The Twelve Clues of Christmas

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Female, 2014

She may be 35th in line for the throne, but Lady Georgiana Rannoch cannot wait to ring in the new year—before a Christmas killer wrings another neck…

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me—well, actually, my true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending a feliz navidad tramping around South America. Meanwhile, Mummy is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with that droll Noel Coward! And I’m snowed in at Castle Rannoch with my bumbling brother, Binky, and sourpuss sister-in-law, Fig. So it’s a miracle when I contrive to land a position as hostess to a posh holiday party in Tiddleton. The village is like something out of A Christmas Carol! But no sooner have I arrived than a neighborhood nuisance, a fellow named Freddie falls out of a tree, dead…. Dickensian, indeed.

Freddie’s merely a stocking stuffer. On my second day in town, another so-called accident turns up another mincemeat pie—and yet another on my third. The village is buzzing that a recent prison break could have something to do with it… that, or a long-standing witch’s curse. I’m not so sure. But after Darcy shows up beneath the mistletoe, anything could be possible in this wicked wonderland.

©2012 Janet Quin- Harkin (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Katherine Kellgren performs an impressive range of accents: Irish brogue, high-pitched Cockney, fussy American, West Country burr, and more. Kellgren triumphs as Georgi, who is 34th in line to the throne, giving her a refined accent contrasted with down-to-earth sensibilities. Due to the author's light touch and Kellgren's humorous delivery, the many Yuletide deaths in this cozy do not become macabre. The listener just marvels at the mounting 'accidents' amid the bountiful Christmas cheer." ( AudioFile)

Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Female, 2014

If you are able to buy the ridiculous plots - fun!

Yea - you have to suspend reality but if you can, and you like regency mysteries, these books are the best! I cannot wait for her Molly Murphy series to be added to audible.

Clever and fun whodunit. Masterful narration.

Kellgren! Her narration makes the characters come alive. Her mastery of accents is unbelievable. The book is worth it just to marvel at her performance, But there's a book here as well... And it's a very good one. A fun Christmas whodunit, without any feeling of predictability. Well done Bowen. But let's face it - the real star of this book is Katherine Kellgren.

Excellent <br />

I really enjoyed this book. it was a little slow at the beginning, but when it picked up, it really picked up!

I didn't see where the plot was going and was very pleasantly surprised and found it to be very clever. This was the first book of this series that I have listened to and I will be going back to listen to the rest in order.

The only thing that bothered me was that there were really long pauses between chapters, so long that I would stop what I was doing to check my Audible player. It was annoying to me, but that is a personal preference, I suppose. It would not stop me from listening again.

Love this!

I have loved ever one of the royal spyness mysteries that I have read so far. Hope they keep coming!!

Very Entertaining Performance

The performance is excellent and worth listening to- I had previously read this book and was a little sad that I purchased it as a Audible book (in error or so I thought). Wrong - the reading is so good that this story actually came to life. I highly recommend anything read by Katherine Kellgren as she adds depth and dimension and I fell in love with this story in a new way.

Love these

my wife and are plowing through this series and loving it - well worth the listen

💛 this series can't get enough of them.-what-

narrator captured every expression. brilliant use of words. all in all very enjoyable series.. can't wait for the next release

Another Royal Spyness Load of Fun!

I have yet to read or listen to a poor Rhys Bowen mystery and with Katherine Kellgren narrating it has, so far, always been a 5 star listen.
Lady Georgiana finds work for a Christmas event thrown by gentry advertising for a "a Lady" to be the hostess to an Old Fashioned Christmas in a small town.
Georgie finds her mother, Darcy and her father in town to help solve a series of murders. Love is also a part of this Christmas, creating a fun listen.
ENJOY!

An outsider looking in....

Katherine Kellgren's narration is so compelling, it makes up for the simplistic ending to this mystery. I am not one to listen to books that are a part of a series; I feel there are generally better, more unique books to be had that don't require a substantial time commitment. That said, this book stands well on its own and is a nice diversion for listeners looking for something easy for the holidays.

Why do I even listen to the samples??

What made the experience of listening to The Twelve Clues of Christmas the most enjoyable?

I'm addicted to this series so I already know I'm going to buy each of the books. I don't know why I bother to listen to the samples. I liked this book a lot even though it was my least favorite in the series so far. The middle was confusing because there were so many characters to try to keep track of. Ultimately though the story prevailed and the important bits were clear enough to follow. I feel like this is the first one of hers that I'll need to listen to again though just to get the nuances straight. All in all, good overall story and I'm anxious to hear the next one!

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character is Darcy O'Mara. I like his depth. He's straight-forward but in a caring way. I like how his character gets more fleshed out with each book.

What does Katherine Kellgren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The pronunciations. Some of the words that roll off her tongue would surely trip me up enough to become annoying. I also enjoy her acting skills and the way she embodies each character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Murder in the Village

Any additional comments?

Queenie is starting to become annoying.