Twelve Drummers Drumm lib CD

Father Christmas Mystery #1

by C.C. Benison, Steve West (Reading), Jean Gilpin (With)

Thornford Regis has never been lovelier: larks on the wing, lilacs in bloom, and the May Fayre in full swing. But inside the empty village hall, the huge Japanese "o-daiko "drum that's featured in the festivities has been viciously sliced open--and curled up inside is the bludgeoned body of Sybella Parry, the beautiful nineteen-year-old daughter of the choir director.
That she was too young to die, everyone agrees. But did Sybella's apparent affinity for Goth and the black arts, and her rumored drug use, attract a shady element that led to her distressing demise? Father Tom Christmas, still haunted by the tragedy that has left him a widower and his nine-year-old daughter motherless, soon realizes that this idyllic village is not the refuge he'd hoped for. He also comes to a disturbing conclusion: Sybella's killer must be one of his parishioners. And over all hangs the long-unsolved mystery of a sudden disappearance, one that brought Father Tom to a picture-perfect place to live--or die.

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, British Literature, Holiday

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

C.C. Benison is the pen name of Douglas Whiteway, a journalist and author who lives in Winnipeg, Canada. He has a degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa and has worked for the Winnipeg Tribune and the Winnipeg Free Press.

He is most recently the author of The Unpleasantness at the Battle of Thornford, a Father Christmas novella, published in November 2020. This follows his last work of fiction, Paul is Dead: A Novel, published in 2018, which is a literary thriller set in an isolated lakeside cottage.

He is also the author of a series of murder mysteries set on the estates of Queen Elizabeth II where the crimes are solved by housemaid Jane Bee, with the Queen's help. Titles include Death at Buckingham Palace, Death at Sandringham House, and Death at Windsor Castle. He is, as well, the author of Death in Cold Type, a murder mystery set in Winnipeg.

In 2011, the first of the Father Christmas mysteries, Twelve Drummers Drumming, was published. The novels feature Tom Christmas, Anglican priest, widower and single father, solving crimes in and around the village of Thornford Regis in Devon, England. Eleven Pipers Piping followed in 2012. Ten Drummers Drumming was published in autumn 2013.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1997): Death at Buckingham Palace

Reviews

[Li'l Owl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am having a hard time with this book. I'm not sure what it is exactly, that is making this book so unreadable to me, so I'll just put it however I can..
First, I don't remember ever having more trouble following a story, especially when it is supposed to be a cosy mystery. Maybe it's just me, but I can't follow this story, to save my life. The first FOUR pages list the cast of characters. The story doesn't allow you to get to know the people, it's like you have to memorize the who's who, BEFORE you read it, to understand it. It's seems as though there are books that precede this one, and if you haven't read them yet, you have no chance of understanding this one. Except that this is the first book in the series.
Further, in my opinion, the book has misrepresented itself as a nice, cosy, Christmas themed story. The main character is a vicar, Tom Christmas, who is new to a seemingly quiet, uncomplicated, small town. Of course, it doesn't turn out to be the case, hence the 'Father Christmas Mystery' series. But, he hates being called that, for reasons that I feel I should already know. To be fair, maybe, if I had given the book a little more time, all the questions I have would become clear. But, at least for today, it being Christmastime and all, I was looking for a holiday themed, cosy, mystery story. Not a story that is so much a mystery, that I can't understand it. The cover, title, and the 'Father Christmas' mystery, all seem to represent a holiday seasoned book. However, there is absolutely nothing about it that has anything to do the holidays. Like I said,
I'm not really sure exactly what to say, except that I am not enjoying this book in any way, shape, or form. Maybe I'm just having a crabby day.? But I've never, at least in the last 5 years, been so discouraged by a book that I didn't finish it. So.... life's short, and I've got many, many, more books that I want to read. So I'll have to accept defeat, and list this as the very first book, ever, to land itself on a shiny, new, DNF shelf.

[Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars

What do you think the chances were, if an author wrote a book with a character named Father Christmas, and took the title of the book from the lyrics of a Christmas carol, and plastered the cover with 12 nutcrackers beating drums, that the person buying said book might reasonably suppose that the book had SOMETHING to do with Christmas? I think the chances were pretty high.



Yup, I was wrong. This book doesn’t have a damn thing to do with Christmas. (Which I could almost forgive had the title character not been so completely stupid as to irritate the pants off of me.)

Why would the author purposefully misrepresent what this book was about? Did she think that because Christmas themed books sell, that she would sell a lot more books? Didn’t she realize that this ploy was very likely to annoy her readers? I just wanted this story to be what it purported to be. Is that asking too much?

It was not what I was expecting and not what I wanted to be reading right now. What do you think the chances are that I didn't care for this book, and will give it a low rating? I think the chances are pretty high.



NOTE: I also don’t appreciate reading about bereaved vicars (those who desperately miss their beloved wives) lusting after various females and mentally picturing them naked.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve Drummers Drumming was one of those books where I kept looking at how much more I had left to read because I didn't want it to end. Father Tom Christmas is a widowed vicar who retreats to a charming, quiet village to raise his daughter and recuperate from the murder of his wife in their former urban parish. Unfortunately, the quiet is shattered by an untimely death, and the suspects start to pile up. The cast of characters assembled in the novel range from a dottering old POW, a has-been rock star and his goth daughter, an angry pub keeper, the suspiciously silent church verger, and an artsy-craftsy photographer. The story was nicely paced, a good combination of being descriptive, without boring me with description, a nice smattering of smart contemporary cultural references that made me smile, and the gentle rhythm of country life that revolves around a pint at the pub and a roast and pudding for Sunday lunch.

I enjoyed the biblical references that flit through Father Christmas' mind as he deals with the imperfections of those around him and his own flaws. Nicely done without making Father Christmas a one-dimensional goody two-shoes. The author certainly left me wondering about what happened to some of the characters, and I hope that those whose stories/whereabouts were not wrapped up in this book are going to appear in his next novel. As for the mystery itself, I tend to have more of a wild imagination as I read, predicting this or that as the motive. I was half right on this one; got the killer right but not the motive. This was better than most of the books I've read this year and I look forward to reading the next Father Christmas novel.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. A lot of the book is filled with the vicar’s internal thinking...a lot... Nice book actually in a nice little village with lots of nice people. Seems to be only 3 books in series. 12, 11 and 10. Wonder if it meant to go the whole 12 days??

**read for summer reading program—“number in the title”

[Laurel Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am usually very conservative with my ebook purchasing, contenting myself with freebies and watching for books under $2, but I actually paid full price for this one. What can I say? It was Christmas, I was away from home, the title and reviews intrigued me, and I didn't want to wait until I could get it from the library. You could spend more on a movie and popcorn!

It did not disappoint! I love British cozies. And I love stories involving clergy and their families, since I'm a PK myself. While the story itself is not holiday-themed, we have a vicar called "Father" Christmas serving the parish church of St. Nicholas, and series titles all taken from the 12 Days of Christmas song. I will say that it took some effort on my part to keep track of all the characters - an investment that I hope will pay off as I read more of the series. There is a list of characters in the front, but after getting half-way through the book I started over and took notes as I went along. The major characters are fairly well developed, but others are mentioned once without really adding anything to the story. There are several mysteries going on throughout the book, and not all are resolved at the end. It remains to be seen if those threads will be picked up down the line. Hopefully, there will be eleven more books to come! The plot developments are somewhat predictable - it's the characters and the backstories that made this interesting for me. Tom Christmas is most definitely not your run-of-the-mill vicar.

Setting: The village of Thornford Regis (made up) in Devonshire.

Main characters:
Tom Christmas is the new vicar of St. Nicholas church in Thornford Regis. He is lately come from Bristol where he was an inner-city team minister. His wife (Jewish and a doctor) was murdered in a violent crime there. The speculation is that it was somebody after money for drugs, but the killer has never been found. As his back-story unfolds, we learn that he was previously a professional magician (The Great Krimboni). His birth parents gave him up for adoption, and his adoptive parents died in a plane crash when he was still a baby. He was raised by his adoptive father's sister, a veterinarian, and her partner, Kate, an American flight attendant.

Miranda - Tom's 9-year-old daughter, who misses the French au pair she had in Bristol, and is fascinated with the French equivalent of Nancy Drew.

Julia Hennis - Tom's sister-in-law, a local music teacher who fills in as organist from time to time at St. Nicholas. She is married to Dr. Alastair Hennis, but their marriage has been very strained. She takes Miranda to synagogue every Sabbath.

Madrun Prowse - She comes with the vicarage and is cook and housekeeper. She writes to her mother in Cornwall daily, and these letters give us her point of view on all the goings on.

Peter Kinsey - the former incumbent vicar who disappeared after serving 18 months. His parents were wealthy farmers in Zimbabwe, killed by rebels.

Fred Pike - local handyman and a kleptomaniac.

Colm Parry - organist and choirmaster. Former pop-singer in the 80s. Reformed alcoholic. Father of Sybella Parry, who is found murdered.

Liam Drewe - ex-con with a very short temper. Owner of the Waterside Cafe where Sybella was a waitress.

Mitsuko Drewe - his wife, an artist. She was born in Wales where her Japanese parents had emigrated to after World War II. Her father, retired manager of the Sony plant in Brigend, is taking Welsh lessons and involved in Welsh folk-dancing (!)

Colonel Phillip Northmore - ancient church treasurer. World War II vet - prisoner of war at Omori.

Sebastian John - the enigmatic verger with a secretive past. He is also Colonel Northmore's gardener.

Book Description: Father Tom Christmas moves to the picturesque English hamlet of Thornford Regis to become its new vicar and to seek a peaceful haven. But inside the empty village hall, the huge Japanese o-daiko drum that’s featured in the May Fayre festivities has been viciously sliced open—and curled up inside is the bludgeoned body of Sybella Parry, the daughter of the choir director. Realizing this village is not the refuge he’d hoped for, Father Tom comes to a disturbing conclusion: Sybella’s killer must be one of his parishioners. No one is above suspicion—not Sebastian John, the deeply reserved verger, nor Mitsuko Drewe, a local artist, nor Colonel Northmore, survivor of a World War II prison camp. And over all hangs the long-unsolved mystery of a sudden disappearance, one that brought Father Tom to this picture-perfect place to live—or die.

About the author: C.C. Benison is the nom de plume of Doug Whiteway, who was born and still lives in Winnipeg, Canada. He was awarded a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Manitoba, and a degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa. He has worked as a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines, as a book editor, and as a contributor to non-fiction books. He started writing mystery fiction in the 1990s with Death At Buckingham Palace, and followed this with other novels.

Series info:
#1 of the Father Christmas mysteries

#1 Twelve Drummers Drumming - read
#2 Eleven Pipers Piping - read
-----------------------------
#3 Ten Lords A-Leaping

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The discussion about being seduced by book covers continues. I have to add to it the seduction of the blurbs.

A couple of months before a book is published the author and publisher have to solicit comments from other authors and reviewers. Not much fun, I'm told, even if your book is really good. And the results are usually mixed.

Well, the testamonials for Twelve Drummers Drumming can't have been hard to scare up, judging from how wonderful this mystery is, and from who chippped in.

Laurie R King: "C C Benison brings the English village mystery into a more demanding era, crafting a story with dimension and subtlety, in which resoundingly real characters grapple with loss and danger and matters of immortality - without losing the whimsy, the tight plotting, and the palpable delight in Traditional England found in his predessors."

Pretty impressive. And TRUE. This book is so well plotted, the characters are so well-rounded that the whole thing so resembles the best of the mysteries from the classical era. Here's a bit of dialogue:

“You’re rambling a bit, Mrs Springett.”
“So I am. Avoidance, I daresay.”
“Well, as Jesus said, ‘Spit it out.’”
“Vicar! Jesus did not say that!”
“He might have. Much went unrecorded.”

Another testamonial, this one from Julia Spencer-Fleming who writes those wonderful mysteries about a female Episcopal priest in upstate New York and her police chief boyfriend:

"The traditional British village cozy has never looked better. The Reverend Tom Christmas is an irresistible addition to the ranks of clerical sleuths. Fams of M C Beaton, Rhys Bowen, and G M Malliet will relish C C Benison's layered, exceptionally well written new series."

2012 No 18

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve Drummers Drumming is book one in the Father Christmas Mystery series by C.C. Benison. After the death of his wife, Father Tom Christmas became the new Vicar of Thornford Regis. At first glance, Thornford Regis seems to be a beautiful English village, and were Father Tom Christmas was hoping to find a peaceful refuge for him and his nine-year-old daughter. However, when the body of a young parishioner Sybella was found murdered, Father Tom Christmas decided to investigate. The readers of Twelve Drummers Drumming will continue to follow Father Tom Christmas as he investigates Sybella's death.

Twelve Drummers Drumming is a lovely book to read sitting by a fire with your favourite biscuits and a cup of tea. I loved C.C. Benison portrayal of his characters and the way they interact with each other. Twelve Drummers Drumming is well written and researched by C. C. Benison. I like C. C. Benison descriptions of his settings.

The readers of Twelve Drummers Drumming will learn about living in a lovely peaceful English Village. Also, readers of Twelve Drummers Drumming see another way grief can affect people.

I recommend this book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think here ... it had the promise to be be a good story, but I could never become invested in the characters or the outcome really.
Aside from the cute gimmick of a minister called Father Christmas (although he usually insists on "vicar" if not just "Tom"), there was the issue of his wife's murder, with no clues a year or so earlier, and his carrying on with raising their daughter as Jewish; his wife's sister takes her to services in the nearby city of Exeter. And there's his having been raised by a gay couple. Those angles I'd be interested in hearing more about.
Still, unlike St. Mary Mead, Thornfield Regis has many just plain unlikeable folks, except for the boring ones. Tom's housekeeper, whom we know pretty much from her daily letters to her deaf mother, is among the best of the lot. Most struck me as either nasty, or whiny.
I'd be willing to read a second book, to see whether the author's ability to write a mystery plot improves, as this one book had a lot of backstory filler.

Really 2.5 stars

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a series of Father Tom Christmas mysteries is a compelling and engaging novel.

Set in modern times --- this mystery, contrary to its' Christmas carol title --- is no tea cozy of a novel. A young girl is viciously and inexplicably murdered and stuffed inside a large Japanese drum. The small English village of Thornford Regis is full of characters and each is offered as a suspect in some way.

Like the work of Agatha Christie, TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING dips into social, political and historical subjects that all may give rise to the motive for the murderer. The only negative I have to impart is I was somewhat taken aback by the use of four-letter words in the last third of the novel. While the setting is modern times I still found the language an unnecessary distraction to what played out as an intelligent novel reminiscent of a solid episode of PBS Mystery. I look forward to the next one and hope Benison finishes out the entire song!

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2½ stars. While the mystery aspect was decent, there was something in the setting or writing that struck me as a bit wrong - I can't really describe what it is. I will try another one to see if this feeling is specifically related to this book or affects the whole series...

[Sopha · Rating 1 out of 5]

What made me pick up this book was the quote on its cover: "A crime novel that Agatha Christie might have been justly proud to claim as her own." - Margaret Maron.

And that was a mistake on my part. No one can achieve what Mrs Christie had done in this genre.

I could not get into the book at all, nothing to grip my attention and interest. I'm 3/4 through but I just can't seem to finish it and unfortunately, it doesn't bother me not knowing who committed the murder.

[Lauri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally, if you give me a mystery set in a quaint English village with quirky English villagers, this is a sure hit for me, but I could never get into this one and gave up about a third of the way through.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Father Tom Christmas (who prefers vicar or just plain Tom) comes to Thornford Regis looking for peace and quiet for himself and his daughter. He's escaping London where his wife was brutally murdered in their church by an unknown assailant. He has come to replace the Reverend Peter Kinsey, the village's previous vicar who had vanished into thin air not long before. Tom expects life in the small English village to be far less complicated and much safer. But as preparations are made for the annual May Fayre festivities, a young woman is found bludgeoned to death and stuffed inside the largest of the Japanese drums that were scheduled to be part of the entertainment.

Sybella Parry had led a wild life in London with her mother (a celebrity of sorts) and her father, after gaining custody, had brought her to the village where he lived with his second wife in an effort to help her straighten out her life. But the villagers noticed that Sybella seemed sly and like she knew everybody's secrets...and just maybe might do something about them. Did someone decide to do away with her before she could? Or is it significant that she and Mitsuko Drewe look extraordinarily similar from behind? It seems that it might be when one of Mrs. Drewe's famous quilts--based on pictures of village life--is stolen. It's a quilt that showed a picture of the cemetery the very night that the previous vicar disappeared. Was there a clue in the quilt? And did someone want to get rid of both the quilt and its creator (missing the mark in the second case)? Father Christmas has parishioners confessing to him right and left and he will face a moral dilemma or two as he decides what he can share with the authorities. Will he be able to help see that justice is done?

So, I have a few problems with this. First, the style of writing is very difficult for my to like. Benison takes Tom Christmas (and us) into scenes, cuts them off to take a look at another scene, and then has Tom doing these flashback moments to tell us what happened in the rest of the scene we left. So--what we get is a book that is a good 25-50% flashback telling. One of the first rules of writing is show--don't tell. Why on earth could we not just write the complete scene and let the readers see for themselves what happened rather than giving us half of it through Tom's memory of the moment?

Second, like many others, I originally picked this up thinking there would be a holiday theme. After all, we have Father Christmas (and it's pitched as a "Father Christmas mystery) AND we have a title and cover straight out of an incredibly well-known Christmas song. If we just wanted the title to match the vicar's name, then fine. But those drummers look like they're out of the Nutcracker and the actual drummers in the story are playing Japanese instruments. Seriously?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slight spoiler ahead:

Third, I'm not a fan of the dangling mysteries we've got going on. Especially since it looks like Benison abandoned this series after the third installment, so it's unlikely that they're ever resolved. We've got the murder of Tom's wife that was never solved. And then we have the mystery surrounding his verger's involvement in a previous murder case (totally unrelated to the story here) and the fact that he's disappeared. I'd be willing to bet money that neither of those mysteries are cleared up in the next books--especially when I look at the synopsis for each one. Very unsatisfying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the plus side, I do like Tom Christmas and his housekeeper, Madrun Prowse. Madrun's letters to her ailing mum are probably the best part of the book. If Tom and Madrun had teamed up to be actual amateur detectives and Benison had ditched all of the "flashback" internal musings this would have been a much better mystery.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a struggle to get through. I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Only 2 others in this series, so I will try the next book and see what I think.

"The Reverend Tom "Father" Christmas, the newest vicar of Thornford Regis, an idyllic rural town in England, turns detective when one of his parishioners turns up dead in a drum, and everyone in town seems to have something to confess. Tom Christmas came to picturesque Thornford Regis with his young daughter to escape the terrible experience of losing his wife in the city. Her murder sent him packing to the bucolic and charming town, where violent crime isn't supposed to happen and the greatest sin is supposed to be nothing a member of the clergy can't handle. Then, at the town fair, a woman is found murdered. Tom soon learnsthat everyone in Thornford Regis has a secret to hide--infidelity, theft, even past murders."

[Laura Knaapen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It turns out it was NOT a Christmas book. The main characters last name is Christmas and the 12 drummers were drumming Taiko, not Christmas carols. Other than that, it was well-written with interesting characters. The main character made several sad and questionable decisions toward the end of the book.

It reminded me of Midsommer Murders...if there is one murder in the sleepy English village, there will be at least 3. Unlike Midsommer Murders (more like Father Brown) why are the priests and vicars more savvy at solving murders than the police?

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat of a book. Very excited to find a new series to dive into. Twelve Drummers Drumming, like traditional British mysteries, is set in an Idyllic English country village but, set in modern times with modern characters (aging rock star and goth daughter, part time organist in an increasingly unhappy marriage and a retired army officer still struggling with his life as a POW ) with modern problems (drug abuse, gambling debts and shady pasts). Father Tom Christmas, the protagonist in this story, is multi-faceted and interesting. Young and attractive he has moved to a quiet village with his 9-yr old daughter to put behind both of them, the violent murder of his wife in his urban parish. Father Christmas is a very real character and despite his vocation as an Anglican priest, undergoes very real and imperfect emotions like anger, revenge and lust, even for his unhappy sister-in law. The plot of the story was also excellent: a young, troubled village girl found murdered and stuffed in a monstrous Japanese drum. The shock of this murder leads Father Christmas on a challenging and disturbing journey to find out the motive and perpetrator of and the truth behind this heinous act. Challenging because of the multi-layered nature of the crime and its motive and disturbing because of the memories and emotions the crime has awakened in this cleric who had so recently lost his wife to brutal murder. Leading to a conclusion which, in itself was satisfying but left you wondering what happens to all the interesting characters introduced, finishing this novel definitely left me wanting to delve into the next one.

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected. I'm sure others thought it would have a Christmas theme because of the title and because of the other titles in the series. Father Tom Christmas is the name of an English vicar who has recently located to a small English village called Thornford Regis. Father Tom has recently lost his wife to a violent act and it happened in the church he was posted to in the city. He moved to the small village with his young daughter in order to try to raise Miranda in what appears to be a sleepy, safe little village. But it appears that after two short months, murder has seemed to follow them to the village when a young girl is found dead. in the village hall. Her body had been stuffed into a large Japanese drum that was to be part of a planned concert for the town fair. Tom Christmas uncovers a whole pile of village secrets that include theft, missing persons, infidelity as well as murder. The sleepy little village has lots of unsavoury surprises that come to light while the investigation to the murder is conducted. There are lots of interesting and unique characters introduced in this first book of what is to be a 12 book series. The mystery is fairly complex and old and buried secrets are revealed as the village learns what actually happened to young Sybella. I found the book to be a bit long as compared to other English village cozy mysteries.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A humble suggestion: Maybe don't call your book "Twelve Drummers Drumming" and name your protagonist Father Christmas when your book is, in fact, not about Christmas at all.

I felt pretty misled by the title, which I bought because I thought, "Ooh fun, a Christmas mystery!" I probably could have gotten past the misleading title and character name if the book had been better, but in the end, all this book really did for me was get that horrible Christmas song by The Kinks stuck in my head ("Father Christmas, give me some money!") UGH.

The story itself isn't terrible (a decent, if predictable mystery and no cheap red herrings), but it wasn't especially unique, the sense of atmosphere (which is supposed to be the backbone of all cozy mysteries) was lacking, and the characters (even our alleged hero, Father Christmas) were dull and not particularly interesting or likeable. No more of this series for me.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had this book on my 'to read' list years ago and added it back in when the pickins were thin. I made a mistake. I tried several times to get into this story but even the opening didn't grab me.
Another reviewer said it all for me. I am plagiarizing the highlights in the following:
In case you're making the same assumptions I was, let me clarify. This is not set at Christmas time and is not funny or light. It is one of those dreary British mysteries full of unlikable people who all suspect each other of whacking a teenage girl over the head and stuffing her in a Japanese drum
There's a cast of characters at the front, and you'll need it because this book is crammed with boring people who are really hard to tell apart
There. I'm done with it.

[Joeyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was intriquing to start.
Not a bad cozy. I'm not a fan of the male point of view in cozies, so I wasn't taken by the whole thing.

[Jane Shibilski · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best “cozy” mysteries I have read in a long while. Intriguing, with characters written so they stay embedded in your mind as well as numerous twists and turns; these are my basic requirements for a fascinating mystery. I originally picked this up to read as I was looking for a light mystery to engage my mind and serve as distraction from the sometimes trying events of the holidays. I was very pleased to find the beginning of a series that will hopefully keep me interested for a long time. The author writes extremely well as I found myself easily drawn into idyllic small village English life which is, of course, complicated by murder. The vicar, Father Christmas, his daughter Miranda, and the extended family and inhabitants of Thornford Regis are well thought out and memorable. I also admire the ending when the murderer is unmasked and the “how and why” questions are answered. It’s not your usual gather all the suspects together kind of ending, but a neat trick of writing.

Agatha Christie and Louise Penny are two authors who, for me, set the gold standard for mysteries of any genre. I must say the author, C.C. Benison, is also rising to the top. I look forward to more from the author and the subsequent happenings in Thornford Regis.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had picked up the book many times to read, because of the title. The series goes backward in the song and it was an interesting read, once I was able to get into it. I also borrow the audio because of the time available for reading being taken up by taxi duties.

Father Christmas had moved with his daughter to Thornfield Regis after the murder of his wife. He was offered the position of Vicar at the church after the latest vicar had disappeared. When a young woman is found dead in a drum being used in the festival he feels that the police are not very capable at finding the truth, just as they had not ever found the murderer of his wife. He is also unsettled by the death of the young woman and the finding of the body of the previous Vicar - in the cemetery plot of a man buried just before his disappearance. He also continues to do his Vicarage duties and talking to an old man who was injured during the finding of the body, he hears stories of the time he spent in Japanese Prison Camps during WWII.

What I found interesting was that the author did a remarkable job of research on the camps and the prisoner treatment and the lives of survivors. The story, on the whole, was very interesting and I am looking forward to more from the series.

[Cecily Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though there is some gnarly imagery that goes well with the title of this book, the overall feel of this book is a little slow, and also a bit small town gossipy. I am reading these books for a challenge that have to be Christmas themed. Otherwise I probably wouldn't continue the series. Here is to hoping the next one is better.

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent British mystery in the tradition of an Agatha Christie village-cozy story. The setting is great, the characters wonderful, and the plot absorbing and intriguing. It is a story that just simply feels 'comfortable' for a mystery lover like me, and is certainly a pleasurable read. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery with a Church of England priest named Tom Christmas, that's right he is "Father Christmas." Which would explain the title. Man I love a good cozy mystery, and this is a great start to a promising cozy mystery series.

[Erin L · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was an odd one for me. Given the cover and the description, I kind of expected a cozy mystery, but it isn't a cozy. Once I got past that, I settled into the book. I think the author handled numerous suspects and plotlines well and I was never really sure who actually did it and why. It's a perfect little village mystery with all of the little village secrets just waiting to spill out.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book that I've read (or rather listened to) in this series, but as I listened I realized that it's the first book in series order. I liked it. As with the first one that I read, I could really do without the letters written by the housekeeper to her deaf mother. It's a somewhat longer book than necessary and the letters just add to the length without really enhancing the story.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable!

[Yvette · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[AStar Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75