A snowstorm, a small and isolated village, a cast of characters with secrets and lies - all the ingredients for a cozy British mystery are here. Unfortunately, they just do not come together. After a promising beginning, the plot becomes forced and the characters are all flat caricatures that are never quite developed. Mysteries aren’t really about the whodunnit - they’re about the process of unraveling it all. There just wasn’t enough of that. This wasn’t for me, but I can see that some readers may enjoy it as a comforting holiday read. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

Stranded on Christmas Eve after a breakdown in a small Northern England pub, Maddie reluctantly agrees to participate in the local holiday scavenger hunt. The handful of participants are long-time residents who know one another well, adding another level of discomfort to an already unfortunate day.

It just gets worse: before the game can even get off the ground, the power is cut and someone is murdered. With a roaring blizzard trapping them inside and without any means of communication, it is up to the game players themselves to solve the crime--even though they know that the most likely suspect is one of them.

The Christmas Eve murders took off like a shot, with an immediate jump into the plotline and a quick but effective introduction to the characters. I think Noelle Albright has done Agatha Christie proud here (despite the lack of poison), as the story moves fast and is truly a locked-door mystery, not just some suspense book touting itself as such. The ending was perhaps a bit contrived and too tidy, but you'll have that, especially in a holiday book. I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the characters, and despite the sombre tone did not feel dragged down by the plotline.

This book is what could be described as locked room mystery. It is set at Christmas when Maddy's car breaks down and she is snowed in at a pub in the Yorkshire Dales with a bunch of strangers on Christmas Eve. The strangers include a couple of handy policemen for when the bodies start coming. It was a very intriguing mystery which I enjoyed although the mention of a possible ghost was a bit thin and silly, It was an enjoyable read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Maddie a journalist is on her way home to Scotland to celebrate Christmas with her family , unfortunately she breaks down in the Yorkshire Dales and with no hope of recovery she makes her way to the local pub the Merry Monarch .
It’s Christmas Eve and although Maddie hasn’t had the warmest of welcomes from the locals she decides to join in with the annual scavenger hunt .
The lights go out there’s a scream and then Maddie finds herself in the middle of a nightmare situation.
This festive cosy mystery is an easy and enjoyable read , I enjoyed both the story and the characters .
I hope we see more of Maddie Marlowe in the future .
A great cosy mystery .
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books.

A really enjoyable read. Once I started reading g I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. I’ll be looking for more from this author

I really wanted to love this book—it has so many of the elements I enjoy in cozy mysteries: a snowed-in setting, an intriguing game night, and a twisty plot. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. While Noelle Albright's writing is quite good, it felt a bit forced at times, and the story just never grabbed me the way I was hoping.

The premise was promising, but I found the execution flat. Despite the cozy setting, I didn’t feel drawn into the atmosphere or invested in the characters. They were well-developed, but I just couldn’t connect with any of them—perhaps that’s why the mystery felt more like a mild diversion than a gripping read.

As for the mystery itself, the murderer became pretty obvious early on, so the supposed "who did it" moments didn't have much impact. I kept waiting for a twist or a surprise, but it never came.

It was a kind of ok read, but I was expecting something with a bit more charm and intrigue. Instead of feeling entertained, I was mostly just going through the motions, waiting for the end to arrive. Not quite the cozy, funny, or thrilling experience I’d hoped for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright is a cosy closed-circle mystery set in the snowbound Merry Monarch pub in the Yorkshire Dales. When journalist Maddie Marlowe finds herself stranded there on Christmas Eve, she joins the pub’s annual scavenger hunt. But when the power goes out, a scream pierces the darkness and one of the patrons is found dead. With everyone trapped and a killer among them, Maddie and her fellow pubgoers have no choice but to solve the murder themselves.

Albright combines festive warmth with mounting suspense, crafting a charmingly unsettling atmosphere that captures the cosiness and tension of a snowed-in village mystery. The book’s engaging cast, with their layered histories and quirks, makes everyone a suspect, adding complexity to the investigation. Albright deftly blends humour and intrigue, shifting from festive cheer to darker undertones as the murder mystery unfolds. With its clever twists and snug setting, The Christmas Eve Murders is perfect for mystery lovers looking for a seasonal whodunit.

When Maddie's car breaks down in the Yorkshire Dales on Christmas eve, her only refuge is the local pub, and her guide a mysterious older gentleman with a penchant of turning up unannounced. With the phone lines down and a blizzard outside, Maddie resigns herself to an evening of organised fun and jollity with the strangers in the pub.

But then, during a jolly scavenger hunt, one of the patrons turns up dead, and soon everyone is a suspect, and long dead secrets are revealed.

This was an enjoyable romp through the murder-mystery genre, with every possible stereotype and trope thrown at it. Old pub? Check. Secret passageways? Check. A clandestine love affair? Check. Everyone had beef with the victim? Check. Local cop too close to the case? Check. Plucky outsider becomes heroine - can't say that, spoilers!

It followed a fun formula, and that was exactly the sort of book I needed. I thought I had guessed the killer, but the twisty turny ride this took left so many red herrings the final outcome was a surprise.

A fun holiday read, and an antidote to all the holiday romances!

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

So, time for another Christmas review, this time from, ahem, Noelle Albright. OK, there’s being Christmassy and then there’s being CHRISTMASSY. Given that the author has other pseudonyms, I’m guessing this isn’t her real name. Not that it affects the book, but it did set off my twee-radar.

Having said that, the book isn’t twee at all. Oh, it’s not blood and entrail-soaked terror either, but it’s not all mince pies, snowmen and falling in love with the male lead either. It’s also, despite what Amazon/the publisher might want you to think, not hilarious. It’s not trying to be, to be fair, but just thought you should know not to expect another Benjamin Stevenson.

All in all, it’s a fun read with an interesting lead character – except when she’s flashing back to a dead body she saw when she was young, a plot that goes nowhere (book two, maybe?) – and the support cast is distinctive, which always helps an old duffer like me.

There’s nothing really in the way of clues – not entire sure how one identifies a murderer by finding a motive that they were mistaken about – but given the killer has a penchant for dressing up as a ghost, it’s appropriate that they stumble into a trap and get caught in the act. Zoiks! And so on…

I’m being a bit harsh because at the end of the day, I enjoyed the book. The prose is fun, the plot keeps moving and the writer does a good job of puncturing expectations – the armchair sleuth will have a certain idea when the lights go out, so they’re going to have a sulk when Maddie voices exactly the same suspicion almost immediately. So much for being clever…

Yes, a fun book, not that Christmassy, and certainly had me turning the pages to see if I’d guessed right.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A fairly standard whodunnit set on Christmas Eve, unfortunately let down by poor writing. The general framework is there but there’s far too much “telling” in the way the author writes rather than “showing”, which made the narrative slow and quite boring for me.
At times it felt as though the author had reached for their thesaurus in an attempt to either look more intelligent or not to reuse the same words, but whatever the underlying reason it just interrupts the flow of the story.
Another point which will read as pedantic but did really annoy me was that two characters are related to each other as half-brothers - they share a father - but are only ever referred to as “step brothers”. Surprised that made it through editing, along with a mention of the Dakota Johnson “Persuasion”, where one character “dragged another to go see it”. It wasn’t released in cinemas, only on Netflix. Maybe neither of these things matter much to most readers, if you’re going to include references then it’s just best to get it right.

When a motorway pile-up on Christmas Eve prompts Maddie to take an alternative route across the Yorkshire Dales, she has no idea what the night ahead is going to bring. Snow is falling when her car breaks down in a place with no phone signal, but thankfully she can see signs of life around in the small village of Quernby. An elderly dogwalker convinces her to walk with him to The Merry Monarch to make her phone calls, and there she meets a small group of locals. They are enjoying a festive drink while waiting for the annual scavenger hunt to begin. That's not really Maddie's cup of tea, but when the BAC advises they can't attend to her car because the village is cut off by snow, she accepts her fate and prepares to join in. Before long, one of the group is found dead.

This is a cosy, fun, locked-room mystery. I thought it started really strong, but despite its fairly short length it seemed to run out of steam way too soon. Still, I think it will make seasonal readers quite happy with its charming characters and a sprinkling of Christmas glitter.

Festive Whodunit..
Christmas Eve arrives at the Merry Monarch where this particular pub is to host the usual scavenger hunt for its regular customers. Only, this year, things will be different. This year, someone is ready to kill to win. With a snowstorm closing in and the electricity cut, something nefarious is about to happen. A perfect festive whodunit with an atmospheric backdrop and a frothy plot populated with an eclectic cast. Wholly entertaining.

The Christmas Eve Murders serves up a classic murder mystery with a distinctively festive slant. Cosy up by the fire and unwrap this tricksy treat Albright has set out.

I love a classic locked room mystery and this utilises all the best aspects of the set-up with this cosy pub turning more claustrophobic as the harsh weather of winter traps out characters in. The opening scenes set that doomed tone with Maddie’s car breakdown in this rural middle of nowhere type of town. It is familiar territory, but still thoroughly enjoyable. You know the small town secrets are all about to spill out. I’ve seen a few too many episodes of Midsomer Murders to trust little towns anymore. I loved this meta wink at the audience throughout the set-up. It feels like all-knowing, highlighting the comedic potential in some of this, but also reverent and like a love letter to the genre.

Once we’ve reached our locale, Albright takes time setting up each of these characters and teasing at the hidden secrets they may share. You have the competition laid out, only for there to be a deadly twist to proceedings. All of this just works so well in creating that atmosphere. It is almost the calm before the storm, letting the tension build and the inevitable start to fall into place. You know full well not everyone in this pub will be coming out but seeing that lead up is brilliant. The mystery itself is also well-constructed, going down interesting rabbit holes and weaving in some great clues. It is tense and terrific. You cannot help but get swept up in the ride.

With The Christmas Eve Murders, Albright takes a timeless mystery setting and transposes the brightness of Christmas into far darker territory. The festive season never seemed so chilling.

The Christmas Eve Murders follows Maddie who is on her way home for Scotland when her car breaks down in a snowstorm in a remote Yorkshire village. She ends up at the local pub with the locals and things go from there. I thought this was going to be a cosy murder mystery but I didn't really get those vibes from it, it felt like I didn't really get to know any of the characters and there were a lot of strands of family history that I struggled to grasp the relevance of. I also, as someone who is Yorkshire born and bred, found the Yorkshire accent so irritating and unrealistic. It really took me out of the story. I did like Maddie and was hoping she would survive the night and get home for Christmas, and I also loved Barkley the dog. This is an enjoyable enough read but it didn't quite live up to expectations.

The story begins with Maddie driving through the snow bound Yorkshire `Dales when her car breaks down and she has to seek overnight refuge in the isolated quaint village local pub. The Christmas Eve annual scavenger hunt is just beginning when the phone lines are cut, mobiles don’t work, the electricity is cut and a blood curdling scream echoes through the rooms.This is a cosy mystery with some funny parts. The characters are very well developed and it was easy to understand them. It is a creepy locked room mystery and full of secret tunnels and ghosts.
Great read

The Christmas Eve Murders is a festive British cozy mystery featuring an investigative journalist (Maddie) who has car trouble in the midst of a blizzard and gets stranded at a small village pub called the Merry Monarch on Christmas Eve.

Maddie was on her way to Edinburgh to spend Christmas with her parents and is not excited to spend the night at a pub with strangers. However, she does keep it together and agrees to join in on their competitive annual scavenger hunt.

As they are playing, the electricity goes down, and when the lights come on, they discover that one of them has been murdered. From here on out, the survivors are left to figure out who among them is a killer.

This was a good closed circle mystery with carefully dropped clues. It is a who, why, and how mystery. The setting, holiday, and pub characters add to the fun.

I wouldn't call this book laugh out loud hilarious, but there is subtle humor woven in. Fans of Agatha Christie, traditional mysteries, and holiday reads would probably enjoy this.

I am glad I read it and would seek out more from this author.

Thanks to Net Galley and Quercus Books for the ARC.

Apologies but I'm not able to provide a full review as I got to about 20% in but this wasn't clicking for me. Maddie seems like a great character and I love the idea of a cosy, festive mystery but the Golden Age style I need to accept isn't really for me and I found that the pacing and narrative voice wasn't working for me either.

Contemporary cosy mysteries are hit and miss for my reading tastes and unfortunately this one didn't work but if you love a locked room case, if you love a cosy read in a festive setting and you like your murder mysteries unfolding at a more gentle pace then I'm sure this will work for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a digital review copy of "The Christmas Eve Murders" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

A snowstorm strands a journalist at a Yorkshire pub on Christmas Eve, trapping her with a colorful cast of characters during their annual scavenger hunt. When the power fails and a murder occurs, Maddie and the pub regulars must uncover a killer among them before it’s too late.

If you like holiday-themed cozy mysteries, you might enjoy this book. It’s lighthearted though not funny, without an eerie mystery feel.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Quercus, for letting me read and review an advanced copy of the book, ‘The Christmas Eve Murders’ by Noelle Albright.

Maddie is heading home on Christmas Eve, but her car breaks down near a small village. She ends up in a pub with the locals, who are preparing for their annual scavenger hunt. With a winter storm raging outside, she didn’t know that she would be stuck with a killer.

There were some nice twists in the story, as Maddie teams up with the local policeman, who was also stuck in the pub, to unmask a killer.

Leave it to an author with a name like Noelle Albright to pen a can’t-put-it down holiday whodunit with just the right amount of lightness and dark, humor and suspense, colorful characters, red herrings and a ghost in The Christmas Eve Murders.

I read it in one sitting and absolutely loved it!

Picture the bucolic glacier valleys of the Yorkshire Dales on Christmas Eve. Then imagine breaking down there in a snowstorm en route to Edinburgh to spend the holidays with the family. You realize you don’t have a cell signal when a strange man knocks on your window. That’s how journalist Maddie Marlow finds herself spending Christmas Eve with the locals at the Merry Monarch, just in time for the annual scavenger hunt.

Despite not knowing anyone, for Maddie, choosing teams for the evening’s festivities was easy. Choosing allegiances after a murder takes place in the snowbound pub is a whole other story. Who can she trust?

I highly recommend The Christmas Eve Murders to readers who enjoy humor and suspense in equal measures. I received this advanced reader copy from Quercus, courtesy of NetGalley.