Publishers Weekly
Perry’s fine ninth Victorian Christmas mystery (after 2010’s A Christmas Odyssey) takes Caroline Fielding, the mother-in-law of Insp. Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard (the lead of Perry’s main series), to the town of Whitby, in York, where Dracula came ashore in Stoker’s recently published horror novel. Caroline and her actor husband, Joshua, are the guests of Charles Netheridge, whose daughter, Alice, has adapted Stoker’s book for the stage. Joshua, who’s brought the lead actors in his acting company to the Netheridges’ huge mansion, hopes to parlay Alice’s Dracula, to be performed for the locals at Christmas, into Charles’s financial backing for the coming theatrical season. Then a mysterious stranger shows up at their snowbound door seeking refuge: Anton Ballin, who alarmingly resembles the vampire king himself. While Ballin makes some staging suggestions that improve the play, his arrival provides the catalyst for bloodshed. Caroline proves herself an astute sleuth in this challenging whodunit. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Praise for the Christmas novels of Anne Perry
A Christmas Odyssey
“[Perry] writes with detail that invades the senses.”—Lincoln Journal Star
A Christmas Promise
“Poignant . . . should be on the Christmas stocking list of anyone who likes a sniffle of nostalgia.”—The Washington Times
A Christmas Grace
“[A] heartwarming, if crime-tinged, complement to the holiday season.”—Booklist
A Christmas Beginning
“Intriguing . . . Perry’s use of period detail is, as always, strong and evocative.”—The Seattle Times
A Christmas Secret
“A delightful little book . . . Perry’s gift is that she can evoke a sense of place and time while still producing the thrills and chills expected of a modern-day mystery writer.”—The Orlando Sentinel
Kirkus Reviews
Christmastime in Victorian England. What better setting for staging a vampire play and solving a murder mystery? The ninth in Perry's series of Christmas mysteries (A Christmas Odyssey, 2010, etc.), the book follows Caroline Fielding as she travels with her young husband, Joshua, and his acting troupe from London to Whitby. Hoping to secure Charles Netheridge's patronage for the next season, Joshua has contracted to put on a Boxing Day performance of Dracula, adapted by Netheridge's daughter, Alice. Charles hopes to rid his daughter of frivolous interests before she marries and settles down. However, Alice, engaged to the conservative and artistically unsupportive Douglas Paterson, yearns for independence. The play is amateurish, but encouraged by Caroline, Joshua works closely with Alice to bring the gothic tale to life. Outside, a relentless snow storm isolates the cast and family, and underlying tensions begin to percolate. Douglas' eye begins to wander towards one of the actors, the lovely Lydia. Vincent, playing Van Helsing, challenges Joshua at nearly every directorial turn. Despite the storm, the mysterious Anton Ballin arrives, seeking shelter and proving to be an expert on not only vampires but also stagecraft. Just as the play falls into shape, Caroline stumbles over a dead body in the dark of night. Isolated by the storm, only one of them could be the murderer. But who? With careful attention to the nuances of character, Perry offers a tale worthy of mulling over by the fireplace.
