Christmas is Murder by C S Challinor

C S Challinor is another new author for me. I liked the synopsis and decided to read the book. A murder mystery by a new author sounded just right when I was getting a little bored. I had a quick look on the internet and found that this is the first book by this author in her series called Rex Graves Mysteries.

The central character is of course Rex Graves who is a QC in Scotland. He is invited to spend Christmas at a hotel owned by his mother’s friend. This is a small hotel and the people staying her during the Christmas holiday are few. In the first chapter one of the guest, an old gentleman, dies and authorities cannot come as the snow is coming down fast and this is a remote place. However, there is nothing suspicious at the time and so while the rest of the guests are sad they are more concerned about being snowed in. Rex arrives after walking 2 miles from the station in the snow. One of the guests takes him aside after being introduced and informs him that the death of the old man was suspicious as there was frothing around his mouth.

This information and after talking to the owner Rex feels he has to investigate as the police will not be able to reach the hotel yet. The next day there is yet another death, this time seemingly by accident. What can this mean? Is there a killer loose and if so who is it from among them? Will there be more people dying? What is the connection between the people who have died? Why would anyone want to kill these people? The snow does not stop Rex from skiing over to the village and visiting the police station and the pub. Does this mean someone from outside could have come and committed the murder? But how can that be possible as no stranger was seen in the vicinity. Also will anything come of this instant attraction between Rex and a fellow guest?

The momentum of the story is well maintained and the time span covered by the story is of around 4 days. Mighty fine sleuthing by Rex to solve the mystery in such a short time. It has the shades of Agatha Christie and the author is well aware of this as the characters in the story refer to their situation as akin to that in ‘And then There Were None’. There is also an oblique reference to Murder on the Orient Express. However, the writing style is easy to read and not too similar to that of Agatha Christie. I would say that Agatha Christie is more of an inspiration for the author. I certainly will read the rest of her books and put up reviews as well. Enjoy reading this author with mysteries set in  modern times.