Murder for Christmas is a vintage mystery novel that has lost none of its charm over the vast number of years since its initial publication.  It is a pleasure to read, particularly as winter nears.  Mordecai Tremaine is an amateur criminologist, a kindly, grandfatherly figure with an easy nature and a perceptive eye.  Though he doesn't have official status, he is respected by the police, and in this instance encouraged to ask questions and dig into the truth as the potential suspects are unlikely to open up to police.

Murder for Christmas can be considered a manor house mystery, as Tremaine and a number of guests are spending the holidays at the home of a wealthy eccentric.  Benedict’s love of Christmas is well known, as is his habit of hanging gifts on the tree for each of his guests.  This time, however things are different.  Father Christmas is lying on the floor in a pool of blood and the gifts are missing.  But to everyone's surprise, the victim isn't Benedict.

Murder for Christmas has a bit of everything- murder, blackmail, a bevy of suspects and a young couple deeply in love.  It makes for the perfect escape, whether or not the holidays are upon us.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Murder for Christmas from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

What a fabulous story, so many twists and turns and so many possible endings, it kept me reading way latter than I should have been.
A few flat spots where it was a little repetitive, but it certainly did not hurt the story overall.

"Murder for Christmas" is a mystery that was originally published in 1949 and is set in England. Mordecai, an amateur sleuth with a reputation for solving murders, has been invited to a Christmas Eve party. The host is known for putting on a Father Christmas costume and placing a present for each guest on the tree after everyone has gone to bed. The party is hardly a happy one, so it's not too surprising that they find a dead body under the tree.

Mordecai observed behavior, asked good questions, and looked harmless enough that he got clues from guests even though they're wary of him. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what was going on and why the guests might have a motive to kill--but not why they'd kill the dead man. While I did suspect whodunit, I couldn't figure out why whodunit would murder anyone so I didn't feel very certain about whodunit. I still don't quite follow whodunit's motive, though it's clear whodunit spent more time thinking out the perfect crime than about the possible results.

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.

Mordecai Tremaine arrives at the country estate of Benedict Grame on Christmas Eve. Soon he discovers that the holiday celebrations are in full swing in the sleepy village of Sherbroome. Yet, as festive as it may seem there is tension between the guests and the host.

Benedict loves to set a mood of an older time for his guests, including dressing up as Father Christmas and placing gifts on the tree. At midnight, a scream rings out, and the guests discover that presents aren't the only things nestled under the tree. The body of Father Christmas lays under the tree. With the snow falling and suspicions flying, it's up to Mordecai to find the killer and prevent a murderer from getting away.

--
Series: Mordecai Tremaine Mystery Book 1
Author: Francis Duncan
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Vintage Books

Francis Duncan was the pseudonym for William Underhill, who was born in 1918 and died in 1988. Murder for Christmas was the first book in his Mordecai Tremaine Mystery Series.

Mr. Underhill was a prolific writer of murder mysteries and was of the same caliber as Agatha Christie. Although this book is not the fast pace style of a Christie novel, it nevertheless intrigues and entertains. Underhill could weave a story that kept the reader guessing until the very end and provided a conclusion to the mystery that fulfilled all the reader’s needs. His stories were well written, detailed and allowed the reader to drift away to a different place and time. Leaving them with the feeling of having actually walked the streets and investigated an old mansion in the heart of England. His writing was never boring.

The characters in Murder for Christmas are well rounded with personalities and quirks that make the reader smile and frown. Mordecai Tremaine is a very likable character with a penchant for romance stories. Readers will love his romanticism while staying impersonal and objective. His methods are unique, and his results cannot be argued.

The remaining characters, Denys, Roger, Charlotte, and so forth, as well as the killer, are wonderfully written with hints of secrets and motives. The reader will keep changing their mind about who did it as the clues are explained and the questions answered. The final reveal may even have readers stunned by how wrong they were, or congratulating themselves for being right.

The setting is picturesque and perfect for a Christmas murder. The reader will have a sense of winter, cold and a touch of holidays the way they used to be. The small village and the residents are described in such a way that the reader is taken back in time. A time when small town life meant everyone knew everyone else's business and strangers were spotted a mile away but did not remain strangers for long.

Mr. Underhill’s books and Murder for Christmas are highly recommended to those who are true murder mystery fans, lovers of Agatha Christie, and those that enjoy a journey through time.

This book was published in 1949 and the author was Francis Duncan, real name William Underhill. He wrote mysteries because he loved doing it. He created word pictures which were so precise that it is easy to see the scene in one's mind. His writing is almost poetic.
Mordecai Tremaine is a former tobacconist who has become rather famous for helping the police solve a murder. It was in all the papers. Because of his fame or possibly in spite of his fame, he has been invited to spend Christmas at a house party. He has met Benedict Grame his host and Mr Grame's secretary Nicholas Blaise but he does not know anyone else at the party. The reader is provided access to Tremaine's thoughts and conclusions. As time passes, all the clues are there in front of us. But, the conclusion is not easily given.
This is a very well done British cozy. The atmosphere of the house is oppressive. The guests are all secretive and frightened. The house is a distance from the nearest neighbor. All in all it is perfect for a murder.
On Christmas Eve, one of the guests dressed as Father Christmas is found dead under the Christmas tree. As time passes, there are more and more reasons to suspect everyone.
Francis Duncan is not a well known author now, but that is a shame. He writes in a beautifully descriptive manner. If I have any complaint, it is that at times the descriptive phrases were too much and too wordy. But, then I need to remember this was a different time and place.
I received this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

I so wanted to love this book as it is beautifully written with some wonderfully descriptive passages but it didn't quite get there for me. The crux of the story, the murder, didn't happen till more than half way through the book and as there were so many characters involved I became confused as to who did what. The conclusion with the solving of the mystery came rapidly in the final chapter which left me content that I now understood what had happened but without the satisfaction of having solved it myself, although all the clues were there, as I had lost concentration. A good storyline though but lacking the tension required for a good crime thriller.

Mordecai Tremaine, retired tobacconist and murder magnet, is invited to Benedict Grame’s country mansion, Sherbroome House, for Christmas. Gathered there is a mixed crowd. The host’s quiet sister,
two beautiful women, a politician, a dubious financier and his ward, a scientist, Grame’s secretary and assorted hangers-on, all appear to have secrets and there is an air of uneasiness about.

This atmosphere is very much at odds with the appearance of lightheartedness and goodwill which the host has tried to sustain.

At the centre of the festivities is a large Christmas tree which seems to have a curious effect on some of the guests. On Christmas Eve, Grame places presents on the tree, while dressed as Father Christmas. That night there are screams, and the household find a body, in a Father Christmas outfit, sprawled at the foot of the tree, shot dead.

Superintendent Cannock enlists Tremaine in his investigation.

In some ways this resembles a Golden Age British detective novel.A large country house with a priest’s hole, an amateur detective, a snowy Christmas setting, a small cast of upper-middle class people, some shady characters, an air of secrecy, a glamorous heroine. a woman with a past, all the elements one might expect in a classic mystery.

However, there is more to this book. It is very well-written. It has flashes of wit. It has a very unexpected twist or two. It is psychologically perceptive in ways only found in Allingham’s work.

Highly enjoyable. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC

For fans of old-fashioned country-house mysteries, albeit with a slightly sinister twist.