The Christmas Bell Mystery (Lord Edgington Investigates, #12) by Benedict Brown

The Christmas Bell Mystery (Lord Edgington Investigates, #12) Reviews

• 
  Nancy Haddock

  4 1/2 stars
  
  Another fun installment in the series. The cast was easier to keep track of, and the plot moved at a good pace. Plenty of suspects and twists. I liked seeing a bit more of Chrissy's father and paternal grandmother. She's a hoot!
• 
  Mary

  Wonderful Christmas mystery!
  
  Would it even be Christmas if Lord Edgington, Chrissy, and the staff from Cranley Hall didn't find themselves travelling to a distant location to solve a murder? Not in the world of Lord Edgington Investigates.
  
  When Chrissy meets a mysterious young woman on the train who claims her grandfather is going to be murdered, he and his grandfather (and most of the family) pack up and head out to help prevent the murder.
  
  Benedict Brown writes the best Christmas mysteries. I love all of his books, but the wonderfully written Christmas mysteries are my favorites. Learning about British Christmas traditions and foods from this time period adds an extra layer of interest to this book.
  
  This book has the perfect amount of humor, character manipulations, and red herrings that made it an amazing read. The characters are interesting and so well developed that I can honestly feel concern and sympathy for them.
  
  I am looking forward to the next book, or books in the series where Chrissy and his grandfather take their mystery solving skills to different countries.
• 
  Susan Barno

  Delightful read that gets right to the chase. Family rivalries as per normal or intensified by the Christmas holiday curse of spending time w/ family? There are mysterious characters; diabolical descendants, money, greed and a manipulative, lonely old man who takes pleasure, no make that GREAT pleasure in playing his relatives one off each other. I love how Lord Edgington and his grandson side-kick, sleuth-in-training, Christopher, gives nod to Sherlock Holmes methods with their banter and methodology. But it's a sleuthing family affair and mother's statement ---"...it's not your job to think that the suspects are ultimately good or bad. You have to search out the discrepancies that will tell you who they really are." ---that allows Lord Edgington and Christopher to remain focused and crack the case(s) which unfold in the Lord River household. This is a fun read all the way, over the river and thru the woods to Lord River's snowy and deadly property.
• 
  Laura

  The one thing I wish I could change is reading these all in order... however, when you borrow books from the library, you can't always predict what is going to come when. Unless you want to wait AGES for them to come in order, one at a time with potentially months in between. Having said that, please rest assured that you do not have to read them sequentially, but it does make more sense to follow Chrissy's growth and development as a detective.
  
  Brown writes a very entertaining Christmas mystery with all manner of hidden literary and musical references. Quite enjoyable to be watching out for those little 'Easter Eggs' in a Christmas story. I was surprised at who the killer was - I'd suspected them early on and then dismissed it, moving on to another suspect - so was pleasantly surprised during the reveal.
• 
  KathleenWH

  For me, his best Lord Edgington mystery to date
  
  It has been a delight to run across the writing of Benedict Brown (in the first Lord Edgington mystery, Murder at the Spring Ball) and then to devour each volume the moment it appeared.
  
  Brown is a master of red herrings, twisted plot threads (only confusing to the reader until explained), and, of course, the great denouement.
  
  I have also enjoyed the development of Chrissy as a full-fledged character, turning into a thoughtful young man with a the beginnings of a fine intellect.
  
  Brown teases at the end of this work that future mysteries may take place on a 1920s version of the grand European Tour - and I can only salivate at the mischief Lord Edgington and his grandson will get up to.
  
  So, thank you Benedict Brown.
• 
  Charlene

  A flirty chance meeting on a train platform at Christmas time, England 1947, leads to Lord Edgington and his grandson Christopher visiting a snowbound manor house to investigate multiple attempts to murder the Lord of the estate. Soon after they arrive, a different victim is killed and the reason why is suddenly not so clear. Chrissy and his grandfather, along with the whole family, including servants and pets, are housebound with the far-flung relatives of the Lord who has been cruelly stringing them all along for his own amusement. This is a light-hearted romp of a Christmas mystery, similar to a closed-room situation, and I enjoyed every campy minute. Nice and light, in spite of the killing and conniving, just what I was in the mood for.
• 
  Ann Gillaspie

  Merry Murderous Christmas!
  
  Christopher and Lord Edgington are at their best when solving murders, especially at Christmas. In this case, a seemingly damsel in distress cues Christopher’s curiosity. When she disappears, he has to find her to prevent a murder. He and his family end up spending the Christmas holiday in a mansion full of suspects including the mysteriously beautiful damsel. What Chrissy discovers is that people may not always seem to be what they truly are. Will he lose his hope in humanity or will he gain some new insight as he and his grandfather rush to solve the case before anyone else is murdered?
  
• 
  Mark Lucas-Taylor

  The Christmas Bell Mystery
  
  This is the latest in Benedict Brown’s Lord Edgington series and his latest stand alone Christmas mystery.
  Christopher Prentiss meets a beautiful young woman on the train home for Christmas and this leads to another intriguing mystery. Who is trying to kill Peregrine Rivers, is it just a case of an apparently convoluted inheritance or something much darker?
  Red herrings aplenty abound, manipulations and machinations, lies and confusions all take place in this gripping novel.
• 
  Brenda

  Good Mystery
  A chance meeting on a snowy platform, an old miser with a fortune worth killing for, and the wrong man found dead beside the fireplace.England, 1927. When Lord Edgington hears of a failed attack on an eccentric viscount, it’s the perfect excuse to get out of seeing horrible relatives over Christmas. With his loyal grandson and their golden retriever along for the ride.
  Whodunit! Someone has murdered two Christmas guest. Who would want these particular people dead?
  I borrowed this book from KindleUnlimted. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.
• 
  Patty Guerard

  Another excellent mystery with Lord Edgington and his grandson, Christopher. Benedict Brown brings us to a chance meeting on a train between a young woman and Christopher to his and Lord Edgington’s next case, at Christmas no less. As the story unfolds, we spend time with Christopher’s family at the manor house of Lord Rivers and his dysfunctional family. Traversing all the twists and turns of the mystery, we are kept on the edge of our seats until the very end, wondering - who is the real killer? Great read for the holidays or any snowy weekend.
• 
  Kathy

  This latest book from Benedict Brown is another enjoyable family adventure that starts with a meeting on a train. It is another opportunity for Lord Edgington and his grandson to test their investigative skills. It does seem rather outlandish for a car full of Edgingtons to arrive uninvited at a large country house in a snowstorm as guests of strangers. It is another good hearted adventure from this author, a successful addition to the series.
  
  Kindle Unlimited
• 
  Beth

  1927 Candy cane twists & that yuletide tingle of the season's reading!!!! Lord Edgington at Chrissy's instigation is "over the hills & far away..." to solve a yuletide conundrum. Complete with his household entourage & family including faithful Delilah, Chrissy & his grandfather unravel the secrets of enchanting Holly Bridport, her grandfather Lord Peregrine Rivers & their family. I will be reading this one again & again - highly recommend!
• 
  Helen

  This is the 12th book in the “Lord Edgington investigates” series by Benedict Brown but the first one of his stories that I have read. I saw adverts for it on Kindle unlimited and decided to give this one a try as it looked like a nice festive read. This one works as a standalone so it doesn’t matter if you’re not familiar with the stories, but I think I’d probably have warmed to the characters more if I’d read some of the other books. There were a few bits that seemed a bit far-fetched, like just casually leaving the corpse in the house for a few days as if that’s completely normal behaviour, and I didn’t really get attached to any of the characters. I also discovered that there were also several typos in the Kindle edition, which is why I only gave it three stars. Overall, the story itself was enjoyable and I loved the fact it setting - St Audries Court - is local to me so I knew a lot of the locations described including the church they visit on Christmas Day. I’m not sure if I will read more of these yet, but it was a quick quirky read and reminded me of Edward Marston’s books who is an author I do quite enjoy reading so perhaps I will indulge in the rest of the series at some point.
• 
  Cattie Whaley

  Another Christmas Caper
  
  Lord Edgington and Chrissy are at it again. They are off on an adventure to try to stop a murder from happening at Christmas. Will they ever have a quiet Christmas at home?! What a tangled web they find themselves in when they arrive at Lord River's estate. Lots of action and twists and turns with our favorite characters in this book. I honestly didn't see the final twist coming. Well written and a great storyline. Highly recommend!
• 
  Diane Wachter

  Lord Edgington Investigates, #12, EBK-M, Kindle, @ 11/13/23, Read 1/18/24. Fiction, Cozy Mystery. Chrissy is awestruck by a distressed damsel while riding the train. She tells him her sad story about how one of her relatives was trying to kill her grandfather, a vile, old manipulator. Chrissy relates her story to his detective grandfather, and together they barge into the mansion to snoop out the potential killer. 3☆'s = Good. Lots of possible suspects, lots of twists and turns.
• 
  Barbara

  Your best Lord Edmonton mystery yet!
  
  Thank you for such a wonderful holiday story and distraction from all the shopping and festive eating. I simply loved taking a break and sitting down to an escape from all the preparation for the holiday. Please keep them coming. I have loved all of them!