A Fatal Advent, Large Print

by Isabelle Holland

Reverend Claire Aldington, rector of St. Anselm's church, is aghast at the notion that her husband and son could have had a role in the brutal slaying of a visiting priest

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Isabelle Christian Holland (born June 16, 1920 in Basel, Switzerland — died February 9, 2002) was an author of children and adult fiction. Her father was the American Consul in Liverpool, England during WWII. She moved to America in 1940 due to the war. She wrote Gothic novels, adult mysteries, romantic thrillers, and many books for children and young adults. She wrote over 50 books in her lifetime, and was still working at the time of her death at age 81 in New York City.

Two of her novels have been made into movies:

Bump in the Night, 1991,
The Man Without a Face, 1993

Both of these novels deal with issues or allegations of pedophilia.

Reviews

[Kod Zillah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks. You would think with the 2000 plot twists and fetch quests it would be interesting but no. It was not. The ending has to be the worst ending of a book I have ever read in my life. The dialogue for the kid at the end who was the killer (I can’t even remember the name of even tho I just finished reading it yesterday) was trash I was cringing the whole time while I read it. Good thing it didn’t last long because after the dramatic reveal the book ends like two pages later. This book sucks

[Melissa Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

So bad it’s good. Set in New York City but EVERYONE has an English or Irish affect. So many Red Herrings! Communists! This is such a fun 80s romp. Not meant to be laughed at, but I guffawed through most of it.

[Julie Golding Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another early entry from the female Anglican/Episcopal clerical mystery genre. While I enjoyed it - especially the further character development of Claire, Brett and the other regulars at St. Anselm's - I would like to offer a couple of critiques that kept this book at only three stars.

First, the ending was truly baffling, in that it was, seemingly, one of those solutions "pulled out of a hat" by magic. There was little, if any, evidence throughout the book that would lead the reader to come to this final conclusion. That seems like "cheating" on the part of the author, somehow.

Second, while Claire and Brett underwent character development in this book, some of the development seemed to be in odd directions that did not jive with what we knew of their character already.

Despite these critiques, however, the book is a good read, and it was quite entertaining as the mystery unfolded.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because one of my random words was advent. It was a pretty mediocre mystery. Church related during advent.
10.8

[Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked 1980s New York City plus the church setting, though I was left slightly confused by the political backdrop - lack of familiarity here, I think.

[Micky Parise · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading Isabelle Holland and enjoyed the plot, writing and characters. Recommend.

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent gothic style mystery by Isabelle Holland!