The Pretty Little Box

by Charles Todd

A simple theft leads to unforeseen tragedy in this story from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries.   In a quaint antiquarian bookshop in the Midlands of England, a woman is captivated by a rare gilt-edged devotional nestled within an exquisite and equally tempting box. Her desire to pilfer it overcomes her scruples, and her guilt and terror at doing something so audacious, so unlike her. With a simple sleight of hand, it’s hers.   But this irresistible book of hours isn’t in her possession for long. By chance, desire, and cruel twists of fate, it soon falls into the covetous grip of others—from a pickpocket to a schoolboy to a priest—as one woman’s transgression sets in motion a dreadful chain of events.   This diabolically clever story from the New York Times–bestselling author proves Stephen King was right when he said, “You’re going to love Todd.”

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Novella, British Literature

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 13, 2018

About the author

Charles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Todd starts this story with a woman who gets attracted to a book kept in a beautiful box in an antiquarian bookshop. This box affects the lives of everyone who possesses it like a curse. This book of hours goes to the hands of many people altering their lives. This book's story is easily predictable. It is written in simple language, and we can finish it quickly, which makes it a good choice if you are facing a reading slump.

“What she wanted was a taste of freedom, and most of the young men of her acquintance were hardly likely to take that view of marriage.”

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[Berengaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

short review for busy readers:
From the author of the Inspector Rutledge and the Bess Crawford historical mystery series.

A charming, lighting-fast paced story about a cursed medieval Book of Hours and its pretty travelling box. Both pass through umpteen hands, killing some of its owners, injuring others or just plain meddling with their lives. Like history on fast forward.

In need of another editing pass to be really good, but 90% of the way there. Fun and rather in keeping with the Bibliomysteries theme of "deadly books."

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Sentence: She didn't know what had come over her.
A rare devotional in an exquisite box moves from person-to-person, affecting the life of each person by whom it is possessed.
What a thoroughly intriguing story. It hits on so many levels. One wonders from where the book came, what was its road to reach the beginning of this story? Was its end as it was planned, or did it travel on?
Although not tied to either their Ian Rutledge or Bess Crawford series, this is a lovely way to try Charles Todd. It is also an interesting twist when the protagonist isn't an individual, but an object. Even better, just as we often do with a person, is that it is an object about which we get to know more as the story proceeds.
For those of us who love and collect antiques, there is often the thought of wondering who had owned them before, and what was their life like. For those of us without family, we wonder where they will go once we have passed. Will they be enjoyed and appreciated, or end up in a rubbish dump?
"The Pretty Little Box" is fascinating and thought-provoking. It leaves one with more questions than answers, but that's part of its appeal.

THE PRETTY LITTLE BOX (Novella-England) – Ex
Todd, Charles – Bibliomysteries Book 32, Penzler, Otto, Ed.
Mysterious Press – 2018

[Kalyn✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange little book- not much to it. You knew what would happen each time, you were just waiting to see *how*.

I enjoyed it, but I wish we’d learnt about the box’s origins and why it’s such an unlucky little thing.

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty much a mixed bag for me. Perhaps the problem was my expectations - I've enjoyed Charles Todd's series for years so I expected to enjoy this standalone novella. It started out really well but somewhere along the way it seemed to lose traction and never regained it. It was just a sort of collection of small vignettes that never seemed to go anywhere. In the end, the best I can say for it is meh. I finished it and didn't hate it but I suspect that had more to its short length than the story itself.

2.5

[Elizabeth Grieve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry I wasted my time on this. There was no real story, no conclusion. Glad it was a library book and I didn't have to pay for it.

[Emily Paton · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual rating: 3.5 stars

i picked this up, wanting a short novella to break up the large books i've been reading. and this did exactly what i wanted. i didn't find this overly compelling or groundbreaking, but it was very enjoyable.

it's such an interesting concept, following an object instead of a specific person. and a possibly cursed object at that. i really did enjoy the style of the book, though i think i wished we had stayed with some of the people for longer. (which would defeat how short & quickly readable this novella is.)

if you are looking for an interesting mystery novella to shake up your reading, highly recommend!

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small and lovely collectible book has several owners in this wryly amusing tale of petty theft, bad luck, good luck, heartache, and the self-justifying of greed. It's not a plot so much as it's a picaresque. Apparently no one else read it this way (I just scanned the 50 other reviews) but I see it as a commentary on shifts in culture and mores and possibly on the concept of provenance in collectibles. 3.5 stars for me, rounded up.

[Angela M. Artis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange story about a book !!! Doing improper things have consequences !!

[Winter Rea Reanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute short story

[Sienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Their short stories aren't nearly as satisfying as their books.

[Ruth Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting how the box tempted so many people.

[Yvonne Speece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short novella about a pretty little box that changes hands over many years. It's worth so much money but ! Fun read - very quick.

[Barbara Wolff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting short story following a book and it’s various possessors.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bunch of people died and a little box was passed from person to person ... absolutely no idea what the point was? Only got 2 stars because I managed to finish it, which considering how short it is, doesn't really say much. Thought maybe something would happen, a twist somewhere but no, nothing.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short story is not up to the quality of Todd's other books--a pattern I have seen in other of the Bibliomysteries series. The box and the book inside it bring bad luck to whoever comes across it, seemingly by fair means or foul. If it had been clear that someone could break the curse by acquiring the box and book honestly or doing good with them, then at least the story would have a moral. As it is, the reader just wonders how this latest unlucky soul will meet death or destruction and the purpose and origin of the curse go unexplained. Strange characteristic for a Book of Hours, essentially a prayer book. Sorry I spent the money; glad it didn't take much time.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like a series of vignettes rather than a concrete story. While it started off strong and engaging, I think it got lost in the adventure of how many places one object could travel to and consequently spread itself too thin. We don't stay with any one character long enough to learn about them or form emotional ties to them. Just felt shallow.

[R. L. C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste!!

I find it hard to understand why truly gifted writers such as the Mother and Son combo known as Charles Todd would publish this short story. Even though the kindle price was inexpensive it was not worth the price or the time. Enough said.

[Bernie Gale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what the point of this diatribe was.
Ok we pass the box from person to person most die but not all
no twist to the story
No explanation
a reasonable well described set of characters most unpleasant

[Michelle Ule · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only character in this little story is the box--and we know very little about it.

So, what's the draw? Why are people dying to own it?

Very weak, but a fast read that I checked out of the library. I would have been very unhappy to have paid for this book.

[Carolyn Haskell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very predictable plot

Quick read but no mystery. Not up to the author’s usual quality of work. I would not recommend it if you have to pay for it

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say. I found it disappointing. Maybe I just didn't get the point of it all.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a "rare gilt-edge devotional book" is stolen from a bookshop by a woman who had never done anything like that before, there is no telling where it will end up. Over a number of years the book goes from hand to hand, sometimes as a gift, sometimes because it was lost and found and sometimes because it is stolen. Each new handler has no idea what happened to the book previously.

An interesting tale of how any item may end up in random places over the years. If only our belongings could talk..........what a tale many of them would have..........especially the ones that have been around a while.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember watching a movie a long time ago called "The Yellow Rolls Royce" which told of the many owners of a splendid Rolls Royce motor car. This short story follows much the same path. A woman can't resist stealing a beautiful little box from a bookshop, then discovers that the box contains an even more beautiful Book of Hours, a sumptuously illustrated book of devotionals dating from medieval times. The story follows the box/book's progression through many hands and left me wondering about the life of the original owner. A charming, bittersweet read.

[Juliana L'heureux · Rating 3 out of 5]

a quick introduction to the Charles Todd style

This story moves along very quickly. In my opinion, the most interesting aspect to the plot is about how each owner who comes to have the box becomes such a vibrant and well developed character. Good writing! Anyone who has *not* read any of the Charles Todd novels might find the plot to be strange. Indeed, I am a Charles Todd fan but did not appreciate the ending because it was like a literary leap off a cliff. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the story.

[Victoria Pring · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd little book. It follows the journey of the pretty little book (inside the pretty little box) rather than any one person. This story focuses how dangerous coveting pretty things can be. I found it interesting that once it was ||freely give, rather than pilfered from a corpse, it's curse seemed to diminish, implying that karma rather than a curse was at work||. The little book brought it owners nothing but trouble no matter what. Overall an interesting little short story but written a little too much repetition for my personal taste.

[L S Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a Usual Charles Todd

If one is expecting a normal Charles Todd story, you will be disappointed, but this story is an interesting story of how an object can change people's lives. Tracing a book's passage through various owners, one wonders if owning it is a blessing or a curse. One on
Y wonders where of does end up.

[Michelle Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 100pages it is a ‘cute’ little book. One follows the priceless little book of prayers through its life, it has been stolen, it has been taken and forgotten, and always it was appreciated for the treasure it was. I like this author and I’m not surprised they wrote this book, but I have enjoyed other of their books more.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a little box that was stolen from an antiquities store by an elderly lady on a whim. The story follows the little box on its travels from one individual to another and the trials and tribulations it causes as it travels from one person to another.

It is a very clever story with tragic results. A must read book.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling short story

Charles Todd has written another fascinating account, tracing a book of hours through various owners. None quite what they seem, but all receiving just desserts? Certainly not happy endings. Hard to believe how well you know the characters in Short vignettes.