This is a really cute cover which that, plus some of the description, drew me into requesting the book. I had to force myself to finish it because it just lacked luster. The main character talks most of the time rather than take action for a mystery. Plus, things were revealed by way of people talking, not uncovering most of the mystery side of the story. I've read other historical mysteries that kept my attention. I really wanted to like this book and I can see where the author could go with expanding it, but it just didn't wow me. I'm hoping others find enjoyment out of this story. Thanks to the author and the publisher for making it available.

I missed there being any mystery. The ending result was solved before the book even started and not even by Imogene. Therefore, the ending wasn't surprising. And you have to read the same story told four times by different people - none of the details change in any of the retellings!

⭐⭐ -- Love this cover!

The cover of this one is what first caught my eye, add it in the "Christmas" angle and I was excited to dive in. Unfortunately, the cover was the best part of this book. It was slow. It was boring. Imogen just basically sat in her room talking to herself, grieving her husband, and not eating. She basically did zero detective work and the "mystery" was solved in a very lackluster fashion. Oh well, they all can't be hits, right?

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I don't know quite how I feel about this book. It picks up in the last four chapters but the first 65% of the book is an enormous struggle. First, the main character initially comes off as deeply unlikable: she treats her maid poorly and looks down her nose at other people. We come to realize later that this is because of grief, but I almost put down the book multiple times in the beginning. Secondly, this book is Just So Slow. At one point, I skipped forward four chapters and nothing had changed. Then once we find the solution, we get to hear it from person after person after person. Nothing changes-we just get to hear what happened again. It was actually kind of infuriating as a reader to read.

It's possible that, for another kind of reader, this would be a gentle meditation on getting over someone's death, so I hesitate to just give this one star and be done with it. If you like traditional mysteries where the detective actively searches for a solution, this is probably not the book for you.

I really like Victorian mysteries, so from the description, I thought this sounded like my sort of book. I was also very drawn to the cover design; I thought it was striking and pretty.

I enjoyed this book. There was something quite cosy and comforting about it. I liked the protagonist, and the way she narrated. I felt a connection with Imogene, and felt that I got to know her quite well. I also warmed to some of the other characters.

This story was entertaining and light to read; I read it in one sitting. I think I would probably read some more books featuring this character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

To be honest, the cover is what drew me in. Not a bad story by any means, but did find it rambled on a bit at times, and I begin to skim. Might just be me, but was expecting a bit more Christmasy and faster pace. A bit hard at times to keep track of who was who, but the main story is a young man tasked to find his real mother, and others trying to find her too. Would recommend, but helps if you've read others by this author.

I fell in love with the cover and found the blurb intriguing. I think there's potential but I didn't care for the characters and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

dnf on page 51

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of mental illness, mention of loss of a parent, cancer, grief</spoiler>

When a lord's father dies, he comes clean on his deathbed and tells him he is not related by blood, that he was adopted. And if he wants to sort out the testament, he has to find his biological mother and make amends.

What makes the lord sympathic is that he doesn't really care about his father's money, he just wants to take care of this mess in a dignified manner.

Interestingly, the protagonist is the lord's cousin. See, she is both a cousin to the lord and to his wife because aristocracy is weird. Her husband was a detective and set on solving the case, but was already deadly ill when the news was recieved and never got round to it. So his wife is taking up the mantle. She is rich and has nothing better to do if we're being honest, and it's what her beloved wanted. Also, she is curious and it's a family matter.
There really is no reason not to tackle this.

The writing style is very rich and it all feels very victorian, apart from one thing: We have a first person narrator who gives her all, a stream of conscious narration, which ultimately was the reason I dnf-ed this.
I really wish this would be taken into consideration when marketing a novel, because this style of narration is hugely inaccessible for neurodivergent people.

I settled on a three star rating because so far the novel did what was promised.
Some spiteful part in me wants to give it a 1 for not disclosing the way it was written.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

While it’s not unusual for Christmas cozies to begin and end on the holiday. The Unsolved Case of the Secret Christmas Baby, however, spans two Christmases and two birthdays, actually four birthdays - two for our Mrs. Imogene Lynch and two for her cousin Sir Finley Lowther, the secret Christmas baby whose birth origin is under investigation after the deathbed confession of Imogene’s uncle that he is not Finley’s father.

Imogene sets up house, during her mourning, in a small apartment in the neighboring Cotswold town of Dartmond, taking up the investigation into the matter, honoring her late constable husband’s dying wish to find the answers that he could not.

There we meet an interesting cast of characters, as Imogene and Jasper, her Jack Russell Terrier, get to know the townsfolk and its colorful mayor, search for clues and uncover 50-year-old secrets while dealing with the grief over the loss of her beloved.​

Hannah Byron brings us a satisfying Christmas cozy and leaves the reader anxious to see Imogene Lynch’s confidence grow and prepare to solve her next mystery. The Unsolved Case of the Secret Christmas Baby is a relaxing holiday read snuggled up on the sofa with a cuppa and a kitty or pup at your feet during a snowstorm. ​

I received a free egalley courtesy of Hannah Byron Books, through NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

I just finished this cozy Christmas mystery late last night. It was exactly that cozy. I felt like I was looking outside Imogene’s window at our colorful cast of characters right along side her.

This story is about a recently widowed woman who is looking to finish her husbands last case he was unable to finish on his deathbed. It involves one of their family trying to find their birth mother.

I loved the cozy towns this story takes place in and many of the characters in this story. Gertie the helpful? Maid. Jasper the roly poly, spoiled jack Russell and the major of this dear place.

There were twists and turns aplenty. In the final act of the story is a perfectly wrapped up (pun intended) ending.

I really wanted to like this book but it is so badly written, the characters are poorly developed and the dialogue is so stilted that I could not.

Imogen is a recent widow, determined to solve the case of 'The Secret Christmas Baby', or the true origin story of her cousin Sir. Finley Lowther. I enjoyed this book, I especially liked the story's protagonist being a woman on the far side of 50, as that's not so common. One problem for me, I was expecting a lot more Christmas based on the cover and the title,

This cover and quirky title drew me in, but I was disappointed. Info dumps, awkward dialogue, and little insight into the characters’ feelings along with a dull investigation made this a boring read.

We’re told Imogene is a good investigator, but the first person present pov is just rambling thoughts and we don’t actually see her do anything other than share her opinion. She does zero detective work to uncover the tragic backstory—not even a crime—and it’s a flat resolution.

I just really did not get along with this book at all. The premise was incredibly intriguing and the story was overall pretty decent but it fell flat at the writing style. It felt entirely telling not showing and a little bit clunky in parts. I will still keep an eye on this authors other works but this one just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed The Unsolved Case of the Secret Christmas Baby by Hannah Byron. It was a nice, easy read with a little mystery and a lot of charm. I wanted to visit Dartmond and walk through the streets and meet all the characters in real life. I didn’t figure out the twist ahead of time and the ending scene is full of all the Christmas delights you are looking for at this time of year.

a 2.5 stars read.

I love victorian cozy mystery, I was expected a sherlock vibes, but unfortunately this one is a bit underwhelming for me, but the last few chapters where everything is resolved is pretty entertaining, so I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

What I like: the plot, it's pretty entertaining.

What I don't like:
- Mrs Imogene. I don't like how she treated her maid and how she always judging everyone and everything, she's kinda rude sometimes like she's above the other and it's like she's always complaining.
- slow paced mystery, this book took forever, not much investigating happening here, just guessing and waiting and only when I reached the last few chapters everything is getting a bit entertaining.
- the revelation, again not much investigation happening here, so if she thought about it from the beginning the bok will be done in just few pages.
- lots of weird things that doesn't make sense for me.

Recommended: hmm I still enjoyed the last few chapters, but still underwhelming for me, so if you want to try it, go for it, maybe you will like it more than I do.

This was a good introduction to a new series. There were a number of characters but that tends to be the case with a new series but they should be more familiar as the series continues. Mrs. Imogene Lynch was carrying out her husband’s last request to discover the truth behind her cousin’s adoption. She did tend to speak to herself and her dog, Jasper a lot at the start but this wasn’t so noticeable once other characters came into play. This was a complex problem and it took some working out. There are a number of interesting secondary characters. Also, as they come towards the turn of the century the beginnings of change are seen, such as women’s clothing and people from a different race taking key positions. This was an engaging read and I’ve preordered the next in the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting style of writing it's as if we are reading her diary which I didn't mind at all. I liked the setting and the main character. However it wasn't really a mystery in the true sense as it was just about asking questions of a few people her husband had done the hard work pointing her at the person he thought had the baby. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First of all, the cover is absolutely stunning, it totally drew my attention. I thought it was going to be very christmasy, but I was wrong. There are only few references to the holidays as the case revolves around a baby that was born on christmas day, but that's it. However, as this book ends with a christmas celebration, I think it can be a great read to start the holiday season.
As to the writing, I found the integration of 19th century writing style very interesting. At some passages I felt like reading a Charles Dickens book.
To continue with the previous point, I also feel like there was a lack of fluidity in the writing throughout the book. It felt like the author jumps from one element to another without transitions. And I found the plot to be quite slow paced. For instance, the main intrigue began only when I was 40% into the book. But I kept flipping through the pages for a while wanting to know what was happening.
But saying I wasn't let down by the end would be lying to you. I like it when there are hints left out throughout the book and when the detective solves it all at the end, but in this book, the mystery was solved through conversations, so I didn't really feel like it was Mrs Lynch who solved the case.
Also, the representation of a half-indian in a small passage was a little cliche being half-indian myself but I still highly appreciate the representation.
And I found it was not very cozy at certain times for the themes it explored (miscarriage, sexual abuse and child abuse) so keep these trigger warnings in mind before reading it.
But aside from that, it was a very short book (only 190 pages) so if you're looking for a short read, you may like this one. And even if the mystery in itself wasn't completely to my liking, I'm sure it can be the sort of book some may like.
I believe the second book in this series will soon be releasing and I think I'll still be reading it as it sounds interesting.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Hannah Byron Books for sending me an eArc of this book.

Mrs.Imogene Lynch has promised her husband Thaddeus Lynch on his deathbed to solve the Case of the Secret Christmas Baby. The author, Hannah Byron has done a wonderful job with this book! The characters are catching and just pull you in. My favorite characters were of course Imogene Lynch, Jasper her dog, Lady Kittie Lowther,Finley Lowther, and Mayor Banerjee. This town in the mid eighteen hundreds, had never seen a person who was half English and half Indian. Cousin Catherine made a profound statement to Imogene her cousin during the town wide Christmas dinner. She said “ How rapidly society is changing, and for the better. “ in reference to the mayor. I loved the mystery, the characters, the setting in the 1800’s, descriptions of dress, food, and the mysterious characters. I’m very much looking forward to more of Mrs. Imogene Lynch, and her mystery solving. Kudos to this author Hannah Byron on a job well done!