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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unlikely Heroine Makes for a Fine Christmas Tale, November 4, 2005
This review is from: A Christmas Guest: A Novel (The Christmas Stories) (Hardcover)
If there is one character in Anne Perry's Pitt & Charlotte books whom no one likes, it's Grandmama Ellison. She has a brutal tongue and a mean streak a yard wide. However, deep inside she is suffering from years of hidden abuse at the hands of her husband; widowhood brought her blessed relief, but she could share this with no one because of her obsession with keeping up appearances. And now, as her granddaughter Emily, husband Jack, and the children, along with all their servants, are going to the Loire Valley for the holidays, and she refuses to stay with her other granddaughter Charlotte and "that policeman" she lowered herself to marry, she must undertake a journey to stay near the sea with her late son's widow Caroline and her charming younger husband Joshua, who is an actor (horrors!) and a Jew (horrors!).
When she arrives after an arduous all-day journey, she learns that Maude, a relative of Joshua's, will also be staying, as her family has a "very important" guest and cannot let her stay there. Although she is put off by Maude, who has spent over forty years traveling and living in less civilized parts of the world, she cannot help but be impressed by the woman's joie de vivre. One morning Maude is dead in her bed, suddenly and seemingly of natural causes. But Mrs. Ellison suspects foul play and is surprised to realize how much she had liked Maude in spite of herself. So, on pretext of informing the family personally, she sets out to solve the crime.
This book, like Anne Perry's other Christmas novels, is a gem. It brilliantly illustrates the customs and mores of the time while delving into the mind and heart of the protagonist and the very logical if reprehensible motive for the murder. By the time Grandmama has unmasked the killer, who cannot be prosecuted but will be ostracized for life, she has changed a great deal and learned that life can be enjoyed to the fullest if one allows herself to be. It took Scrooge Marley and three other ghosts to realize this; solving a crime did it for Granmama. I came to like and even admire her through the course of the novel, which I found impossible to put down.
Enjoy this book; it is one of Perry's small masterpieces.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Wonderful!, January 17, 2006
This review is from: A Christmas Guest: A Novel (The Christmas Stories) (Hardcover)
Fearing another Christmas Journey mess and hoping for a book along the lines of Christmas Visitor, I had no idea what I'd find in A Christmas Guest. What I found was a great story excellently written.
To be honest, I could not imagine Grandmother as a sympathetic character. I do not want to give away much of the surprise for anyone who hasn't read this, but we see another side of the cranky old lady and we come to understand her better.
After seeing her in a different light, I'm curious as to how Perry portrays her in the upcoming Pitt novels. I hope she will allow Grandmother's character to grow- it would be a waste of great character if she doesn't.
A Christmas Guest is one of Perry's best efforts. There's a seemingly unsolvable mystery, a full cast of suspects, humor, a moral, and a great feeling of satisfaction after you've turned the last page.
A lovely book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an unputdownable, November 10, 2005
This review is from: A Christmas Guest: A Novel (The Christmas Stories) (Hardcover)
Of the three Christmas novellas, I like "A Christmas Guest" best -- the other two were enjoyable but weren't quite as compelling or as absorbing as this one. And to take an almost completely unlikable character like Mariah Ellison (Charlotte Pitt's acid-tongued grandmother) and not only make her the chief protagonist of this short story, but also to make her likable and more accessible -- now, that takes some doing and a lot of talent. And fortunately, Anne Perry not only possesses the talent but also the necessary storytelling skills.
Mariah Ellison usually spends Christmas with her fashionable and rich granddaughter, Emily. But this year, Emily and her family are going to France for the season; and much to her dismay, Mariah finds herself forced to spend the holiday with her daughter-in-law, Caroline and Caroline's despised new husband, Joshua, in of all places, the Romney Marshes. A further insult is heaped on this injury when Caroline and Joshua soon find themselves playing hosts to another unwanted relative of Joshua's, his aunt, Maude Barrington. For the past forty years, Maude has been living in the Middle East; now, she has returned to be with her family. Except that they have elected to parcel her off to Joshua's, claiming not to have room for her right now. Mariah is angry about having to share Caroline's and Joshua's attentions. But cheerful and outspoken Maude with her fascinating tales of life in the Middle East soon has them all enthralled. And when Maude unexpectedly dies in her sleep one night, and Mariah suspects that there is more to Maude's death than meets the eye, Mariah feels that she owes it to the cheerful and indomitable Maude to investigate her death. After all if the unspeakable Thomas Pitt can solve mysteries, so too could the undoubtedly superior Mariah Ellison! And while Mariah hopes that she will be able to do Maude justice, the last thing she expected was to also rediscover her long hidden self after all these years...
"A Christmas Journey" may be a very short and fast read, but it is also an immensely satisfying and absorbing one too. I never expected to feel anything but impatience and disdain for Mariah Ellison, but found myself admiring the old lady's spirit and hoping that this rediscovered sense of self stays with her from now on. Because this is a short story, shocking plot twists are in short supply, but Anne Perry, nevertheless, manages to inject some unexpectedness into the whole thing via the motive for the crime. "A Christmas Guest" was a treat to read -- absorbing and riveting, and full of (much appreciated) period atmosphere. All in all, an unputdownable.
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