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Another Little Christmas Murder

Lorna Nicholl Morgan

3.50 · Rating details · 462 ratings · 78 reviews

A classic country house mystery republished for the first time in nearly seventy years. Perfect for fans of Murder at the Old Vicarage and Partners in Crime.

When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist Inigo Brown, who is on his way to visit his uncle.

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Kindle Edition, 256 pages

Published November 3rd 2016 by Sphere (first published 1947)

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Average rating 3.50 ·

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· 462 ratings · 78 reviews

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Nov 25, 2019 Mara rated it really liked it

Shelves: recommended-to-me, physical-owned, isolated-closed-circle-mystery

3.5 stars-- the standout in this book is the main character, Dylis, followed by the overall lightness of touch in the authorial voice. There's also some *surprising* elements that come in as a part of the resolution that were interesting to say the least. I would definitely read more from this author, but the muddleness of the action towards the end kept it from being a full 4 stars for me. Overall, a solid Christmas-y mystery ...more

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Dec 19, 2016 TheRavenking rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery, british-literature, owned, christmas, 20th-century

A classic country house mystery republished for the first time in nearly seventy years. Perfect for fans of Murder at the Old Vicarage and Partners in Crime.

When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist Inigo Brown, who is on his way to visit his uncle. Arriving at his uncle's remote country house, Wintry Wold, the couple encounters a less than warm welcome from Inigo's new young aunt A classic country house mystery republished for the first time in nearly seventy years. Perfect for fans of Murder at the Old Vicarage and Partners in Crime.

When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist Inigo Brown, who is on his way to visit his uncle. Arriving at his uncle's remote country house, Wintry Wold, the couple encounters a less than warm welcome from Inigo's new young aunt, Theresa. Why is she reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle, and is he really as ill as they are told? As the snowstorm brings more stranded strangers to their door, Dilys starts to realise that all is not as it seems at Wintry Wold. When the morning brings news of the death of Inigo's uncle, Dilys sets out to investigate - was it a natural death, or was it murder?

Another review alerted me to the fact that this is not a Christmas mystery, since the original title was simply Another Little Murder before the modern publisher added the word Christmas. Proof that you can’t trust anyone. So, this is a cheat and I want my money back! Nah, it would’ve actually been a charming enough little mystery and I wouldn’t even have noticed the absence of the Christmas theme since the setting is sufficiently wintry with lots of snow.

There are other problems however.

This book reminded me of Jefferson Farjeon’s Mystery In White – both begin really promisingly before quickly losing steam due to annoying characters and a nonsensical plot.

Dilys is a charming and feisty young heroine while Inigo is a bit goofy, but they make for a fun couple. I really loved the playful banter between the two main characters in the first chapter which unfortunately later gave way to less interesting conversations between the numerous guests of the house. The plot almost comes to a standstill here as Dilys is forced to take over some household duties due to the lack of servants and more and more strangers arrive at the house, all people who have also got struck in a snowdrift. It takes sheer ages for the mystery plot to materialize and even when it does eventually it is not very exciting.

There are also some logical issues to consider. It is constantly snowing outside, even the word blizzard gets mentioned. Now considering that this book is set pre-World War II it is difficult to imagine people just driving around on the blocked roads in their little vintage cars. So how on earth do they even make it to the house which after all is in the middle of nowhere?

Verdict: Not a great mystery, but if you are suffering from an acute lack of snow, this might be the right cure. ...more

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Dec 11, 2020 Dan Myatt rated it really liked it

Shelves: autumn-reads, 2020-reading-challenge

A fun light hearted read about murder! One thing that bugs me (actually two) is the title 1) It's not set at Christmas and 2) there is only one murder! So how is it ANOTHER little Christmas Murder.

That being said, a creaky old house, people trapped because of snow and murder all add up to a perfect December read! A nice jolly read. ...more

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Dec 17, 2019 Anissa rated it liked it

Recommends it for: fans of country house mysteries, IT'S NOT A CHRISTMAS MURDER MYSTERY

Shelves: 2019, british-fiction-uk-ireland, mystery-suspense-crime, christmas-and-winter-mysteries, cozy-mystery

'Tis the season for me to get my fix of murder mysteries at Christmas so this seemed like it'd fit the bill. The title promised I'd be getting "Another Little Christmas Murder" mystery but alas, this isn't it, people. Christmas is mentioned twice here once to say it's weeks away and at the end when the two main characters are headed to her family's home for Christmas. What this story does have is snow. Lots of snow. A hellacious storm descends on Wintry Wold in Yorkshire and that's really the h ...more

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Dec 10, 2016 Jeff Howells rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a bit naughty. The publishers have actually changed the name of this book, and inserted the word Christmas into its original title. Otherwise this has nothing to do with the festive season. That being said it is set in winter and involves a group of people being cut off because of a snow storm (very Murder on the Orient Express). If you ignore the breach of trading standards this is actually quite a decent story.

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Nov 27, 2018 Gerry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When Dilys Hughes' car breaks down on a lonely, snowbound stretch of the Yorkshire moors she is puzzled as to what to do, especially as her car has skidded and is precariously placed on the edge of a huge drop. Fortunately a knight in shining armour by the name of Inigo Brown comes along. He is on the way to visit his uncle at his remote country house, appropriately named Wintry Wold, and after much discussion he invites Dilys to go with him, particularly as his uncle's invitation stresses that When Dilys Hughes' car breaks down on a lonely, snowbound stretch of the Yorkshire moors she is puzzled as to what to do, especially as her car has skidded and is precariously placed on the edge of a huge drop. Fortunately a knight in shining armour by the name of Inigo Brown comes along. He is on the way to visit his uncle at his remote country house, appropriately named Wintry Wold, and after much discussion he invites Dilys to go with him, particularly as his uncle's invitation stresses that he has to bring a friend along with him. Thus begins this suspenseful tale of mystery.

Once they arrive at Wintry Wold they meet with a less than friendly reception from Inigo's uncle's new young wife, Theresa, who is reluctant to let Inigo see his relative as she says that he is too ill to have visitors at that time. She states that he needs constant attention and that either herself or the butler Ledgrove must constantly be with him, day and night.

The storm worsens and it brings a number of disparate strangers to the house, all of whom have become stranded on the surrounding roads as the storm worsens considerably and all of whom are welcomed by Inigo's aunt. Between them all they make an effort to be sociable but they regularly squabble amongst themselves and sometimes prove obnoxious to Inigo and Dilys, who are suspicious of their intentions. Indeed, Dilys is prompted to say, 'It's all very odd. In fact, everything about this place seems odd to me.'

Much nastiness prevails among the guests and when Inigo's uncle is found dead in his bed, supposedly of natural causes, Dilys decides that some investigation is necessary. Initially Inigo is not too certain of this course of action as, once the storm abates a little, the police and a doctor, who Inigo expects to be able to pronounce the cause of death, are sent for.

Policemen and a doctor duly arrive, in the meantime some of the guests go missing, tempers become frayed and the tension rises. But by a lot of hard work the situation is calmed down before guilty parties and their motives are revealed allowing Dilys and Inigo, who have become firm friends, to continue on their journey and enjoy Christmas.

There is a decided Agatha Christie feel to 'Another Little Christmas Murder', which is one of the better Christmas tales of mystery and suspense.

...more

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May 29, 2017 Louise Marley rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction, mystery, christmas

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the title*, which goes to show just how shallow I am! At the time, the ebook version was a little bit expensive (it has since come down in price) so I borrowed a copy from the library. Because I was so keen to start reading it, I also downloaded a sample to my Kindle, and was initially disappointed because the first six pages were a long description of the heroine driving through snowy Yorkshire. I thought I'd made a horrible mistake! But whe I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the title*, which goes to show just how shallow I am! At the time, the ebook version was a little bit expensive (it has since come down in price) so I borrowed a copy from the library. Because I was so keen to start reading it, I also downloaded a sample to my Kindle, and was initially disappointed because the first six pages were a long description of the heroine driving through snowy Yorkshire. I thought I'd made a horrible mistake! But when my library copy arrived I gave it another go, and became completely hooked!

The story is a typical cosy murder mystery. It was written in 1947 and it would be easy to make comparisons with Agatha Christie, but their writing styles are completely different. (Christie's stories are more fast-paced, with fiendishly clever plots). But I liked the inter-action between Morgan's characters and they were different to the usual retired colonel/vicar/spinster types. For a start, our heroine (Dilys) is a commercial traveller - a partner in a firm of manufacturing chemists. Determined to reach her next stop by nightfall, she drives through the hills of Yorkshire and gets stuck in a snowstorm. She is quite pragmatic about it (something I loved about this character!) but ends up being rescued by Inigo Brown, who is on his way to stay with his uncle at Wintry Wold. Such is the snowstorm, they are soon joined by many others, much to the indignation of Inigo's new, young, and very glamorous Aunt Theresa.

Although the story starts off a bit waffly, once it gets going there is lots of witty dialogue, particularly between Dilys and Inigo, and even a hint of a romance. The potential suspects are introduced gradually, so the reader can get a real sense of who is who, and Dilys is a very likeable, almost modern heroine. I was well on the way to giving the book 5 stars, but towards the end it became a bit farce-like, with lots of 'mysterious' goings-on in the middle of the night, the heroine stalking the corridors with a poker, and cars being sabotaged. Although one strand of the mystery was easy to guess at, the identity of the murderer took me completely by surprise.

If you love vintage murder mysteries, you will enjoy Another Little Christmas Murder, and I would have loved to have seen Dilys in more stories.

*One niggle: there was no mention of Christmas until the epilogue, when one character mentions going to 'spend Christmas' with their family! ...more

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Dec 09, 2017 Ali rated it really liked it

(Four stars because it is just so readable - but more likely 3.5 stars)

I walked right into the little deceit that the publishers of this book have practised against those of us with a liking for Christmas murder mysteries. First published in 1947 as Another Little Murder – this novel was re-issued by Sphere in 2016 sporting a new title Another Little Christmas Murder. The setting is winter, – Yorkshire and there are piles and piles of snow (snow unlike any we actually get in England anymore) – b (Four stars because it is just so readable - but more likely 3.5 stars)

I walked right into the little deceit that the publishers of this book have practised against those of us with a liking for Christmas murder mysteries. First published in 1947 as Another Little Murder – this novel was re-issued by Sphere in 2016 sporting a new title Another Little Christmas Murder. The setting is winter, – Yorkshire and there are piles and piles of snow (snow unlike any we actually get in England anymore) – but it isn’t quite Christmas yet (It seems as if it’s about two weeks or so away). The only references to Christmas is on a couple of occasions when characters suggest that if the snow doesn’t thaw soon, they’ll be stuck there till Christmas. I understand the deceit – but I think it is a little bit of a cynical marketing ploy – and that annoyed me a bit.

Happily, I enjoyed the novel, not the most ingenious mystery in the world – elements of it are more psychological thriller than whodunnit – but very readable. It’s a perfect winter read – with many of the ingredients we love in a Christmas mystery. A rambling, draughty house deep in the English countryside, cut off from any local amenities by deep snow. Gathered together, several mismatched strangers, a man dies, another appears to have gone missing. All good, Golden age style escapist stuff – and I absolutely gobbled it up.

When commercial traveller, Dylis Hughes finds herself snowbound on a lonely stretch of Yorkshire road, she gratefully accepts the help of a complete stranger. Passing motorist, Inigo Brown is on his way to visit his uncle, and so Dylis leaves her car where it is and with her sample case of remedies and potions – from the chemist firm in which she also has a share – accompanies Inigo to his Uncle’s house. Inigo’s uncle’s house is Wintry Wold, where he lives with a couple of peculiar male servants and his new much younger wife – who Inigo has never met.

Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/... ...more

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Dec 23, 2020 Adam Carson rated it really liked it

Well, firstly, this book isn't actually set at Christmas, which is a bit irksome. It is very wintery though - with a classic snowed in country house theme, with a whole heap of unexpected visitors, and an unexpected death.

Despite the Christmas faux-pas, I really enjoyed this book. A fast paced, light hearted and witty read that primarily follows the young female commercial traveller Dilys Hughes - a plucky young thing in the great traditions of the Golden Age.

The mystery itself wasn't sensatio ...more

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Dec 25, 2018 Trina rated it liked it

An enjoyable mystery that had nothing to do with Christmas but was very wintry.

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Dec 13, 2020 Karen M rated it really liked it

Another little murder - with lots of snow but no Christmas , very Narnian . I was misled by the title but really rather loved Dilys , business woman and intrepid driver who becomes stuck in snow and ends up embroiled in a murder at the strangest country house you can imagine.
There are characters aplenty including a butler who is anything but ,some lovely gangster types , and a man steadily drinking himself to death. Interested? You should be. For me the interplay between Dilys and the fragrant ...more

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Oct 21, 2017 Phil Bradley rated it really liked it

This was great fun. It’s a period piece written pre-post WW2, and is a classic mystery set in a large rambling house in the wilds of no-where, with all of the characters marooned due to deep snow. It’s an easy read, but with absolutely wonderful language redolent of the period. The mystery was really second rate to be honest, but I wasn’t reading it for that. If you like period works, and/or black and white movies you’ll certainly enjoy this. One point worth mentioning is that is has nothing to ...more

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Dec 17, 2019 Kris - My Novelesque Life rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, physical-copy, reissue, fiction, library-book-borrowed

RATING: 2.5 STARS

Another Little Christmas Murder caught my eye on the library website and I was excited to read a mystery written in 1947. Please note that this is not a true Christmas novel as I don't even remember the holiday being mentioned. It was snowing, I believe, so maybe a winter murder is a better titles. I just didn't get into the characters and story, and sort of skimmed through the latter chapters to see what happens. ...more

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Dec 23, 2018 Eric rated it liked it

This is a winter, pre-Christmas murder story as others have pointed out.

The set-up is good and the main characters, Dilys and Inigo are interesting. Some of the verbal fencing between Dilys and Theresa is fun. However, it rather degenerates into a pretty average "snowbound in a run-down country mansion with mysterious strangers"-type tale.

Mildly disappointing. ...more

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Dec 13, 2016 Lydia Wilkins rated it did not like it

Oh dear!!

I expected a nice cosy Christmas read and I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. Truly awful plot, annoying characters and totally unsatisfactory ending.......I will not attempt to read another of her books.

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Dec 30, 2017 Plum-crazy rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2018, cosys-classics-and-christie

An enjoyable read in the traditional murder mystery style – to set the scene there’s a blizzard, a group of strangers forced together to weather the storm & of course a murder.

The “detective” in this tale is Dilys. Having found herself stuck in the Yorkshire countryside in a snow storm, she’s rescued by Inigo & taken to his uncle’s house. On arrival, his uncle’s new wife, Theresa (who, of course, is young & beautiful), is reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle. The bad weather brings more stranded An enjoyable read in the traditional murder mystery style – to set the scene there’s a blizzard, a group of strangers forced together to weather the storm & of course a murder.

The “detective” in this tale is Dilys. Having found herself stuck in the Yorkshire countryside in a snow storm, she’s rescued by Inigo & taken to his uncle’s house. On arrival, his uncle’s new wife, Theresa (who, of course, is young & beautiful), is reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle. The bad weather brings more stranded visitors who are put up for the night. In the morning Inigo’s uncle is found dead. Dilys believes it’s not the natural death that Theresa claims & proceeds to do her own investigating.

This is by no means an action packed tale but it moves on at a steady enough pace. Even so I found it a struggle to keep track of who everybody was, (Raddle, Snell, Ledgrove etc tended to get muddled together for me) Also, one or two points in the story didn’t seem to follow on logically.

The characters were just what you’d expect (I could “see” them as clearly as if I was watching an old black & white film) & I found Dilys to be an engaging heroine. Two of the characters, however, seemed a bit irrelevant with little point to them other than creating two other possible suspects for the role of murderer. While the murderer was obvious to me from the start, I was certainly caught out by some of the revelations as the story came to its conclusion – not what I was expecting at all, so it was very nice to be surprised!

This tale was written in the 1940’s & the manner & some of the actions of the characters are very much routed in the past – the assumption that as Dilys is female it’s up to her to cater for the men is one that come to mind! The language comes over as dated at times but for me that only added to the story’s charm. Though once or twice it had me foxed! One character is discovered to be a police inspector (I won’t say whom) & I couldn’t fathom how the others had known ‘til I flicked back a few pages & someone had said of this character ”He’s a split. I frisked him, so I know” So is a “split” a copper? Guess I’ll have to ask google…
Another phrase that had me baffled was Dilys saying”There are two kind of women, those who crouch & those that don’t. Your aunt crouches” Nope....no idea as to what that means!

Overall I thought it an entertaining story, although maybe just a wintry murder rather than a Christmassy one, as Christmas comes after the end of the tale! That’s explained by the fact it was originally published as ”Another Little Murder”& it would seem Christmas has been added to the 2016 re-issue. A little mis-leading some may say but if it means it reaches a wider audience I don’t blame them.
...more

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Nov 25, 2018 Lisa Kucharski rated it liked it

This takes place during an early winter storm that snows in various people at Wintry Wold - the house that belong’s to the uncle of one of our heroes. He is brought there by a traveling sales-woman Dylis. Once there they are met with various people who Dyl finds out of place a butler who seems un-butler like, a friend of the uncle who does nothing but drink, a new wife who is 20 years younger, and then an onslaught of other people who arrive and end up staying at the house since really- no one c ...more

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Jan 23, 2019 John Frankham rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-detective

A most enjoyable winter evening read of a whodunnit, with an assortment of odd characters, residents and snowbound chance (?) visitors stuck for days in a remote Yorkshire country house.

The GR blurb:

'First published in 1947, 'Another Little Christmas Murder' is a fast-moving tale of mystery and suspense - perfect for a cold winter's night.
When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist ...more

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Dec 21, 2018 Hannah rated it really liked it

It is utterly charming, from start to finish. The beautiful thing about classic crime is that it's so easy to read, and in many ways it's silly, with plots that are simple and not particularly believable. But this book was so easy to read, so sweet, and so quaint, that it just isn't necessary for it to be complicated or shocking. Books like Another Little Christmas Murder are wonderful because they are so simple. I loved every moment of reading this mystery, and I devoured it in a couple of days ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Eva Strange rated it liked it

All in all an enjoyable read; a low-key absurdist take on the big house mystery. It is really unfortunate that for the whole first half the story moved at a snail’s pace with an overload of repetetive dialogue. Because it was a well crafted mystery that kept me guessing and placing my suspicions here and there and back again, whilst providing just enough clues for me to see halfway through some of the characters and their agendas. Gets points for feisty heroine with snarky voice as well, but los ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Lynnae rated it liked it

Shelves: cozy-mystery

As has been pointed out before, this cozy British mystery has very little to do with Christmas itself, but I suppose the snowed-in setting makes for a good fireside read at Christmastime. Written in 1947, the narrative has all the authentic charm of someone writing in her own time period, rather than a modern day author trying to write a book set in the past.

It's an easy read, not as mentally engaging as a Christie novel, and the resolution was fun, with a nice little twist on where you thought ...more

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Jul 20, 2019 Marie S. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-in-2019

Clearly I wasn't paying attention to the title, because I went into my reading with no Christmas expectations at all.
I really like Dilys Hughes, she makes for such a great main character. She's independant, feisty and funny. I giggled a few time reading the book. I like that she's really proud of her job and her products.
I also enjoy the writing and the atmosphere, it was icy and snowy and they couldn't escape.

One thing that I like in my mysteries is when the murder doesn't happen in the first c ...more

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Jan 02, 2018 John Garlington rated it liked it

Needed more careful planning

The idea was good and the novel started brightly. The reader then had to wait nearly a third of the novel for a corpse, remembering that it is a murder mystery. The next forty pages were disappointing as the story drifted to the point where the plot lost its bite. The last third or so saw an avalanche of characters and almost a whirlwind of action which caught the reader napping, almost. Some of the characters were well drawn and interesting.

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Jul 10, 2019 Louise Muddle rated it it was ok

Of it's time. Quite a pure example of genre. An isolated house cut off by snow, a death and things that go bump in the night. No gore. Little tension. Female protagonist and female baddie. Lots of class references. No Christmas just winter. A nonsense reveal of Mr Big at the end. Don't think there were clues laid to enable readers to detect for themselves. A slight read or a gentle read depending on your tastes. Makes interesting social history read on gender. ...more

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Feb 01, 2021 Ms C L Hines rated it really liked it

I bought this book as a pre-Christmas read but didn’t manage it. However it’s not really a Christmas story. Very much in the genre of Agatha Christie .... with everyone not all they appear to be.... however not as gripping. I think it would make a good TV drama as the author gives a lot of description to the setting etc. A very enjoyable read. Going to try her other books that have been reprinted.

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Mar 03, 2020 Alan rated it liked it

Rating 3

A murder mystery set in Yorkshire during a particularly snowy and cold winter.
The locations and characters were set up well I thought and initially were quite atmospheric.
As the story progressed however it never really delivered on it’s early promise, and sort of petered out into a run of the mill cosy (ish) mystery.
An okay read and I would recommend it but not very strongly.

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May 31, 2020 Alice Baird rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 08, 2017 Emma Thurston rated it really liked it

Excellent quick book to read in one or two hits, really enjoyed reading this over Christmas as it was;t at all challenging, but had a nice little story with a few twists and turns. It was nicely written, and I really enjoyed it.

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Nov 07, 2017 Thesilverdoe_22 rated it it was ok

Shelves: set-outside-us, read-in-2017

I completed my 2017 reading challenge !!! And just in time !

Anyways this was a barely ok read, A mystery without any surprise which dragged on for too long ! I kept on mixing the characters names, so it quite difficult to keep track of everything.

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Dec 23, 2017 Mark rated it liked it · review of another edition

Nothing Christmassy about this at all, in fact the word ‘Christmas’ has been added to the title simply to cash in on that market. That said, for 1947, the writing was quite snappy and I liked the character of Dilys a lot. An easy read on a December night.

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