Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery series involving famed British writer Charles Dickens working as a detective? Yes, please! Although the third installment of Heather Redmond's A Dickens of a Crime series, I didn't feel lost one bit and enjoyed reading about Dickens's England. Redmond gives CD quite a bit of conflict in both his personal and professional life and a mystery that takes its influence from his popular novella A Christmas Carol.

We have a Jacob Harley that is found dead and his partner, Mr. Screws that wishes desperately for journalist Charles Dickens to help him. Throw in an illegitimate baby named Timothy and an intriguing storyline is born.


Definitely glad to have taken a chance on this light mystery.


Goodreads review 11/10/20
Publication Date 29/09/20

A Christmas Carol Murder, 3rd in a series, makes you feel like you are reading a prelude to A Christmas Carol. As you read the story you see elements of the Christmas Carol - snippets and descriptions of characters that lead you to think 'aha! that's where the idea of .... comes into the Christmas Carol", and then you remember this book is not written by Charles Dickens.

Wonderful book - engrossing read from start to finish and you do not want the book to end. Hints are well placed throughout the book that help you determine who the murderer is, however you are not entirely sure until the end.

The story has plenty of twists and turns, different plot lines. Charles Dickens has infant Timothy, whom he is accused of fathering, dropped at his door while on a newspaper assignment. Dickens returns to London with TImothy and asks his friends for help in caring for the baby, trying desperately to keep knowledge of the infant from his fiance Kate. While out caroling with his friends and Kate, the body of Jacob Harley, with chains around his neck, falls in front of them from the second story window of the house of his business partner, Mr. Edmund Screws. Kate feels that Mr. Screws could not have possibly killed the man, but they also do not think that Jacob flung himself from the window. Kate and Dickens begin their murder investigation, all while Dickens tries to figure out what to do with Timothy, keep Kate and her family from learning of Timothy's existence, fulfill his job responsibilities at the paper, and complete edits to a book he is writing.

Redmond does an excellent job with the setting of Victorian London, describing the characters and daily life extremely well and historically accurate. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.

This review is based upon an ARC provided by Kensington and NetGalley.

Do you know A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? Do you? Of course you do. No Christmas is complete without some adaptation of Christmas Carol. I’ve seen and read a few myself.

As to the author of Carol, Charles Dickens… Well, this time around he is not only journalist, writer, son, brother and fiance, but a detective, a sleuth, a person looking for clues, truth and whodone it.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third installment in A Dickens of A Crime by Heather Redmond. It is out at the end of September and is published by Kensington Publishing Corporation.

When it comes to Charles Dickens and anything about Dickens one really want so say something in a very posh voice with may be British accent and academic aplomb… Let me try.

‘The essence of crime is all about love and money, love for money… And it’s distribution, be it lawful or not…’

Yes, something like this will be just a thing for talking about Dickensian and all-around-Dickensian writing.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third installment in the A Dickens of A Crime series by Heather Redmond. I have not read the first two but was interested in reading this book when it came through on NetGalley list.

We all know Christmas Carol by Dickens. We’ve seen its numerous versions and adaptations. We’ve seen its variations and re-tellings…. Here is another one.

A Christmas Carol Murder has it all: Scroodge, Cratchit and his family, poor relations of Scroodge, dark hallways and cold unheated mansion, gloomy windows and… it even has chains. And chains play a very important role in this story as well.

Back to the story itself: Charles Dickens finds himself in a very peculiar situation just before Christmas. He needs to sort out his personal life on the verge of getting married to Kate. However, both him and Kate get entangled in murder investigation…

The story is very atmospheric. Reader feels cold and uncomfortable, feels for Charles and for Kate, participates in friendly dinners and caring for accidental infant. Author has done a great job in recreating sooty and gloomy London of the late 19th century. It’s all about mist, smoke and damp. One needs to keep putting logs into the fire to keep some warmth about.

A Christmas Carol Murder is as much about murder as it is about people and their true natures. Who is your friend? Would your fiancee stand by you no matter what? Does your boss appreciate you? Is son responsible for the sins of the father?

This book is about Dickens as Heather Redmond sees him. It’s about his relationships and his character. It’s about his human side. That’s what I found most interesting in this book.

However, crime does get solved in the end. Dickensian crime is gentlemanly crime (if there is such a thing). Charles goes about investigation by being a gentleman, a journalist, a persistent but polite nosy-body. It’s all a very nice fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
I think everybody knows the story of A Christmas Carol don’t they? It’s certainly one of my favourites and I re-visit it most years at Christmas time. I’m not however precious about it, and I love all the different adaptations and stories that are variations or influenced by the original story. It all adds to the fun in my eyes.
And this murder mystery which is heavily influenced by the original A Christmas Carol was certainly no exception. I really enjoyed it.
It had all the Christmas feels for me, the play on the names of the characters made me chuckle, and I think the author hit the right Dickens’s tone perfectly. In true Dickens style there were a heap of characters and quite a few different plot twists and turns to keep you guessing. I would definitely recommend adding this one to your festive reading this year.

The third in a series; This one Charles Dickens has to solve a murder and is the first one I have read. Whilst the book was well written is was slow and torturous to read. The language used was all wrong for the time period and if we are to believe this is the well written Charles Dickens I expect him to be well spoken as well. If you can forget that it is not written as a period piece then you will find it a decent little mystery.

Heather Redmond's Charles Dickens series is always an enjoyable read. A historical mystery presenting Dickens as a fictional character but woven with biographical facts of his life. As a journalist and amateur detective, he and his fiancee Kate are on a mission to solve the mysterious death of Jacob Harley.

A fun and adventurous story that turns the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol into a murder mystery that Dickens himself must solve.

If you enjoy Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, in all its incarnations, you’ll want to read the 3rd in Heather Redmond’s Dickens of a Crime Series. Charles Dickens and his fiancée, Kate Hogarth, go caroling to raise money for a charity that is near to their hearts, Charity for Dressing the Mudlark Children of Blackfriars Bridge. Just in case you are also wondering what a mudlark is, a modern interpretation is a “person who scavenges in river mud for objects of value.” Kate and Charles are accompanied by friends and family. In a booming “bass counterpoint,” Charles’s younger brother Fred Dickens, proclaims, “God and sinners reconciled!” Suddenly, a man came from the window, heading in their direction.

In an instant, he had crashed onto the front steps of the lit-up house, then rolled down them until he landed faceup on the pavement. The moon highlighted the blood puddling under his shattered body, coloring his gray hair.

Horrifyingly, the corpse sports wrought-iron chains around his neck. The carolers try to suss out what might have happened—did he fall? Was it a suicide? Was he assisted in his crash out of the window? What can be gleaned from the chains? Charles says he heard the chains break.

“I heard that, too.” William pointed a gloved finger at the chains. “Good quality. Made for a ship or something like that.”



“He was anchored by them,” Charles suggested. “What a way to die. And in December, which should be merry.”



William ignored his words. “Anchored to something on the house? I agree suicide is a possibility.”

The word chains trigger memories of Marley’s Ghost’s explanation to Scrooge, his former business partner: “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”

Kate Hogarth has a flair for detection and she often prompts Charles to reconsider his assumptions. That said, he is not an unalloyed fan of her inquisitiveness, as when he sees her looking at the corpse.

No, no, he couldn’t have that. Kate had much too much eagerness when it came to murder. While he had no trouble with her puzzling out a mystery, staring at dead men could not be a suitable pastime for a gently reared female.

But Kate insists on remaining by Charles’s side. No answers are forthcoming from the dead man so Charles and Kate knock on the door and ask to speak with the master of the house. His name is Emmanuel Screw and the dead man was his business partner, Jacob Harley. Charles feels a familiarity about the house and Mr. Screw, a rather unpleasant older man. He finally recalls that Emmanuel Screw is the “penurious penny pincher” who refused to give his father a loan years ago.” This memory colors his view of who might be responsible for Harley’s death, however, Kate senses some humanity in Mr. Screw and doubts the old man’s ability to heave a body out of a window.

Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination?

A Christmas Carol Murder plays off Dickens’s classic while subtly diverging from A Christmas Carol as well. All the characters beloved by readers appear, but many of them are presented differently. For instance, Harley is a miserable man: “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” While Emmanuel Screw is gruff and somewhat Christmas averse, but nonetheless a man who can be redeemed (slightly) without the need of Ghostly Spirits.

Charles Dickens’s life seems very modern, almost like a young man of today (pre-Covid) working the gig economy. A reporter at a paper by day, a writer by night, there aren’t enough hours in the day for Charles Dickens. However, he still finds time to look for Harley’s missing corpse and lend a hand to Mr. Screw for a stretch. He is constantly eating on the fly, making for some delicious passages. Fred Dickens and Charles are roommates, and they occasionally fall out. Charles has a plan for that.

With that cheering thought, he went home by way of a cook shop, picking up Fred’s favorite pork and potato pie, in the hopes of enticing his brother to speak to him again. He even purchased two plump little bundles of plum duff from a street seller near his rooms. Someone must be his friend again, even if it took a bribe.

According to the Great British Puddings website, “plum duff is a variant of the traditional Christmas pudding.” How appropriate for Charles to bring it home to Fred. Victorian London was not a safe milieu, particularly in the less affluent areas—Charles is always on the lookout for thieves and pickpockets. If scoundrels didn’t get you, the horrid London weather might. Consider Charles’s mid-afternoon walk:

He heard church bells pealing three o’clock while he walked through the streets on his way to the newspaper office. It had gone full dark by the time he reached it, dodging figures in the fog. He would not have known if he passed living, breathing people or shades in the brownish muck. Inside, he coughed in hacking Londoner fashion as he tossed his coat over his chair.

Like Dickens’s descriptions of London at Christmastime, Heather Redmond makes you feel London’s gloomy atmosphere inside your bones. It’s no wonder Dickens wanted to write a book full of roaring fires and tables groaning with festive fare, a tale to cheer the public during a bleak time of year.

Readers who are knowledgeable about Dickens’s personal history will enjoy Redmond’s skillful weaving of his life into the plot. As an accompaniment to A Christmas Carol Murder, consider watching The Man Who Invented Christmas, a biographical film that takes A Christmas Carol from an idea to a cherished Christmas story. There’s some dark intertwined with the glow of Christmas candlelight, subtle indicators that foreshadow potential issues in Charles’s and Kate’s marriage.

A Christmas Carol Murder is thought-provoking and surprising: I foresee many a re-read of A Christmas Carol in its aftermath.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Kensington Books for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “A Christmas Carol Murder.” All opinions are my own.

Our book begins with a cast of characters, which is a good thing, because it will help put a smile on your face – even though this is a historical (murder) mystery. When you’re using Charles Dickens as your sleuth, and your book says it’s part of “The Dickens of a Crime Mystery Series,” you’d best know what you’re in for.

You might want to do the Cliff Notes version of “A Christmas Carol,” just as a refresher. Right away Mr. Harley is dead as a doornail, and at Mr. Dickens’ feet no less. Now, we have some side plots – there’s a baby that Charles has been put in custody of, through no fault of his own; he has his newspaper articles; and his “sketches” to write. In between he’s got to work on those murders, for murders they are, for it’s not just poor Mr. Harley that’s due to be six feet under soon enough (and there’s a twist to that, too). He’s also visited by a ghost. Goodness, we can’t have “A Christmas Carol Murder” without a ghost, can we? I think not.

I like how the author handles the Victorian setting. Charles has his hands full (especially with that baby!) and Ms. Redmond knows how to move things along without getting caught up in a lot of heavy-going, dialog-wise.

Soon enough it’s Christmas. The baby story resolves itself, thank goodness, and peace is restored for Mr. Dickens domestically. Tricksters and murderers fall out with each other. And Mr. Dickens is free to solve more mysteries (hopefully) for readers who enjoy a clever twist on classical stories.

December 1835. While covering the fire at Hatfield House, reporter Charles Dickens is given a four month old baby called Timothy Dickens. The childs aunt, Madge Porter, convinced that Dickens is the father.
Back in London, while out caroling he and his friends witness a man, Jacob Harley, fall from a second floor window, complete with chains around his neck. The house is owned by his business partner Emmanuel Screws. Dickens investigates but this will only be the first death, what could be the possible motive.
An enjoyable mystery, a well-written story with its very likeable characters. A good addition to the series.
ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third installment in the Dickens series. Clever premise. A young Charles Dickens is a journalist and gets drawn into a murder investigation. This is where the story A Christmas Carol by Dickens comes from. Young Charles is surrounded by a cast of friends, including his fiancé Kate. To complicate matters, an infant is thrust at Charles by a young woman who insists it is his child.

A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond is the third in The Dickens of a Crime Mystery series, with the legendary Charles Dickens as the protagonist. Charles is out of town covering a fire in which a marchioness has died. He is fast asleep in his rented room when a young woman appears bearing a child that she insists is his. It seems his mother was also killed in the fire. Charles is aghast but knows he cannot allow this baby to die so it takes it back to London, to the home of his friends, William and his wife, Julie, whom he convinces to help him care for the child, with the help of their neighbor who can act as wet nurse until the mother is found or the father. Whichever comes first. His main concern is that his betrothed, Kate, not find out, lest she believe the whole sordid tale. Meanwhile, they are out caroling and a body falls out of a second story window, right at their feet. Thus begins a murder investigation in addition to everything else that is happening.

I started this book with a touch of trepidation but it quickly turned into an interesting mystery with lots of subplots and red herrings. People were not who they purported themselves to be, others turned out to have less faith in him than he anticipated, and people had to continue living their lives, no matter what was happening around them. The characters were brilliant and very real. They mystery was a good one, perfect for the setting, and Dickens was able to showcase his brilliance and that talent for which he would become well known in the future. It was a hair-raising story in which Charles, and his betrothed were able to remain steadfast in their feelings for one another. The murderer was caught and everything went back to pretty much normal. A first-rate read. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of A Christmas Carol Murder by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #achristmascarolmurder

Thank you Heather Redmond and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Being a big fan of A Christmas Carol I thought I would enjoy this murder mystery retelling, however, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Set in December 1835, Charles and his love Kate, are out caroling when they witness the body of Jacob Harley falling out of a window wrapped in chains. Charles just can't let this murder go unsolved so he dedicates himself to discovering who killed Jacob Harley and why. With a series of twists, turns and unexpected events this Christmas mystery will have you entertained on every page.

I absolutely loved this book! It had everything! From scandals and secrets, to murder and missing individuals, to a fresh take on well known and loved characters. In this world created by Heather Redmond, Charles Dickens is brought to life with a mix of fact and fiction that had me hooked from the first page to the last. I think Redmond did a brilliant job twisting and twirling the characters from the original Christmas Carol into this Sherlock style masterpiece.

I'd like to quickly point out this is the 3rd book in the A Dickens of a Crime series. Personally, I found this book did great as a standalone, however, others who have read the whole series may have a differing opinion.

I'd recommend this book for fans of A Christmas Carol, fans of Charles Dickens, fans of Sherlock type mysteries, and anyone else who enjoys and good whodunit murder mystery!

I love this series and now a Christmas addition, what could be better?! Charles and Kate bring 1835 London living to life in an exciting cozy mystery. I love the hints of A Christmas Carol in the making and Charles growing into the name he makes for himself. Charles and Kate are as different as can be, as is their approach to finding solutions, but together, they work. I love the creative spin on this treasured Christmas classic and had fun sleuthing the case alongside the characters. This book can be read as a standalone but having read the series I had a finer appreciation for the characters, relationships and dynamics explored. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

I had such high hopes for this book. I like the premise, a bit of a take off on Dickens A Christmas Carol, with similar sounding names and personalities. Once I began reading, it just wasn't what I was hoping for.

A baby thrust upon Charles, who he keeps a secret from Kate. A man falling from a window to his death, while Charles, Kate, and some of the relatives and friends are caroling. The whole story just seemed to jump from issue to issue, scene to scene, and for me it just didn't work well. The pace seemed a bit slow for a murder mystery. I kept wanting to jump ahead to see what was going to happen. A bit too much dialogue when action might have worked better.

I did love the descriptions of 1835 London. The air pollution, the dirty streets, the poverty, the abandoned children making due for themselves. That was very well done.

All in all an OK book, but just OK. I know this is the third book in the 'A Dickens of a Crime' series. I had no problem following along with the storyline, so this felt to me like a total standalone.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It's the 1st book I've read in the series but I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. I'm a big fan of A Christmas Carol and when I saw this book I had to read it. The big had a slow pace but I looked past it while I was hanging out in London 1835. Having the future characters in A,Christmas Carol as characters here was and Charles Dickens as the MC was brilliant.

This is the third entry into this series, but only the first one that I have read. I had no real difficulty catching up on the story and understanding who the characters' relationships.

I quite enjoyed journeying around Dickensian London with Charles and his friends. I felt like Ms. Redmond masterfully recreated the feel of the times. It was also quite fun to pick up on all the little hints to A Christmas Carol scattered through the story. I have some issues with how Charles handled some important story plots, but that was his choice! How much easier life can be if we trust and confide in those we love instead of hiding things. All in all a fun read if you enjoy cozies and this time period.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This cozy mystery grabbed my attention because of the unique characters and setting, I loved the characters of Charles and Kate, and enjoyed how the author incorporated historical details about Charles Dickens and the times in which he lived into the story. It was also fun to see the events/characters from “A Christmas Carol” scattered throughout the book. It was easy to imagine that if Charles Dickens had really been a “detective”, with Kate as his partner, this might be how they would work on a case. I wasn’t completely enthralled with the mystery itself in this one, but the other interesting details in the book made up for the lack of suspense. I’d enjoy reading the other books in this series, too.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws.

Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who's behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley's corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley's ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . .

This was the first book for me in this series and this author and I really enjoyed it. Great character cast and who doesn't love Dickens and Christmas. I did not figure out who done it, until the reveal. I was entertained and it kept me wanting to read more. The descriptions of London during this time period made me feel transported to there. I now want to go back and read book one and two. Even thought this is book 3 the author did a great job of bringing the reader up to date. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good historical fiction mystery, Christmas and/or Charles Dickens.

This is a story based on some biographical information about Charles Dickens, as well a lot of fiction. It’s a murder mystery involving Dickens and his fiancé, Kate Hogarth. You will recognize many characters from the original story by Dickens.

There were flaws, including repetition and pacing issues, but somehow I really enjoyed it because of my nostalgia for A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third and final book in the ‘A Dickens of a Crime’ mystery series by Heather Redmond.
A young journalist Charles Dickens is reporting on a fire in Herefordshire when he is approached by a young servant girl carrying a baby. She declares this is the child of her deceased sister and Mr. Dickens. Unsure of what to do, he takes the child back to London and placed in the care of his friends Julie and William.
To add a bit of spice to this story, on a chilly evening of caroling to raise money for charity, Charles accompanied by his fiancée Kate, friends and family witness the chained body of Jacob Harley fall out of a window on the property of counting house owner, the elderly Emmanuel Screws. The body of Harley disappears in the care of the undertaker and haunts Dickens home to lure him away from investigating this case. Here is the basis of this wonderful novel and where our journey begins.
With great writing, dialogue and interesting characters, The descriptions, sights and sounds transported me to Life in 1835 London.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, I would like to thank NetGalley, Kensington Press and Heather Redmond for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.