Dominic Corde and his wife Clarice are elated when he becomes the temporary vicar of the small village of Cottisham while Reverend Wynter is away on vacation. Everything seems perfect at first. It's a beautiful rural area with warm and welcoming villagers. The couple even entertain hopes that the situation might become permanent. But then Clarice discovers that Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday; something more sinister has transpired.
This is the fourth in Anne Perry's Christmas-themed mysteries, which feature minor characters from her other series. My only problem was, with this one, remembering who Dominic Corde was (he's Charlotte Pitt's former brother-in-law, widowed when her eldest sister is murdered in The Cater Street Hangman -- the first Pitt mystery). He did turn up in another of the series, but it's been almost ten years and it took me awhile to get enough info from this book to remember him.
Not an overly complicated plot, since these Christmas mysteries are more novelettes, but not overly thin either. She manages to give readers several strong suspects and a plausible reason for the murder. Anne Perry has a way with characters. Even her minor ones are fully realized, interesting, and sympathetic people.
Perhaps this won't be as enjoyable to those who have not read the main series first. On the other hand, it serves as a good introduction to her style and, at 208 pages, is a quick and entertaining read.
1 comment:
LOL! I had the same problem with trying to remember who Dominic Corde was. Since the main characters in the other books were people I knew, I figured Dominic (or Clarice) should be someone I recognized, as well.
Thank you for solving this mystery for me BEFORE I read the book. And thank you to Google, too!
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