A classic mystery for the festive season: mulled wine, mince pies...and murder.
Mordecai Tremaine, former tobacconist and perennial lover of romance novels, has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame.
Arriving on Christmas Eve, he finds that the revelries are in full flow - but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.
Midnight strikes and the party-goers discover that it's not just presents nestling under the tree...there's a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas.
With the snow falling and the suspicions flying, it's up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit - and prevent someone else from getting murder for Christmas.
'Kept guessing to the end, I am left wondering why it has taken so long to discover Francis Duncan… With some 20 crime novels to his credit, a relaunch seems long overdue'
Daily Mail
'Who can resist a seasonal whodunnit? This is a bah-humbug’s ideal read'
Lady
'The book nods towards Agatha Christie but retains a crackling atmosphere of dread and horror that will chill the heart however warm your fireside'
Metro
'A wonderfully cosy read and a great way to while away a winter’s evening'
Nudge
'This is a golden age murder mystery that’ll certainly appeal to lovers of Agatha Christie – or anyone who enjoys a good, old-fashioned whodunit… This is a book that could be read at any time of year but would certainly make perfect festive reading. It has humour, excellent characterisation and a gentle tone that would sit well following the after-Queen’s Speech nap'
crimefictionlover
Francis Duncan is the pseudonym for William Underhill, who was born in 1918. He lived virtually all his life in Bristol and was a ‘scholarship boy’ boarder at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital school. Due to family circumstances he was unable to go to university and started work in the Housing Department of Bristol City Council. Writing was always important to him and very early on he published articles in newspapers and magazines. His first detective story was published in 1936.
In 1938 he married Sylvia Henly. Although a conscientious objector, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in World W ar II, landing in France shortly after D-Day. After the war he trained as a teacher and spent the rest of his life in education, first as a primary school teacher and then as a lecturer in a college of further education. In the 1950s he studied for an external economics degree from London University. No mean feat with a family to support; his daughter, Kathryn, was born in 1943 and his son, Derek, in 1949.
Throughout much of this time he continued to write detective fiction from ‘sheer inner necessity’, but also to supplement a modest income. He enjoyed foreign travel, particularly to France, and took up golf on retirement. He died of a heart attack shortly after celebrating his fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1988.
Mordecai Tremaine在犯罪学领域已经小有名气了,这次他受Benedict Grame邀请参加在其乡下古宅举行的圣诞之夜。与Grame仅有一面之缘的Tremaine原本想婉言相拒,但邀请函的最后管家写的附言却引起他极大兴趣:会有什么奇怪的事情发生么? Tremaine驱车前往,一路上遇到...
评分Mordecai Tremaine在犯罪学领域已经小有名气了,这次他受Benedict Grame邀请参加在其乡下古宅举行的圣诞之夜。与Grame仅有一面之缘的Tremaine原本想婉言相拒,但邀请函的最后管家写的附言却引起他极大兴趣:会有什么奇怪的事情发生么? Tremaine驱车前往,一路上遇到...
评分Mordecai Tremaine在犯罪学领域已经小有名气了,这次他受Benedict Grame邀请参加在其乡下古宅举行的圣诞之夜。与Grame仅有一面之缘的Tremaine原本想婉言相拒,但邀请函的最后管家写的附言却引起他极大兴趣:会有什么奇怪的事情发生么? Tremaine驱车前往,一路上遇到...
评分Mordecai Tremaine在犯罪学领域已经小有名气了,这次他受Benedict Grame邀请参加在其乡下古宅举行的圣诞之夜。与Grame仅有一面之缘的Tremaine原本想婉言相拒,但邀请函的最后管家写的附言却引起他极大兴趣:会有什么奇怪的事情发生么? Tremaine驱车前往,一路上遇到...
评分Mordecai Tremaine在犯罪学领域已经小有名气了,这次他受Benedict Grame邀请参加在其乡下古宅举行的圣诞之夜。与Grame仅有一面之缘的Tremaine原本想婉言相拒,但邀请函的最后管家写的附言却引起他极大兴趣:会有什么奇怪的事情发生么? Tremaine驱车前往,一路上遇到...
我很少会因为一本书而彻夜难眠,但这一本成功地做到了。它的开头虽然平稳,像是在为一场盛宴做精致的餐前铺陈,但一旦核心事件发生,节奏立刻被拉紧,让人根本无法停下来。我个人非常喜欢主角侦探的设定——他不是那种天赋异禀的“神探”,而是一个依靠严谨的观察和对人性的深刻理解来破案的普通人,这使得整个解谜过程更具代入感和真实性。书中对时间差和不在场证明的处理堪称典范,看似无懈可击的证词,在侦探的几句关键提问下便土崩瓦解。全书的结构处理得非常巧妙,就像一个精密的钟表,每个齿轮都在恰当的位置发挥作用,最终指向那个精准的答案。高潮部分的对质戏,对话的张力简直能让人屏住呼吸。对于那些寻求逻辑严密、人物丰满、且具备一定文学深度的推理小说读者而言,这绝对是近些年来难得一见的上乘之作。
评分这本书简直是推理小说的教科书!作者对人物心理的刻画入木三分,每一个角色都充满了层次感和复杂性,你永远猜不到谁是真正的幕后黑手。情节的推进如同剥洋葱,一层层揭示出隐藏在温馨节日气氛下的阴谋与背叛。尤其是那个雪夜的暴风雪,简直是神来之笔,将孤立无援的紧张感推向了极致。叙事节奏控制得极其精妙,时而如平静的湖面暗流涌动,时而又陡然爆发成惊涛骇浪。我最欣赏的是,作者并没有过多依赖血腥或恐怖场面来营造悬念,而是将所有的张力都凝聚在了角色间的对话和微妙的肢体语言上。读到高潮部分时,我甚至得放下书本深呼吸几次,生怕错过任何一个细微的线索。这不仅仅是一个谋杀案的侦破过程,更像是一场对人性的深刻剖析,探讨了贪婪、嫉妒和爱如何扭曲灵魂。读完之后,那种回味悠长的满足感,是很多现代快餐式小说无法给予的。绝对值得所有推理爱好者收藏。
评分说实话,我一开始是被这本书的封面吸引的,那种复古的插画风格,带着一丝老式侦探故事的韵味。拿到手后,发现内里的文字功力更是了得。作者的文笔极其老练,描写场景的细腻程度令人咋舌,仿佛能闻到壁炉里燃烧的木柴味,感受到圣诞节装饰品上冰冷的金属光泽。故事的主线清晰,但支线巧妙地穿插其中,使得整个故事网错综复杂却又逻辑严密。我尤其喜欢作者对“时间”的运用,比如通过不同角色的记忆碎片来重构案发当晚的细节,这种非线性的叙事方式极大地增强了阅读的沉浸感和挑战性。虽然角色众多,但每个人物都有自己鲜明的动机和背景故事,没有一个纯粹的“工具人”。破案的过程紧张刺激,但最精彩的还是最后揭秘的那一刻,所有看似毫无关联的线索如同多米诺骨牌般一一倒下,逻辑链条完整得让人拍案叫绝。这是一部需要全神贯注才能享受其精妙构思的作品。
评分我通常对经典设定(比如某个封闭空间内的聚会)的推理小说不太感冒,总觉得套路化严重,但这一本完全颠覆了我的看法。作者似乎很清楚读者会期待什么,然后在读者最放松警惕的时候,狠狠地抛出一个让人措手不及的反转。这本书的魅力在于它的“合理性”,所有的“不可能”都在严谨的逻辑推导下变得顺理成章。我尝试着自己去推理,结果每次都指向了错误的嫌疑人,可见作者在误导读者方面的高超技巧。这本书的叙事视角是多变的,时而聚焦于侦探的敏锐观察,时而又深入到嫌疑人的内心挣扎,这种切换让读者始终处于一种信息不对等但又渴望了解全貌的矛盾状态中。配角们的塑造也极其成功,他们不仅仅是推进情节的棋子,更是烘托主要矛盾的陪衬,每个人都有自己的小秘密,让整个背景变得更加扑朔迷离。这是一次酣畅淋漓的阅读体验,看完后感觉大脑得到了充分的锻炼。
评分对于偏爱硬派推理的朋友来说,这本书可能在某些方面会让你感到一丝“温和”,因为它更多地侧重于心理博弈而非繁复的物理证据链。但请不要因此低估它的精彩程度。作者构建了一个非常精妙的社会关系网,案件的动机根植于深厚的人际纠葛之中,揭示了光鲜外表下隐藏的道德沦丧。语言风格上,它呈现出一种优雅的克制感,即使描述残忍的罪行,也保持着一种近乎冷峻的美感。我特别欣赏作者对环境的描写,那个位于偏远山区的庄园,与其说是案发现场,不如说是一个巨大的情绪容器,将所有人物的压抑和欲望都浓缩在了一起。阅读过程中,我不断地在“谁是凶手”和“为什么杀人”之间徘徊,而作者的答案却指向了更深层次的“人性使然”。这是一部文学性和故事性结合得非常出色的作品,值得细细品味。
评分真凶也没多意外,毕竟怀疑了一圈都没提到他…逗呢 不过总体算近期看的不错的了
评分近期少见的古典佳作,动机是一大亮点。结尾的真相揭露非常精彩,先是逐条排除红鲱鱼,再揭露意外凶手。推荐。
评分很精彩的古典本格推理。经典黄金时期设定:古老宅邸,圣诞节,聚集到一起的奇怪人们,各自心怀鬼胎等等(参照Thou Shell of Death),前面稍微有点啰嗦,Plot很精彩很复杂,红鲱鱼和伏线到处都是,最后全都收回来了,解答过瘾,动机设置很赞,缺点是解答完了嘎然而止,也没有简单交代一下人物结局。很适合圣诞节看
评分前几章节奏较慢,过程波澜不惊。是有点像《Thou Shell of Death》那样在一片平静祥和之中突然引出一起谋杀案的感觉。节奏也很像阿婆。整体三星半吧,主要我还是更喜欢那种有爆点的。简介【https://www.douban.com/note/642778203/】
评分近期少见的古典佳作,动机是一大亮点。结尾的真相揭露非常精彩,先是逐条排除红鲱鱼,再揭露意外凶手。推荐。
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