The perfect, cosy, Christmas related murder mystery story. I ate this up in one sitting, it had me in the perfect cosy mood throughout

Murder in the Manger by Debbie Young

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

When a mysterious stranger interrupts Sophie Sayers' Nativity play to accuse the whole village of murdering a baby, Sophie Sayers' imagination runs wild, as usual, not helped by the surprise arrival of her ex-boyfriend just as her new romance with charming local bookseller Hector Munro was starting to hot up. What secrets is the stranger hiding, and whose baby is it anyway? Can Sophie hang on to Hector without driving Damian into the unsuitable arms of Carol, the aging eccentric proprietor of the village shop? With the help of her new-found friends in Wendlebury Barrow, she's going to give it her best shot...

My Opinion

This is the first book I have read in this series. This was not overly mysterious but it was a nice, gentle read. I have a few issues with the title of this book but that aside this was a lovely quick book to read.

Rating 4/5

Debbie Young's Murder in the Manger is the perfect cozy Christmas mystery book. Sophie is adjusting to village life in Wendlebury; she has a new guy, a cute cottage, a supportive writing group and a job at the local bookstore, when along comes her ex Damian (ughh). Especially great about this book for the holidays, the chapters are super short so when I was busy I could sit down for a quick chapter in just a few minutes.

A gentle village read, but hardly qualifies as a cozy mystery. That being said, I loved the story and the characters.

I'm sorry, but what did I just read? The title of the book is totaly misleading. There is no murder in this book, I can hardly say, that there is a mystery in it. I'm so disapointed, that I have no words.
The closest this book come to mystery was in a last 10% of the book and then it was resolved in 2 sentences.
It's just your typical contemporary chicklit book, with a love triangle in it, and even that love triangle wasn't developed that well.
The main chracter was like chicken without a head running around and bossing everyone. Love intersts where as interesting as a log in the fire.
For me this story was so immature and boring that in my opinion even teenagers would be dissapointed.
Do not recommend. There are plenty of REAL cosy mysteries if you want one, as well as much better contemporary romances if you prefer those.

this book left a lot to be desired. with a misleading title & no real character development.

absolutely no murder takes place within the pages of this book.

the story is very lacklustre, with not much pay off. not much happens at all until the last couple chapters and even ‘the big reveal’ left me very unsatisfied. the characters felt like NPC’s in a game, no personality but instead just used to further the already weak plot. also the main character is very whiny and does not know how to communicate with her friends and boyfriend.

no real storyline other than “the MC wrote a script for the nativity play.” do i know much about any of these characters… not really. this is the third in a series but i still think it’s important to describe your characters in each book.

the “twist” at the end was so bleh and also really not discussed a lot. it’s like a couple lines and then they all just move on to christmas stuff, with 51 chapters you’d think it could’ve been hinted at a little earlier than chapter 45.

As always I’m incredibly thankful to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me early access in exchange for a review.

This book was a chore to get through in every sense of the word. There is no plot at all just mindless drivel and meandering scenes thrown together until the last 3 chapters have you rushing through what should’ve happened earlier. We spend hardly any time with the major twist that was ham fisted into the story.

I understand that this is a book in a series but there really is a lack of proper descriptions of any characters both physical or otherwise. None of these felt like people with a life and personality and instead were cookie cutter, cardboard cut outs to move the poorly paced plot along.

Truly a crime that I found myself agreeing at all for the evil ex, but you know what? Sophie’s nativity play does truly suck and shouldn’t ever have been written, let alone praised.

Not to mention the transphobia on at least two occasions that were disgusting, the main character being insufferably whiny and self centered, and completely incapable of communicating with those around her.

However this books biggest problem was how long it was and the pointlessness of it. I can’t tell you how many times I had to reread an entire paragraph because it didn’t make any sense. Words being thrown in for no reason, sentences with poor grammar, and I’m pretty sure there were a few typos as well.

This is marketed as a mystery, romance and cozy book but failed to deliver anything other than a headache.

I’m only giving this a 1 star because I’m required to, but on Storygraph and anywhere else, this is a solid 0.

Thank you so so much for a chance to read and review this book.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the book for me. The writing and dialog was really hard for me to understand and get interested in.

Murder in the Manger By Debbie Young
Earc:NetGalley
Publisher:Boldwood Books
Publication Date: 14 Dec 2022
Genre:General Fiction Adult, Mystery, and Thriller

This book is a bit of a slow read to start with. The central part doesn't start until 40 % of the way through. Sophie has written a Christmas nativity play for the village of Wendlebury Barrow. Still, the unexpected appearance of a mysterious woman with her ex-boyfriend and baby threatens to ruin her work. Based on the back copy containing the phrase "soon the whole village will be accused of murder," I expected much more mystery and chaos from this novel. It was a fun holiday tale with moments of suspense around every corner. There isn't much detective work or nefarious activity here, and the murder charges aren't made until late in the novel. As someone who loves thrillers, this is a little disappointing, but the story has enough suspense to keep the reader engaged until the end. But despite the lack of actual mystery, this is a charming novel, with a beautiful village setting full of cozy little shops and a cozy plot with plenty of dry humor. If you're looking for a warm, light Christmas mystery to read this Christmas, get Murder In The Manger. Visiting Sophie at the festive Wendlebury Barrow is just what you need.

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Easy-to-read, full of festive puns. It was a bit like a soap's Christmas special - characters that feel familiar, with no real surprises but a light-hearted plot to make you feel warm and fuzzy.

I did guess all the plot twists, so don't expect anything revolutionary. But it was exactly what I needed to get into the festive spirit. Plus I could definitely imagine plunging into Sophie's little village world again. A cosy Christmas read for all!

I didn’t know what to expect from the title but I really enjoyed this book. A bookshop/cafe, a nativity with a twist and a village that came together to put on the play. I liked the characters, each with their own stories and the school children but I especially liked Sophie. When her ex boyfriend turns up,to,direct the play she has written it looks like her life is about to get complicated. The bookshop where she works is a meeting point in the village, it has a cafe, it hosts the writers club and is where the children get to meet Father Christmas. I particularly enjoyed the nativity play in the church complete with a real donkey and the ending was perfect.

A easy but enjoyable read that I am happy to recommend.