Murder for Christmas (Mordecai Tremaine Series #2)

by Francis Duncan

Overview

The first book in a classic Golden Age mystery series perfect for fans of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot

When Mordecai Tremaine arrives at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame on Christmas Eve, he discovers that the revelries are in full swing in the sleepy village of Sherbroome—but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.

When midnight strikes, the partygoers discover that presents aren't the only things nestled under the tree...there's a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas. With the snow falling and suspicions flying, it's up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit—and prevent anyone else from getting murder for Christmas.

Murder for Christmas is a festive mystery for the holiday season: mulled wine, mince pies... and murder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492651703
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Series:	Mordecai Tremaine Series , #2
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	112,172
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Francis Duncan is the pseudonym for William Underhill, who was born in 1918. He lived virtually all his life in Bristol and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War II, landing in France shortly after D-Day. After the war, he trained as a teacher and spent the rest of his life in education. He died in 1988.

Editorial Reviews

"Fans of classic British mysteries will delight in this Christmas tale loaded with red herrings and cleverly planted clues." — Kirkus Reviews

"Unexpected and accomplished twists to the cozy mystery formula add to the old-fashioned pleasures of this novel. " — Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers will enjoy Tremaine’s exploits. Pair with Mavis Doriel Hay’s The Santa Klaus Murder for a double shot of golden age yuletide mystery." — Library Journal

"An old-fashioned mystery in the best possible way." — Tulsa World

"There are hints of Agatha Christie's long-running play "The Mousetrap" here, as everyone at a multi-day Christmas house party becomes a suspect when one of their number is found dead underneath the Christmas tree, dressed in a Father Christmas robe...Duncan will have readers guessing the murder's identity up until the end. " — Deseret News

From the Publisher

10/15/2017
The release of this holiday tale marks the relaunching of British golden age mystery author Duncan's 1950s "Mordecai Tremaine" series. Tremaine has been invited to spend Christmas at a country estate in the little English village of Sherbroome, but the holiday brings a rather ghastly surprise as the house guests awake to a dead Father Christmas under the tree. In his retirement, the former tobacconist with a penchant for romance novels has taken up the hobby of amateur investigator and become friendly with Scotland Yard, so, of course, he surreptitiously begins questioning the guests and looking for clues to the murderer. Sporting his pince-nez and making astute observations, Tremaine adeptly solves the mystery. VERDICT Fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers will enjoy Tremaine's exploits. Pair with Mavis Doriel Hay's The Santa Klaus Murder for a double shot of golden age yuletide mystery.

Library Journal

2017-08-06
Duncan, the pseudonym for William Underhill (1918-88), returns to print with a classic Christmas country-house puzzle.Although Sherbroome House is the ancient seat of the Melvin family, no one of their line is the present owner. The manse was purchased from the penurious last living relative and completely redone by Benedict Grame, who is well-known for celebrating Christmas in a sweeping, old-fashioned way. Among this year's guests are Grame's old friend Jeremy Ranier, Ranier's ward, Denys Arden, and her boyfriend, Roger Wynton, whom Ranier appears to dislike. Old favorites include Rosalind Marsh, Austin Delamere, Mr. and Mrs. Napier, and the stunning Lucia Tristam. New additions this year are professor Lorring and Mordecai Tremaine, a talented amateur sleuth. Grame's secretary, Nicholas Blaise, is the glue that holds things together for the disparate guests. And adhesive seems to be needed this year, for Tremaine notices a good deal of tension among the guests because several of them are hiding secrets. He's seen Grame's sister Charlotte in the nearby town having tea with an unknown man, though she denies she was there. It's her screams that awaken the household on Christmas Eve, the night Grame famously hangs presents for all his guests on the Christmas tree. This cycle of gifts includes a body lying beneath the tree. The murdered man, who at first everyone assumes is Grame, turns out to be Ranier. Tremaine is fortunate that Superintendent Cannock is an old friend of an officer Tremaine once worked with and is willing to let him investigate. As is often the case in golden-age mysteries, seemingly innocent discussions reveal the secrets so many are trying to hide, at least one of which is dangerous enough to kill for.Fans of classic British mysteries will delight in this Christmas tale loaded with red herrings and cleverly planted clues.

Kirkus Reviews