Ah, Christmas - snow, mistletoe, bickering, fighting, dislike, distrust. This is the scene at Lexham Manor, the home of wealthy Nathaniel Herriard. His optimistic, cheerful brother Joseph has organized a Christmas party to bring together members of the family. There is his nephew Stephen who has brought his fiance Valerie. There is his niece Paula, an aspiring actress, who has brought Willoughby Royden, an aspiring writer of drama. Actually, he has written only one play. Paula hopes to star in it, and also hopes Uncle Nathaniel will provide money to produce it. Added to this group is Mathilda Clare, a distant cousin, and Edgar Mottisfort, Nathaniel's business partner. And also, one of the most curious members of the group, Maud, Joseph's wife, who is bland, speaks very little, and is very, very fond of reading books about the life of royals.
Hostilities among the members of the group grow as Christmas Eve progresses culminating in the reading of Royden's play in the evening. Nathaniel hates the play and angrily goes off to his room where he is found dead the next morning. He had been stabbed in a room with all of the doors locked and the windows closed and difficult to reach. Scotland Yard is contacted, and Inspector Hemingway and Sargent Ware arrive to find the murderer.
This book is a gem. This book is worth reading just for the witty dialogue. Clues to who did it and how it was done are there, and the diligent reader may figure this out before Inspector Hemingway does.
This book was published in 1941. It has been reissued and is available on Amazon.
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