It’s that time of year again. Yes, the dreaded C word, and a time when everywhere you look, there are light-bejewelled fir trees, reindeer, more food than anyone needs and wall to wall Christmas music. A time when we try to beg for peace on Earth and charity to our fellow man. And, like Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol, we all want to carry that into our lives throughout the year and not just at Christmas.
It is also the time for authors of serial books to offer a short Christmas story featuring their hero/heroine. And I am no different. Readers of the Georgia Pattison Mysteries will know how easy it is for our early-music soprano to become embroiled in deep trouble, frequently to protect her friends who have become unconsciously involved in a murder. And, of course, Chief Superintendent Michaela Hamilton always needs Georgia’s knowledge of the musical scene or the people who are under suspicion to help her tread through the minefield of suspects and evidence and come up with the real killer.
The 2018 Christmas Georgia story is The Bleak Midwinter and follows in the usual tradition of the Georgia Pattison Mysteries, has a musical title. If you are new to our somewhat acerbic but insatiably nosy sleuth, she began her exploits in Whistles After Dark. There are two full-length stories, Dearly Ransomed Soul and Laid in Earth. But you can find her other Christmas adventures in The Midnight Clear, where she meets her beloved, Sir Edward Broome, and The Shepherds’ Farewell.
In The Bleak Midwinter Georgia is invited to sing at the carol concert in the small Worcestershire village of Ash Buckingham and stay at Highfield Manor for the festive season. However, on Boxing Day she finds a body draped over the fountain outside her bedroom window. Chief Inspector Hamilton, pulled out of a warm bed and made to drive miles through thick snow without the benefit of coffee, determines that Georgia knows the suspects much better than she does and inveigles her into helping track down the killer. When it becomes clear that the murder may have connections to Georgia and Ned’s holiday in Rhodes, things take on a much more sinister turn.
You can read more about April Taylor here:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your Comment. Due to escalating spam it is, unfortunately, being sent for moderation and should be uploaded shortly. We appreciate your patience.