Maddie Marlow, a young reporter for the Trafford Times in Manchester, gets stranded in an isolated North Yorkshire village after her car breaks down as she is travelling to her parents in Scotland. She takes shelter in the village pub, the Merry Monarch, where she has to stay overnight as the snow closed the roads and she can’t get anyone out to fix her car. The Merry Monarch doesn’t live up to its name with the landlord at loggerheads with his son and there are rumours of ghosts and secret passages adding to Maddie’s unease. During the course of the evenings traditional scavenger hunt there is a power cut and when the lights return one of the competitors is found murdered. With all the signs that it was premeditated with meticulous planning and execution.

This is a fast paced, fun cosy murder mystery. The setting is within a snow bound pub and the reasons for why some of the characters were there that night felt a bit contrived. Also, the layout of the building and the presence of a number of secret passageways was a little confusing. The characterisation of the two police officers was weak and at times a bit farcical.

Overall though, there is a good level of intrigue and mystery in this quick to read book.

A solid if lightweight whodunit, The Christmas Eve Murders succeeds largely thanks to its cosy charm and likeable characters, even if the actual mystery is too light to be of much real note. An enjoyable time nonetheless.

3-

Maddie gets stranded in a pub in the Yorkshire Dales while on her way home to her family in Edinburgh, when her car breaks down. Because of heavy snowfall a group of people get stuck in the pub, and then during the the annual Christmas Eve scavenger hunt, the lights suddenly go out, a bloodcurdling scream is heard.. And well, you can guess the rest.

I did get caught up in the mystery and the setting, which is why this barely makes a 3 for me, but the solution to the murder was a bit anti-climactic and obvious. No real twists or red herrings. Honestly, this book being described as "hilarious" in the blurb is the biggest twist to me.. I don't want to be mean, but I saw zero humour in it.

There was a lot of telling of what happened and a lot of internal monologue which made the pacing very slow. For instance early on, when Maddie's car breaks down, someone knocks on the car window. We are treated to an entire page of inner monologue before she responds to the knock. I also didn't feel like I got to know any of the characters, so I wasn't invested and didn't care about them. I admit I did something I rarely do: I started skimming (not the entire book, but parts here and there).

So yes, I'll give it an okay +, but this book did not find its right audience with me, though I am a big fan of both Osman and Christie. It's back to Thursday Murder Club for me.

Thank yo Net Galley and Quercus Books for this ARC. The blurb for this book was much more exciting than the book itself. The author used all the great country house murder mystery troupes but it was just bland.

Locked in a Yorkshire pub on Christmas Eve having been stranded in the snow when her car breaks down the last thing Maddie expects is to become involved in a murder. With a great cast of characters and numerous red herrings this book is the perfect Christmas crime read . It had me guessing to the end and I look forward to more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Taking a detour due to a crash on the M6, a young journalist finds herself stranded in a remote Yorkshire village on a snowy Christmas Eve. Joining in with a scavenger hunt in the local pub she becomes embroiled in a series of murders.
This is short and simple book which ticks a lot of boxes for a festive read. Judged against other cosy crime novels it falls short for me but for a evening in front of the fire it's fine.

In this locked-room style murder mystery with a festive twist, we meet Maddie as her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve and she finds herself needing to book a room for the night in a local pub. Shortly after joining the locals in their annual Christmas scavenger hunt, things take a dark twist when the lights go out and a body is discovered…

This was a fun take on a traditional locked-room murder, and the plot was engaging. While there were a few events that stretch credibility a little, it was nicely paced and had some good red herrings to keep the reader guessing along the way.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Stranded in the Yorkshire Dales on Christmas Eve due to a broken down car and heavy snowfall, Maddie finds herself stuck for the night, taking refuge in a local pub called the Merry Monarch. Once at the pub, she is persuaded into joining in with the annual scavenger hunt, but things take a shocking turn when the power goes out and one of the pub’s patrons winds up dead. So the party turns into a murder investigation, with a killer possibly still among them.

This is a fun cosy mystery, not overly festive apart from taking place on Christmas Eve. The characters are (mostly) likeable and believable, but all work as possible suspects so you don’t know who to trust. Being a bit of a locked room mystery, it’s appropriately claustrophobic, with a fairly slow start which builds the tension and ramps up as the story unfolds.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy reading this book as much as I expected. The beginning – although slow - was very promising, especially as it was supposed to involve a treasure hunt. But in the end the things just did not line up for me. The treasure hunt was stopped once the murder was committed, the police officer (conveniently on situ) was too involved to be allowed to be part of the case, which he started to conduct in the most annoying and unprofessional way, and in the end the killer revealed themselves instead of the reader being told who they were.

Book review:
Thanks to @quercusbooks and @netgalley for a proof copy of The Christmas Eve Murders which was published in my birthday. Billed as a modern day cosy crime novel aka in the style of Agatha Christie it’s a good way to pass a couple of hours. I mean should you just follow a random stranger to a local pub on Christmas Eve and get involved in their obviously dubious traditional scavenger hunt - if you read as many crime novels as me, then it’s a definite no as you’re bound to witness something brutal but clearly no one told that to Maddie and that freezing to death in her car would be a preferable option!!! It’s also only 99p for the kindle edition at the moment.

Fantastic idea for a novel with a lovely dollop of wit and a knowing wink towards the genre. However what let this book down were the characters, which were not well developed enough and the plot which seemed a little tacked on. I'd still recommend this as a Christmas read but more for cosy fans than crime fans

It is Christmas Eve and journalist Maddie Marlowe is driving home from Manchester to Scotland. Her car is struggling through the snow and eventually grinds to a halt in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. With no signal on her mobile she appears stuck but then an oldish man with his dog turns up and they walk to a nearby pub, The Merry Monarch. There she can rest in a spare room until the breakdown people can get to her through the weather.

Briefly, with nothing else to do Maddie is persuaded to take part in a scavenger hunt with the pub regulars and staff. However, matters take a dark turn when first the landline is cut, then the power cuts out and then one of the regulars is murdered! With no way for anyone to get to them it’s up to them to find the killer.

With a little humour to counter the darker moment this was an easy read. As secrets unfold and with no escape from the pub a deadly game of hide and seek develops in this cosy locked room thriller. A festive atmosphere and a diverse group of people, all suspects in this murder, made for an enjoyable seasonal novel.

This is the perfect Christmas theme mysterious cozy with humor and great characters. I was sent a copy from Netgalley.

On her journey from Manchester to Edinburgh, journalist Maddie gets stuck in snow in the Yorkshire Dales and has no option but to stay the night at the local pub. Meeting all the regulars, Maddie is soon roped into playing their annual scavenger hunt which takes place all round the pub, including it's secret passageways.

It's not long however before a grisly murder happens whilst the power is cut and phone lines are down, leaving them all trapped with a murderer. It's a race to unmask the killer before they strike again and with Maddie's investigative skills she proves to be an asset in this hunt but someone else will die before the case is solved.

This is a really quick read, a lot of fun and a real page turner ideal for a December afternoon!

I really enjoyed this classic Christmas mystery set in Northern England. As Maddie, the main character, is trying to make it home to Edinburgh for Christmas, she gets stranded by a fierce snowstorm and ends up having to take shelter at the Merry Monarch Inn.

Murder and mayhem follow as the people trapped at the inn have grudges and rivalries. And is the inn haunted? Amidst all this, the trapped guests participate in a Christmas scavenger hunt. Fun and festive!

Love a cozy crime set at Christmas? Add this one to the list.
Maddie gets stranded in a country pub in the snow. There's a murder and all the suspects are stuck there together.
There's a lot of shared history and family dynamics at play. The story takes you through various suspects so it moves pretty quickly and is a diverting read.

I do love Christmas and I do love a good mystery so put them together and I won't be able to stop reading. And that is exactly what I did. This is a whodunnit with humour, thrills, suspense and some wonderful characters. This is a book that had it all for me and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down.

Wonderfully written, great characters and of course that Christmas theme had me hooked. I highly recommend it for sure.

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A lovely little murder mystery, mixed in with Christmas. What could be better;
Maddie gets stranded and bad things happen!
I really liked this book, I liked the characters and mostly the fact it was a Christmas murder book!!
It was an easy read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.