Comment

Sarah1984
May 04, 2016Sarah1984 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
8/12 - A simple, unsophisticated historical mystery. This was my first Anne Perry book and I was kind of expecting a 'cosy romance'. A Christmas Hope was one of many (10) Christmas themed books I picked up a couple of weeks ago. All the other books I picked up were romances and I just assumed this would be the same, it wasn't until I realised that Claudine was married to a cold, unfeeling man who wasn't the man of her dreams (and that he wasn't going to have a convenient heart attack) that it occurred to me that this wasn't a 'cosy romance', but a 'cosy mystery'. Claudine happens across a man at a party who charms her with his poet's heart. She is shocked when, only a little while later he is accused of murder. She doesn't believe a man could say such romantic things to her one minute and then beat a woman to death the next, so, despite all the roadblocks those around her put up, she does everything in her power to get to the truth. This is the eleventh book in Perry's Christmas Stories series, but there is no reason to be irritated if you haven't read the previous ten. A couple of times Claudine mentions another character, Hester, who runs the women's clinic she volunteers at, and another case she was involved in that nearly got her killed is also brought up, but the main characters Claudine and her husband and friends are all well-drawn and wholly described. I'm one of the strictest followers of the religion of 'series must be read in chronological order', so if I'm not that bothered, then most other readers will hardly notice. Not a fantastic read, but an enjoyable one, which is good as I have another two of Perry's books in my towering pile of Christmas themed borrows and I hate to give up on a book before I've even opened it.