Murder After Christmas

By: Rupert Latimer

Narrated by: Kris Dyer

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Uncle Willie has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post?

More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, mince pies and misdirection, cleverly playing with beloved murder mystery tropes to create something pacey, light-hearted and admirably suited for the holiday season.

©1944 Rupert Latimer (P)2021 Soundings

Liked the ending

Classic mysteries are a mixed bag for me. This one reminded me of forced readings by my high school English teachers. While it was amusing at times, the constant dialogue became tedious. The narrator was able to keep me listening, however, I did listen in increments. It was worth sticking with it for the clever ending.

Distracting narrator.

I have tried but cannot finish this one. The narrator has a lisp which I find distracting and somewhat confusing as it tends to add an odd dimension to every characterization.

Clever and Twisty

This is a fun, twisty mystery that takes place during WWII. As usual, there is a rich relative whose demise would benefit all his kith and kin. The book was a bit long and dragged a bit in the middle, but in the end, it was satisfying to see how many times everyone had been misdirected. The narrator has a pleasant voice. All in all, definitely recommend!

Amusing Absurdities Abound

Accept that you will be plunged into a world of eccentric characters using arch and amusing language and behaving in a close-to-slapstick style and you will have lots of fun. Be prepared to keep guessing throughout the many, many twists and turns.

Listening to the introduction will give you a sense of the world in which the author lived and about which he wrote so amusingly.

The narrator has the just the right tone to tell this tale but it can be difficult, at times, to distinguish between some of the characters.

Oddball Holiday Mystery

This is an unusual mystery by an author who seems to have published only a few books before dying. On the whole, I found the humor landed pretty well, and the mystery was solvable without being obvious (although it seems to rely on some really ODD ideas about how British law works which even as an American I'm pretty sure are not correct). The characters are likeable and entertaining even if I wouldn't want to live with them.

Kris Dyer's performance adds a lot; upon reviewing the print book, I found that many of the jokes and character voices were a bit hard to parse on paper, but he brings them to life.

Don’t waste a credit

Repetitive, convoluted, and unrewarding story that takes an interesting premise and stretches it into a farce that leaves you rooting for the murderer by the end.