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A review by shanaqui
Murder Most Festive by Ada Moncrieff
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found Murder Most Festive a really enjoyable quick read -- maybe not something I'd come back to, but definitely a fun way to while away the last day of the year. In the best Christmas mystery tradition, most of the characters aren't great people, the victim included, and the flawed nature of family is well on display... but there are a few highlights, like Lady Westbury (far from perfect, but kind, and brave at a particular crucial moment) and Hugh Gaveston. Lydia, too, has an interesting development, finally realising that she's been shutting her eyes to something she should act upon, and goes ahead.
I don't agree with people who criticise mysteries for the killer being obvious early on; I chose a character to suspect early on, and I was quite right too -- in part just because I've read a lot of mysteries, and seen a lot of the tricks in the book, and I keep my eyes open and remember that everything is potentially significant and it's often the most unexpected character, the one with no apparent motive, who has done the deed.
But a mystery isn't all about the whodunnit, anyway: it's also about the howdunnit and the whydunnit, and sometimes the when and even wheredunnit. (Dorothy L. Sayers' Whose Body?, for example, is all of those things!) And even after all that, sometimes it's just the howdiscoverit and howtoproveit -- and even after that, there's just the characters and how they behave to each other, how they react to being under suspicion, etc.
All this to say: I don't think Murder Most Festive is the best mystery novel I've ever read, or a favourite that's likely to stick with me, and it didn't have me in great suspense... but it was entertaining, and sometimes that's all we need to ask of a book.
I don't agree with people who criticise mysteries for the killer being obvious early on; I chose a character to suspect early on, and I was quite right too -- in part just because I've read a lot of mysteries, and seen a lot of the tricks in the book, and I keep my eyes open and remember that everything is potentially significant and it's often the most unexpected character, the one with no apparent motive, who has done the deed.
But a mystery isn't all about the whodunnit, anyway: it's also about the howdunnit and the whydunnit, and sometimes the when and even wheredunnit. (Dorothy L. Sayers' Whose Body?, for example, is all of those things!) And even after all that, sometimes it's just the howdiscoverit and howtoproveit -- and even after that, there's just the characters and how they behave to each other, how they react to being under suspicion, etc.
All this to say: I don't think Murder Most Festive is the best mystery novel I've ever read, or a favourite that's likely to stick with me, and it didn't have me in great suspense... but it was entertaining, and sometimes that's all we need to ask of a book.