We’re into December, so it’s time for the annual Clothes
in Books trope of Christmas in Books – seasonal scenes from random
books, for no better reason than I like looking for the pictures, and I and
some readers find them cheery and Xmas-y (particularly, of course, those
featuring murders and other crimes). This one isparticularly recommended as a possible gift for the mystery-lover in your life
Many of the entries
- this year and in the past – were suggested by clever readers: so if
you have a favourite please do let me know and I will try to use it
Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards
published 2025
“I let out a strangled cry of dismay… Moments later, the wavering beam of my torch fell on someone a short distance away… the person was wearing a red Santa Claus costume, carrying a sack over the shoulder and holding a torch in one hand and an ice axe in the other…”
Is there no end to Martin Edwards' talents? This is not a Rachel
Savernake book, nor a magisterial work of non-fiction, nor a Lake District
mystery, and it does not feature Harry Devlin (though one main character is
called Harry and bears a certain resemblance…)
A new departure for everyone’s favourite mystery crime
expert: this is a contemporary mystery set in a snow-bound Yorkshire village.
Six guests have been invited to spend Christmas competing in a murder mystery
game – “En
route to the House-Party of Death” as I always like to call it
- and there are six people running the
event.
We see a lot of the action via Harry Crystal’s journal – he
is a failed crime writer – but also get a bird’s eye view of other people’s
thoughts and conversations. And every so often we are given a puzzle to solve
along with the guests, or a file of new information. Every opportunity to join in the sleuthing,
and that is the point of the book…
There is a death in the past that no-one wants to talk
about. There is the invented crime story that the guests are supposed to solve.
And, no surprise, there are people dying in real time. There’s only 12 people
on site: how many will survive before the snow clears….?
This book is tremendous fun, and will make a great
Christmas read, or a gift for the mystery lover in your life. That’s why I have
done this post early in my Christmas collection, to give you a chance to buy it
for Xmas…
Martin always plays fair, and indeed there is a Cluefinder
at the back of the book to prove it. This is a Golden Age trope that he is
reviving in his recent books – where he points out exactly where he gave you
the clues to solve the crime, with page numbers.
There are many, many references and tipoffs to classic
crime fiction, and it is most enjoyable to spot them. I did well at some aspect
of the books and the various puzzles, but one major revelation was a complete
surprise to me.
And – there is no character called Miss Winter, and no
library. You’ll have to read the book to find out where the title comes from.
Santa is a Finnish stamp from Wikimedia
Commons. The encounter described comes from very late in the book,
though I hardly feel it is a spoiler.
Black and white picture shows a Canadian house in the snow,
but I thought had a look of Midwinter Village.
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