A Tangled Web...

A Christmas Journey
Anne Perry

Genre: Christmas, Fiction, Mystery
Pages:  180
Series: Christmas Series
Rating: ***
Favorite Quote: "And mercy, the gift to forgive, to wash away from the memory as if it had not happened, to accept the gift of God which is love and hope, courage to begin again in the faith that redemption is come into the world, is the meaning of Christmas."

I am ashamed to say....I have never read an Anne Perry book.  I know shocking.  I love mysteries, historical novels, and Christmas.  Anne Perry does all three in one.  I should have read one by now.

A Christmas Journey, is set in Victorian England ( I think).  A group of wealthy 'friends' have joined together for a long weekend before Christmas.  After dinner, and a few unkind words, Gwendolen Kilmuir is found dead in the pond.  It is determined to be suicide.  The result is a pact between the guests and the one they blame to be responsible for pushing Kilmuir to kill herself.  Isobel Alvie, with the help of Vespasia Cumming-Gould must hand deliver Kilmuir's last letter to her mother, who is in the farthest reaches of Scotland.  It is meant to be an ordeal, in return Alvie will be forgiven.

That's a bit larger than a nutshell, but a lot goes on in this little book!  I could have used a list of players, I got confused more than once on who was who.  I blame my lack of attention, not the writer.  I enjoyed the book, it was well written and had lots of detail.  I felt a shiver as they were plodding through the frozen bog of Scotland.  I had difficulty getting to know any of the characters.  They were not forthcoming in emotion, they all wore a mask to hide their inner self.  Of course with people as board as the super weatlhy of the time whose main sport was gossip, one had to guard themselves.  I just didn't like that aspect.  It was important to show that, it just wasn't my cup of tea and put me off from the start.  I will give another go at Anne Perry, maybe a bigger book.

- Caren