Customer Reviews

Frost at Christmas

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book gripping, exciting and humorous. Detective Jack Frost has his own inapt way of solving crime and will do anything to avoid paperwork and confrontations with the Divisional Commander. Some folk are not convinced Frost to be a suitable detective, but think again as he's not as foolish as some might believe. ! I just can't wait to begin the next novel by Wingfield which I am told are as good if not better than this one. - I recommend this to anyone, even if murder mystery is not your 'cup of tea'. ! 5 Stars.

If you are a conformist, don't read this book. If you are a bureauocrat, a corporate toady, or a member of the politically correct movement, don't read this book. If you are fashion-challenged and don't measure up on the looks scale; if you work for a total idiot who doesn't appreciate the work you do; if you're an underdog who needs a character to identify with, this book is for you. Jack Frost is Britain's answer to Columbo, only Frost is a real, 3D, flesh and blood character. If you like procedurals with bite, you'll love this book.

I love the mysteries of Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill, so when a friend mentioned that the Frost series had a lot in common with them, I had to buy one. I was definitely not disappointed. Jack Frost is the most hilarious character I've ever come across. He usually says whatever pops into his head whether it's appropriate or not.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes British police procedurals. You won't be disppointed!

Terrific writing, interesting characters, witty dialogue. The ultimate plot solution is little strained, but I'd much rather compromise on the crime's "destination" than on the journey there. I vehemently disagree with the earlier reviewer who found Frost self-centered and disgusting. Self-deprecating would be much closer to the truth--a very sympathetic character.

If you've seen "A Touch of Frost" on TV, then "Frost at Christmas" is for you. Inspector Frost is even more erascible and unkempt, but he gets the job done (unlike his boss, Divisional Commander Mullet, who is all efficiency and show). The other books in the series are equally as good. A Touch of Frost Winter Frost Night Frost Hard Frost

I picked up Frost at Christmas without any recommendation, except the slight narrative written on the back of the book. I was suprised that I found that I couldn't put it down. I liked it so much that I ordered 2 more books featuring Jack Frost from Amazon.

I laugh out loud when I read a Frost novel, although sometimes the British words are hard to figure out. However, after 3 Frost novels they all seem to sound alike. He is entertaining though and a better night's entertainment than TV.

This story had the potential to be a cozy English mystery, but the plot has flaws so big you could drop cannonballs through them. Just a couple: (1) The hero, Frost, was shot 2 1/2 years ago at the time his wife was given 6 months to live, but he's only been a widower for a year. (2) A woman eavesdropped on phone calls at a time when the caller, it turns out, had been dead for *two* years. All in all, I have a list of more than 10 plot flubs, including one that was mentioned earlier by another reviewer. Also, I have ethical issues with a "hero" who values a cop selling favors higher than a prostitute who's at least working for her money.

Mr. Wingfield, I have to ask, when a man has a briefcase chained to his wrist, just how many feet of chain do you think it takes? By the description it's more than four feet, which would be clanking against his ankles whenever he sits down--and depending on his height, possibly when he stands up, too. And why didn't a certain big bad fool just shoot the lock on the case?

Overcontrived and badly plotted. Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford is a far better read.

If you came to this book from the television series derived from Wingfield's books, brace yourself for a shock. The plot is messy, the characters rather sketchy at times, and Frost himself, far from being the amiable, sharp-tounged fellow embodied by David Jason, is a dirty-minded, insensitive, self-centered pig, the sort of fellow who puts the move on a missing child's mother when he discovers she is a part-time prostitute.

There are also conincidences in the book, particularly a minor character that links both of the mysteries unfolding in the story, that stretch plausibility close to the breaking point. But there were obviously possibilities in both the story and the characters, possibilities that were realized much more fully when this novel reached television in the first TOF series in an episode entitled "Care and Protection."