanding the dead man is. She was so insistent on the point I thought (hoped) the big reveal would be treachery on the dead man's part. But, this is a Christmas story and that was not to be the end. Due to lack of time and space, novellas suffer even more than novels from the dearth of legitimate suspects, making the story less about whodunit and more about how the investigators figure it all out. Perry's descriptions are, once again, stellar, but the mystery is at times overly confusing, though the show more conclusion is decently satisfying, if not surprising. Having said all that, I would still choose an Anne Perry novel over most other options. show less

The joy of a much-anticipated Christmas reunion turns to sorrow after the head of the family's sudden death. His grieving widow calls on her godfather, Henry Rathbone, for his support. Unexplained circumstances lead several family members to suspect murder, and they're all sure they know who is responsible. When Rathbone hears of the circumstances, he shares their suspicion of murder, but questions their conclusion. Rathbone must sort out a complex question of inheritance in order to discover the truth about his friend's death.

Henry Rathbone is a minor character in Anne Perry's William Monk series. Henry's methodical investigation into the legal issues surrounding the death show that his aptitude for legal matters is equal to that of show more his barrister son, Oliver. I like Perry's William Monk series better than her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, and I liked this Christmas novella better than her first one, which featured a character from the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I'll definitely include more of Perry's Christmas novellas on next year's holiday reading list. show less

A happy Christmas reunion of the Dreghorn family was thwarted by the sudden death of one of the brothers. Though ruled accidental, the gathering family cannot believe the tragedy was simply an accident. In trying to understand the events that led up to the death, they suspect it could have been murder. But digging deeper, they uncover an unsavory act that could change all their lives forever. This intricate plot has as many twists as a country road, and will keep your interest until the very end.

Another of Anne Perry's Christmas novellas centers around Henry Rathbone's efforts to clear the name of his friend Judah Dreghorn, who has died suddenly in what appears to be an accident but is discovered to be murder.

This was an interesting rendition of a post mortem revelation of a character who has done wrong but without knowledge of the injustice until the very end.

Anne Perry was a new author to me discovered when I first read the blurb in the “Early Reviewer” November 2014 listing from LibraryThing. I was very happy that I was selected to receive an Early Reviewers copy of this title from the monthly batch of offerings. Since that time, I treat myself to reading another Christmas story by the author each holiday season. It is truly a gift of reading that I look forward to each year. I could devour her novels in one holiday season but it is a treasure to enjoy each exquisite story and message and carry that reflection close in heart.

This was more of a mystery than a Christmas story.

I've been wanting to read this series and of course being that it is a Christmas series it was never available at the library but this one came available and I scooped it up. I suspect that it is a series that can be read in any order and that it is a series by way of theme. It was a great historical cozy mystery. I'm looking forward to the others.