Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Ballantine Books (2006), Edition: 1st, 198 pages
Description
Dominic and Clarice Corde, who met and fell in love in Brunswick Gardens, journey to a quaint hamlet to replace the local vicar who is away on holiday. The holiday takes a nasty turn when the vicar is discovered not to be away at all, but brutally murdered and stashed in the cellar. So instead of fulfilling the vicar's duties, the Cordes are charged with solving his murder. All the while, the picturesque village is becoming increasingly and dangerously snowbound, its residents trapped as a killer remains at large. The crime's surprising solution reveals not only the killer, but the true meaning of the Christmas message.
User reviews
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Anne Perry's A Christmas Secret is currently my favorite of the ones I've read in this series. It features two characters introduced in her Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series. Dominic Corde and his wife arrive in a village just before Christmas. The vicar has been called away suddenly and the bishop
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has appointed Dominic to fill in during the vicar's absence. The couple begins to suspect that something isn't right with the vicar's absence, and their suspicions are soon confirmed. Their discoveries raise questions concerning sin, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. These theological reflections are the other reason I liked this book so well. They are fitting subjects to contemplate during the Christmas season. Potential readers should be aware that the book includes spoilers for Brunswick Gardens. Show Less
LibraryThing member snapplechick
When Domininc and his wife move out to a small town to take over the vicrage while the vicar is on vacation they find themselves in the middle of a very dark and sinster mysteries
It was a great mystery that brought the message of Christmas in too. Anne Perry twists secrets into a suprising and
It was a great mystery that brought the message of Christmas in too. Anne Perry twists secrets into a suprising and
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exciting story. You will find yourself wanting to read more from Anne Perry. Show Less
LibraryThing member susanpenter
Anne Perry brings together the right amount of mystery and warmth in this novel there is a good old fashioned Victorian Christmas evoked between the pages.
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
An endearing cozy set in Victorian England- Anne Perry's forte. Unlike her William Monk or Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, this stand alone features an amateur sleuth, a country vicar and his wife, who think they are simply spending Christmas at a rural parish while the current vicar goes on
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vacation. Instead they find themselves solving a mystery. A lovely little story, easy to read, and easy to listen to as an audio. I've done both. Show Less
LibraryThing member cyderry
This was a light cozy mystery that brought the character Dominic from Anne Perry's original Pitt book forward as a main character with life changes and personality changes as well. I enjoyed the book as a simple fill in for the season and the end of the year.
Dominic and his new wife take on the
Dominic and his new wife take on the
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responsibilities of a small village as fill in vicar and find that it may be more than that. Show Less
LibraryThing member jepeters333
Dominc and Clarice Corde, who met and fell in love in Brunswick Gardens, journey to a quaint hamlet to replace the local vicar who is away on holiday. The holiday takes a nasty turn when the vicar is discovered not to be away at all, but brutally murdered and stashed in the cellar. So instead of
Show More
fulfilling the vicar's duties, the Cordes are charged with solving his murder. All the while, the picturesque village is becoming increasingly and dangerously snowbound, its residents trapped as a killer remains at large. The crime's surprising solution reveals not only the killer, but the true meaning of the Christmas message. Show Less
LibraryThing member yosbooks
Light, enjoyable read. A few good twists. Victorian murder mystery. Well written.
LibraryThing member NCRainstorm
This is the first Anne Perry novel I've ever read. I had heard she was an excellent writer, famous for her period mysteries. For several years, she has taken characters from those mystery novels and written Christmas mysteries. This one is #4 in the series. I normally will only read series in the
A Christmas Secret is a light, easy to read mystery. It stars the vicar Dominic Corde and his wife, Clarice, from the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. All the characters in this book are full of life, each with their own personality quirks.
I particularly enjoyed Clarice who, even though a female in the Victorian era, was a very strong lady and didn't rely on her husband for everything. She did her own part in looking for clues in solving the murder.
This is a great Christmas book to pick up if you enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, and don't want anything too heavy.
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order they are written, but all of these are stand alone novels, so it's ok to read them any order you wish.A Christmas Secret is a light, easy to read mystery. It stars the vicar Dominic Corde and his wife, Clarice, from the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. All the characters in this book are full of life, each with their own personality quirks.
I particularly enjoyed Clarice who, even though a female in the Victorian era, was a very strong lady and didn't rely on her husband for everything. She did her own part in looking for clues in solving the murder.
This is a great Christmas book to pick up if you enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, and don't want anything too heavy.
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LibraryThing member LDVoorberg
If you liked [book:The Jane Austen Book Club], you'll probably enjoy this book, too, which follows three different women who are of different stations and classes of life. It's easy reading, but with more substance than I expected, making it very enjoyable.
Yes, the three engaging storylines are all
I recommend this book: a great light read that still makes you think!
Yes, the three engaging storylines are all
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tied up neatly by the end, but the book asks and ponders some decent questions about literature and its affect on our lives. It uses a number of classic novels (and Harry Potter) to propose that 'literature teaches us how to live authentic lives' (an indirect quotation from the novel). Do the characters actually learn how to live by reading? I think the answer is yes, though I appreciate how their lives are only slightly (yet significantly) altered. The outcomes are realistic, not complete transformations.I recommend this book: a great light read that still makes you think!
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LibraryThing member RBeffa
A very enjoyable murder mystery that was an easy read. A Vicar and his wife are sent to a small village for several weeks to fill in for a beloved old Reverend who has taken a vacation. It is shortly before Christmas. Colorful characters and an interesting setting. Pretty much all I want from a
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cozy mystery. I don't want to spoil the plot, so that is all I'll say. Show Less
LibraryThing member JalenV
Dominic Corde was introduced as Sarah Ellison Corde's handsome husband in the first Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel, The Cater Street Hangman, although Charlotte was still Miss Ellison at the time. Dominic was widowed in a horrible manner. His second wife, Clarice, was introduced in Brunswick
Dominic is still relatively new to being a man of the cloth. He's been curate to a London vicar who sounds as if he should never have been allowed to mentor anyone. Certainly he's done nothing for Dominic's self-confidence. It doesn't help that the Reverend Wynter, for whom Dominic is subbing, is a wise, good, elderly, and much-loved man. The vicarage is a very nice house, much nicer than where the Cordes have been living. Some of its pictures are Rev. Wynter's work. He's a talented artist.
Wynter's mutt and cat aren't terribly friendly to their master's substitute and his wife, but they're not a pain, either, aside from the dog sulking. That is, until Clarice has to go down to the cellar to get more coal and the cat slips in ahead of her, as cats will. Clarice enlists the help of the dog to find the cat and finds something she very much wishes she hadn't. At least it explains why the reverend didn't take his art supplies with him on his holiday.
The doctor is an arrogant twit who doesn't believe Clarice and Dominic when they try to explain what Clarice noticed when she cleaned the corpse up a little. The village is becoming snowbound. The Cordes need to find the murderer. Along the way they discover some secrets that have been kept for years, any one of which might have been a motive for murder.
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Gardens. If you haven't read the latter yet, go read it first if you don't want to be spoiled as to who the killer was. One thing that surprised me from listening to the audio version was hearing Clarice's name pronounced as if it rhymed with 'Harris" instead of 'Claire --eese'. Dominic is still relatively new to being a man of the cloth. He's been curate to a London vicar who sounds as if he should never have been allowed to mentor anyone. Certainly he's done nothing for Dominic's self-confidence. It doesn't help that the Reverend Wynter, for whom Dominic is subbing, is a wise, good, elderly, and much-loved man. The vicarage is a very nice house, much nicer than where the Cordes have been living. Some of its pictures are Rev. Wynter's work. He's a talented artist.
Wynter's mutt and cat aren't terribly friendly to their master's substitute and his wife, but they're not a pain, either, aside from the dog sulking. That is, until Clarice has to go down to the cellar to get more coal and the cat slips in ahead of her, as cats will. Clarice enlists the help of the dog to find the cat and finds something she very much wishes she hadn't. At least it explains why the reverend didn't take his art supplies with him on his holiday.
The doctor is an arrogant twit who doesn't believe Clarice and Dominic when they try to explain what Clarice noticed when she cleaned the corpse up a little. The village is becoming snowbound. The Cordes need to find the murderer. Along the way they discover some secrets that have been kept for years, any one of which might have been a motive for murder.
Show Less
LibraryThing member whybehave2002
Another great Christmas Mystery by Anne Perry!
This one is lots of fun with the Vicor and his wife sorting through all of the puzzle pieces and the end is filled with quite a ruckus!
This one is lots of fun with the Vicor and his wife sorting through all of the puzzle pieces and the end is filled with quite a ruckus!
LibraryThing member DeaconBernie
Ann Perry is really a gem. She can devise a plot out of the strangest stories. In this case, the story is not the beginning and end but is simply a means to introduce characters who turn out to be completely different from what the reader might expect. As a mystery, this one is less than ideal but
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the characters are exquisite. It is really hard to imagine the cause generated the crime but then that's the prerogative of the author. Overall, a good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbarr5
A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry
1800's we find the pastor and his wofe leaving London to a new location because of the letter from the bishop.
They head to a counstryside parish where they will be for several weeks during the Christmas holiday. The pastor is to visit the sick and lend a ear to
She busies herself around the house and finds things are not right: the pastor had left his Bible and winter clothing and then she reads through the church ledgers.
There are so many characters but easy to keep track of them all. Nobody knows where the priest woul've traveled to as she wants to send his Bible.
Amazing where he is found and how others just tell them so many secrets they've kept for years.
Like hearing of pathways that are only accessible during cold winter months.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
1800's we find the pastor and his wofe leaving London to a new location because of the letter from the bishop.
They head to a counstryside parish where they will be for several weeks during the Christmas holiday. The pastor is to visit the sick and lend a ear to
Show More
everyone who needs his assistance.She busies herself around the house and finds things are not right: the pastor had left his Bible and winter clothing and then she reads through the church ledgers.
There are so many characters but easy to keep track of them all. Nobody knows where the priest woul've traveled to as she wants to send his Bible.
Amazing where he is found and how others just tell them so many secrets they've kept for years.
Like hearing of pathways that are only accessible during cold winter months.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Show Less
Subjects
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-11-01
Physical description
198 p.; 7.47 inches
ISBN
0345485815 / 9780345485816