I love cozy murder mysteries but I enjoy the Miss Merrill ones especially! The Christmas setting made this one even more cozy and enjoyable. I love that these are sort of interconnected standalones rather than a series and they're all great fun with lots of mystery, likable characters and they're quick reads that really pull you in!

It's Christmas, 1916. Hannah Merrill and her wonderful Aunt Violet leave London (taking Bartleby the cat) to be a part of the festive house party hosted by Hannah's sister, Iris. Hannah expects some tension with her mother, because there always is, but she's looking forward to having a good time in spite of the sometimes uncomfortable family dynamics. As it turns out, she's got more than differing family attitudes to deal with when one of the guests doesn't make it to Christmas, having been murdered in the study. On the same morning the body is discovered, another guest realizes that a family heirloom is missing. Are the two related? The lone policeman who can make it through the snow doesn't inspire confidence, but luckily, Aunt Violet and Hannah are there to get to the bottom of things.

I've got quite a soft spot for good Christmas cozies, so I was excited to see this book. I love this series--Aunt Violet is particularly wonderful. I was not disappointed. The setting is classic--manor house at Christmas, snowstorm, incompetent police officer, familial discord, missing family jewel, and the murder. The historical time period, which plays a part in the mystery, is well observed and the historical note at the end fleshes out one aspect of a main character's job a bit. Once I started, I didn't want to put the book down and I read it in one sitting, thoroughly enjoying every minute. This is the third book in the series, but you don't have to have read the first two to enjoy this one. It's a great series, though, and it's definitely worth reading all three if you're a historical cozy mystery fan. I highly recommend them all.

This gentle period novel follows in the tradition of Golden Age country house mysteries and will provide an entertaining read for folks following thst genre.

The cast of characters is limited to house guests and staff and suspicion has to fall upon someone in that group. The book’s saving grace is the acerbic and somewhat flamboyant Aunt Vi….. many of the other characters just seemed a bit “flat” to me. They were fine to “ round out a party,” but weren’t entertaining enough to carry a whole book. I found myself mildly bored by all of them, and by the interminable few days it took to resolve the mystery.

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this nook in exchange for a candid review.

An excellent choice if you like English historical cozy mysteries. Fully drawn characters in early twentieth century Britain win all the society and class dynamics.