Christmas with Sophie Sayers: Festive Tales from Wendlebury Barrow

by Debbie Young

A warm and witty collection of gentle stories of Cotswold life, set in Wendlebury Barrow, the village featured in the bestselling Sophie Sayers Cozy Mystery series.

But you won't find any murder mysteries or crazy crimes in these stories - just uplifting, short festive tales, full of favourite characters from the Sophie Sayers novels, and generously sprinkled with Debbie Young's characteristic humour.

Join Sophie Sayers, her friends and neighbours, as they share village Christmas traditions, from Christmas shopping in the Hector's House bookshop and carol-singing on the village green to ringing in the New Year in the ancient bell tower of the parish church of St Bride..

There's also a glimpse into the backstory of Sophie's late Great Auntie May, from whom Sophie inherited her cottage, with May's late-in-life romantic reunion with her childhood sweetheart, Joshua (now Sophie's elderly next-door-neighbour).

Look out for a guest appearance by Gemma Lamb, Joe Spryke and the girls of nearby St Bride's School, home to Debbie Young's popular Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery series.The paperback edition of this quick-read collection makes the perfect stocking filler or Secret Santa gift, to be enjoyed by anyone who loves heartwarming, funny stories set at Christmas time.The ebook makes the perfect gift-to-self to divert and relax you as you prepare for your own Christmas celebrations.
If you enjoy this book, you'll love the third Sophie Sayers Cozy Mystery, Murder in the Manger, for a novel-length Christmas story, and the second Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery, Sinister Stranger at St Bride's, set in the run-up to the quirky boarding school's Christmas Fair.

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 24, 2023

About the author

Hello dear readers!

I hope you will enjoy my warm, witty, feel-good contemporary fiction, full of English humour and heart, inspired by life in the Cotswold village which has been my home for over 30 years. I have three series of cozy mystery novels plus various short fiction, and I've written a couple of non-fiction books too.

NOVELS

My latest book is "Death at the Village Christmas Fair", the third in my Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mystery series. The series begins with "Death at the Old Curiosity Shop", followed by "Death at the Village Chess Club". In this series, moving from the city to the lively Cotswold village of Little Pride, Alice Carroll (50) discovers that nothing is quite what it seems in her new business enterprise. Each novel in this series has at its heart an intriguing item to be found in her bric-a-brac shop, and features eccentric characters, plenty of red herrings and lots of English humour.

My Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series begins with "Best Murder in Show". Originally envisaged as a seven-book series to run the course of a calendar year in the life of the idyllic English Cotswold village of Wendlebury Barrow, it continues to grow, with the most recent addition being Sophie Sayers' ninth outing, "Driven to Murder",

My Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery series is a mashup of romantic comedy, gentle mystery and nostalgia for classic children's school stories but aimed at adults. It focuses on the intrigues among the teachers and visitors to the school, rather than the children. "Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's" (previously published as "Secrets at St Bride's"), and is followed by "Sinister Secrets at St Bride's" (formerly "Secrets at St Bride's"), Wicked Whispers at St Bride's", and "Artful Antics at St Bride's". Two further books will follow to complete the series of six, running the course of the academic year at St Bride's Boarding School for Girls.

All of my novels are now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audio in English. There are also German language editions of Sophie Sayers' adventures and Italian translations of Gemma Lamb's.

SHORT FICTION

My series of comedy mystery novelettes, Tales from Wendlebury Barrow, is set in the same world as the Sophie Sayers Cozy Mysteries. The first, "The Pride of Peacocks", is available exclusively to members of my Readers' Club (visit my author website to claim your copy). "The Natter of Knitters" and "The Clutch of Eggs" are available in ebook and paperback. A Christmas special, "Christmas with Sophie Sayers", featuring festive short stories set in the same world, was published for Christmas 2023. Three more Sophie Sayers short stories appear in the charity anthologies, "Fate", "Everyday Kindness" and "The Little Shop of Murders". Look out for another one in the "Courage" anthology, coming in 2026!

My standalone novella, "Mrs Morris Changes Lanes", is a second-chance mid-life romantic comedy with a touch of magical realism, set in the Cotswolds in spring,

Earlier in my career, I published three themed collections of short stories, "Stocking Fillers", "Marry in Haste", and "Quick Change".

PLAYS

I've also now started writing scripts for murder mystery events, My debut play, "The Importance of Being Murdered", was premiered by Hawkesbury Drama Group in April 2025. The original playscript will be published later this year for use by amateur drama groups all over the world, and I'm also working on a novelisation.

AWARDS

The first St Bride's novel was shortlisted for the 2020 Selfies Award given for the best independently-published fiction in the UK. The sixth Sophie Sayers novel was shortlisted for the same award in 2021. My short story "The Alchemy of Chocolate", from "Quick Change", was a winning entrant to the April 2015 Stroud Short Stories competition, and as a result I was later invited to read it at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

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Rec

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely short Christmas stories.

[A.A. Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat! This sweet, heartwarming collection of stories offers glimpses into the lives of the villagers of Wendlebury Barrow. Having enjoyed the Sophie Sayers series of cozy crime stories, it was fun to find out more about her family and their romances. The book is a must for Sophie fans!

[MRS ANGELA WRIGHT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Story Collection

Lovely selection of feel good easy to read short stories. Well written. I think some short stories can be disappointing but not these. Lovely characters and story lines. I read the book on my kindle, will be buying several copies in paperback to give to friends this Christmas.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and most enjoyable!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of Debbie’s short stories. They were fun and touching and informative, and of course already knowing the key characters from Wendlebury Barrow and St. Brides made it even more grand!