From the Bookshelf of Retro Reads…

Murder for Christmas (Mordecai Tremaine #4)

Francis Duncan

Start date: December 15, 2024

Finish date: December 31, 2024

Discussion: Group Reads

Discussion leader: Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂

Why we're reading this: 2024's Christmas read!…more
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What Members Thought

Dec 31, 2024 Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: clearly-audible, christmassy, mystery-murder-crime-20th-century

This is my first time reading a novel in an audio format - & I hope I am being completely fair to this novel. If anyone has any tips for staying engaged during an audio read, let me know below! What I found (late in the read) worked for me was doing housework at the same time or sitting outside on my deck. Lying on my bed I fell asleep, on my computer I got too distracted!

Narrator Geoffrey Beevers has a rich plummy voice, perfect for reading a Golden Age mystery. For an audio, for me there was t ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2015 Judy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I found this a very enjoyable Golden Age mystery, with a strong festive atmosphere. It's set at a house party, with a motley selection of guests, including Duncan's series detective, mild-mannered tobacconist Mordecai Tremaine, who has a secret passion for romantic literature.

Inevitably, Tremaine finds himself having to investigate a murder and unravelling the secrets of his fellow-guests. The book is very well written, witty and readable, and kept me guessing to the end (I did guess the killer ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2018 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, library-book

12/2024: more 3.5 stars; likable amateur detective, but a bit of a mishmash as a character- supposed to be a good investigator, but comes across as a nosy, sentimental (he secretly reads romance stories) middle aged man. Nothing wrong with that, but he doesn’t really draw me in or bring me back to the story. I noticed in my previous review, also, that there are too many characters to keep track of, and slow to get to the murder…also found the murder method too elaborate.

2018: Well, that was a sa ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2017 Barb in Maryland rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller-goodies

Very clever mystery with an absolutely charming amateur detective.
Mordecai Tremaine is 60+ yr old bachelor with a fondness for solving mysteries. By nature an optimist and a romantic, with a hefty dose of sentimentality, he really wants to believe that people are good. However, he also possesses a sharp intellect and the willingness to confront evil when it appears. I loved him.
The author has a fine style and a nice touch with the characters, all of whom were deftly presented. This is a classic ...more

5 likes · Like · see review