Very Cozy Christmas Murder and Mayhem

A Fatal Winter
G. M. Malliet
October 2012
St. Martins Minotaur

Every once in a while those of us who grew up on the works of Agatha Christie and later, those of Caroline Graham just need a visit to the lovely villages of England for a dose of murder and mayhem. G. M. Malliet filled that need with last year's Wicked Autumn and now A Fatal Winter. I can assure you, though, that Dame Agatha never had as dishy a sleuth as Max Tudor, Anglican Vicar and ex-MI5 operative. Nor was her pen quite as acid.

Max felt a call to the priesthood after the death of his partner in a bombing intended for him. He is well settled now in the picturesque village of Nether Monkslip and if the ladies of the church would stop trying to marry him off, mostly content. He is forming a close friendship (and maybe more) with Awena Owen, proprietor of the local New Age Shop. Matters are not so content however at nearby Chedrow Castle. After years of ignoring his family Oscar, Lord Footrustle, has invited them for Christmas.  Quite a nest of vipers they are too. The permanent residents of the castle are Lady Baynard, Oscar's widowed sister, and her adopted grand-daughter, Lamorna. The invitees include Lady Baynard's two sons, wives and hangers-on; Oscar's failed Hollywood actress daughter from his first marriage and husband; and Oscar's newest ex-wife with adolescent twins. Oscar's relations all wonder just what Oscar is up to and how they can profit. When Lord Footrustle is found brutally murdered in his bed and Lady Baynard a few minutes later dead in the conservatory the fun really begins. It's clear that Lord Footrustle was murdered but what about Lady Baynard?

A call goes out to Max asking for help with the funeral arrangements and a second call from Max's friend DCI Cotton of the Monkslip-super-Mare Police. Can Max help solve these murders? In the days following Max finds out many family secrets and uncovers a diabolical plot. A Fatal Winter is a very tightly plotted puzzle and plays with all the conventions of the traditional country house mystery. The quirky residents of Nether Monkslip all have their respective parts to play in this very enjoyable entry in the series.

RATING- 3.5 stars