A Christmas Grace

People that follow Anne Perry's work, like her detective novels, will be excited to read her newest one, A Christmas Grace. Based on one of the main characters in her bigger detective novel series, Pitt, this story follows Emily Radley as she is summoned back to Ireland to be with her dying aunt in Connemara. But all is not well in this small town, as the ever looming threat that one of its inhabitants could be a murder weighs on the town like a load of bricks. With the help of a shipwreck survivor who washes to shore, Emily sets out to find out who this town's murderer is to bring peace to the town and to her poor aunt. Anne Perry does an excellent job at showing the reader the isolationism and the deep religious roots that make this community the way it is without sounding like she herself is trying to spread the word. This is a very good book for the holiday that anyone could pick up and enjoy.

I always look forward to the Perry Christmas novels, largely because they usually focus on minor characters from one of her two detective fiction series, and focus on the redemption of those characters. Perhaps that's why I was a little disappointed in this one, because it focused on a semi-major character, Emily from the Pitt series, who really didn't require redemption to begin with. Also, whereas in the other Perry Christmas stories the plot itself held together nicely, this one had several holes. Nonetheless, Perry is still an excellent writer and the plot here was still compelling. This is worth a read, but I hope she goes back to her minor character formula in the future Christmas novels.

I have come to look forward to Anne Perry's little Christmas books. They are always a delight, and each one gives us a more intimate look at one of Ms. Perry's lesser characterizations from her extensive bibliography. This book focuses on Charlotte Pitt's sister, Emily Radway. I have always loved Emily in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books, and this book gives us a whole new look at the wonderfully fashionable Emily. She sets off to visit a sick, estranged aunt in the western part of Ireland, just before Christmas in 1895. She finds a dying village when she gets there, and promises to try to find out the answer to an old mystery which caused the death of a young shipwreck victim seven years ago. Ms. Perry gives us a wonderful description of Connemarra and the sea that rules the lives of the people that live there. Thank you again for a lovely little gift Ms. Perry.

As 1895 is winding down, Emily Radley, sister-in-law of Scotland Yard's Superintendent Thomas Pitt (star of Anne Perry's late Victorian police procedural series), hopes next year will be better. She remains in London for the Christmas season with her husband and two children so she will be expected to attend parties although she is not in the spirit of the season even as she tries to hide her negativism from her family. On the western coast of Ireland in Connemara, Father Tyndale sends a message to Emily informing her that her Aunt Susannah Ross is dying. Although Susannah was ostracized by the family for marrying outside their religion, Emily feels it is important to visit her relative to provide some comfort for both of them and besides escape the joy of Christmas; she leaves her family in London so they can enjoy the city. In Connemara, Emily is stunned to see the abject fear on every villager's face. She wonders why but no one will reveal the secret that haunts everyone, but vows to find out. Meanwhile a nasty storm causes a shipwreck leading to a daring rescue followed by an enigmatic murder that makes the outsider's amateur sleuthing so much more complicated. The latest Christmas mystery (see A CHRISTMAS SECRET and A CHRISTMAS BEGINNING) is a terrific tale that merges a strong investigation with a sense of time and place while also containing religious elements that enhance the excellent story line. Emily is at her best feeling a bit depressed as the holidays arrive, but being a good mom and wife tries to hide her melancholy from her loved ones. Ireland enables her to do so and get involved in the mystery of a town haunted by something as it is on everyone's visage. A CHRISTMAS GRACE is a strong entry in a charming holiday series. Harriet Klausner

For a few years now, Anne Perry has been writing small books featuring the beloved characters from her Victorian series in a poignant adventure around the Christmas Season. When I first saw the title A Christmas Grace, I thought initially the story may feature little Grace, the maid and friend of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, but this offering features Charlotte's sister Emily Radley. Perry always shows us the customs of the time, where who you married, knew, or was family too was the defining point of your life. Charlotte married Thomas Pitt, a policeman, for love. Emily married a man in the gentry, above her social rank. The two women's lives were drastically different and Emily knew that Charlotte's life, though hard, was the happier, as she loved Thomas more than anything. When Emily's husband dies, she eventually remarries a man who becomes a member of Parliament, and they are still well off. A letter comes to the Radley home a few days before Christmas from Thomas Pitt. He explains Charlotte's and Emily's aunt in Ireland is dying, and she asks initially for Charlotte to come to her, but Charlotte is ill and cannot make the arduous journey. Thomas asks Emily to go instead. The girls have not seen their aunt Susannah since they were young. Susannah married an outsider, and a Catholic to boot, and her family, Emily and Charlotte's parents and grandparents practically disowned her. Imagine a time when society dictated everything, manners, conduct, love, politics, etc. Emily's husband talks her into making the great journey to the west coast of Ireland. She meets her Aunt Susannah as an adult and sees she at the age of 50 is indeed dying. Emily starts making friends with her aunt, and the village priest and villagers. One night there is a horrific storm, and a there is a shipwreck. A lone survivor is rescued, and the whole town seems to react strangely. There was a similar situation years ago, and the survivor died mysteriously. Susannah, hearing of Charlotte helping Thomas Pitt from time to time, wants to unburden the mystery of the village before she dies and meets her husband on the Other Side. Emily steps up to the plate and shows she is not the more shallow of the sisters. She does chores - well, she has to be shown how - but she works to help her aunt physically and help her spiritually. It is a second chance for a village of people, and a peace for a lady who lost so much by marrying for love and having to leave her family and making her husband's village her family. Learning about the Victorian culture has always been Perry's forte, and these small Christmas books zero in on a character and we see with clearer eyes a time of not so distant history. Perry is an amazing writer with excellent series, and her latest Christmas offering to her readers is a grace.