The Unsloved Case of The Secret Christmas Baby by Hannah Byron is the historical cozy mystery.

The premise and the cover really drew me in and I was very excited to read this novel. but I am sad to say that I didn't enjoy it.

Truthfully it was too slow and static for my liking. The main character is mainly sitting and observing on certain individuals trying to solve a cold case.
While the case was quite intriguing and the beginning showed promise very soon all of it came to a stop and from there just continued in that fashion,
I expect my amateur detective to do some detecting which didn't happen here.
The ending was almost non existent and therefore pretty disappointing.

A fun little Christmas mystery with a great historical vibe!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I wanted to like this story, it really didn't resonate with me. The cover and the unique title are what grabbed, but unfortunately the story couldn't keep me there.

An interesting mystery book. I liked the setting and the main character! She has a lot of pluck! I was surprised by the ending!
I read this book by courtesy of Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Gives you Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote vibes! Granted, it is set in a different time. I would even say that this cozy historical mystery could even give off Golden Girl vibes. Needless to say, I truly enjoyed it.

This book didn't quite work for me. It's not a bad book, just a little slow for my taste. But I would recommend others try it.

This one was a bit slow for me, but overall okay. I enjoyed the story- especially reading around the holidays.

The story was ok. It didn’t wow me at All. I thought there was going to be more story telling in this book but it was just introducing the characters. I’m hoping the next book if there is a next book that it’ll tell the story this one was lacking

I love a historical mystery, but I have to be in the right mood. This one just didn’t work out for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was seeking out Christmas books as they are very popular in our library for the month of December, but unfortunately this one didn't blow me away. This is clearly the first of a series, just meant to introduce us to characters instead of tell it's own story.

This one was just meh for me. I tried to read a “Christmas” or winter book every December and this was my choice this year. There was nothing particularly good about it but it wasnt horrible either. The “mystery” was very underwhelming and overall I found the book to be kind of boring and lacking.

A story based in the Cotswold's in 1895 this is a story of a baby, a widow and Eloise Platt, a shopkeeper.
This is a story of secrets, lies and a baby who dies (or did it?).

It all sounded rather interesting and intriguing but fell short for me. There are far too many characters but the list at the books beginning helped to keep track of them somewhat. The writing was not as well executed as I would have liked and the story didn't flow as well as I would have liked either. But the story itself had merit and interest.

An okay book but not on my list of favourites and hope that future books in this series are improved on as I think they can improve and look forward to seeing what Hannah Byron does next.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The author added a list of characters and their descriptions in the opening pages of the novel, which made engaging with characters much easier. I am a character driven reader and Hannah Brown fleshed out her characters to my pleasure.The main character was Imogene Lynch, a new widow turned 49 on 25 December. Thaddeus was Imogene’s late husband, and the chief-constable. Most importantly we have Roly-poly or otherwise known as Jasper, Imogene’s dog. Along with the list of characters, an important component to the story was the Haberdashery called Treasure and Trinkets run by Miss Plat.
The novel is a cozy mystery, which is not my usual choice. I was attracted to the cover and the festive motif, so the novel piqued my curiosity.
I did not expect to enjoy the book as much as I did. The book is the first in a series and I can imagine the next books will be as entertaining as the first. Besides the story, I loved the names of the characters, they suited the Victorian era.The focus of the novel was that Imogene's deceased spouse requested that she solve the cold case of the Christmas baby. Story reminded me of an episode of ‘Murder She Wrote’.

THE UNSOLVED CASE OF THE SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY is a historical fiction mystery that is perfect for those who like a quaint, quiet read by the fireplace on a cold December day.

And that is exactly where I found myself reading this book (sans the fireplace). I admittedly am not a huge fan of historical fiction. The premise, however, appealed to me and while it was an interesting story, it was a tad too predictable.

Our main character's detective husband recently died. She wanted to solve one of the cases he worked on for years. Who was the mother of the baby born on Christmas 50 years ago?

I thought the author did a good job of world building for the time period and also the town's characters were interesting.

I think the plot needed more red herrings and conflict to give it extra oompf in a competitive genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Hannah Byron Books for an e-copy of THE UNSOLVED CASE OF THE SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY to review.

I rate THE UNSOLVED CASE OF THE SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY three out of five stars.

I truly enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. For the early preview. What first of all drew me to the book was the cover! Hannah Byron will be my new favorite historical author with her interest in women becoming strong and independent. Who was Finleys birth mother? Imogene’s husband who just passed away , was trying to find out for Imogene’s brother Finley. So many secrets and characters in this novel you will find have had their own sadness. A great read!

“...the expression on his young, freckled face clearly states he has no interest in the background of this story and only wants the gory details. But that’s not how I tell a story.”

This actually sums up the experience of reading the book quite nicely.


Fifty-year-old Imogene Lynch has recently moved to the tight-knit community of Dartmond after her husband passed away. With the promise to solve his last case for him, she sets out to find the truth of her cousin's adoption.

Firstly, what you absolutely NEED to know, is that this story is mostly about vibes.
It's not a typical suspense novel where you're on the edge of your seat and want to turn the next page before you've even finished the current one.
Secondly, be prepared to remember a lot of names. Even if there is a cast list at the beginning, it can still feel overwhelming as the story progresses. (A family or character tree would have been fantastic...).
Oh, and also, the main character breaks the fourth wall, so either the story is written as a diary entry or she actually talks to the reader. I'm not quite sure which yet. And since the story is set in the 1890s and tried to accurately reflect the time, be prepared to read about the beliefs and portrayal of people from that time. Although I feel that the depictions were quite tame to what it could've been so as not to distract from the plot.
My biggest pet peeve is the way Jasper, her dog, was fed normal human food that he should never have been given. I could write a whole essay about how it's no wonder he looked unhealthy and couldn't move much. Hm. I WONDER WHY.
Every time he was mentioned, it physically hurt me.
In my opinion Imogene's character was not quite consistent, but since she's telling the story she's allowed to have a flawed view of herself and her surroundings.
All in all, this felt like a writing exercise that got published. A good one, but still.

Thank you to netgalley and xpresso book yours for a copy of this book to read. I’d give it 3.5 stars but will round up for goodreads. The first two thirds did not grab me as I thought it might but the last third really picked up for me. I would definitely read another.

I enjoyed the first book of this series featuring 50 year old widow, Imogene Lynch.
After her husband chief constable of Landdulton, passes away, Imogene moves to the neighboring town of Dartmond,a tight-knit community where she hopes to find answers to the secret Christmas baby mystery she promised her husband she would solve.
There is plenty going on in the town of Dartmond and as the widow Lynch works to unravel the tangled web of clues readers are introduced to her quirky, round about way of getting to the truth.
This book has all the makings of a good historical mystery, quirky characters, an intriguing mystery, plenty of red herrings to keep one guessing, all set in a quaint English village.
This book flows smoothly and held my interest throughout, although the mystery itself can be a bit confusing if you don’t pay close attention to what you are reading.
I would recommend to historical mystery fans and give it 4 stars. Thank you to Hannah Byron and Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

This was a quick mystery, though predictable. I was disappointed that Imogene wasn't sleuthing, but rather stumbled upon her answers.

The Unsolved Case of The Secret Christmas Baby, while well written, it was difficult to form attachments to any of the characters. The mystery was obvious from the beginning and the story was more about a displaced widow in morning than solving the murder mystery. The setting, language, and themes such as social expectations and suspicion of foreigners are all accurate and expertly woven into the story. Small revelations and curiosity spurred this reader to the end of the novel.