Slay Bells

Christmas Village Mystery #1

by T.C. Wescott

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the village, the night settled in over swirling-smoke chimneys; the air was alive with pine and holly, with sugar and cinnamon and cider, by golly!

Along snowy lanes and through shadows it crept, past windows behind which each villager slept, where sleeping dogs lie and cats rest a’purring—

Tonight, in Christmas Village, a killer is stirring.

Welcome to Christmas Village, a magical hamlet where even in December the roses hold their luster and bees buzz among the bluebells. You’re just in time for the week-long Christmas Festival, and nowhere is Christmas celebrated with such unrestrained merriment as the village which bears its name. Mayor Cobblestone and Sheriff Fell will be somewhere nearby, doing all they can to make sure you’re safe during your stay.

Provided you haven’t booked a room at Plum Cottage.

Nestled betwixt an opulent garden with meandering footpaths and an ancient grove of plum trees, Rose Willoughby’s boarding house is plum-full with lodgers. There are no vacancies, but just wait. Soon there will be one…and another…and another.

Presently lodging at the cottage are: the juggler, the acrobat, the magician, the psychic, the strongman, the manager, and the pretty assistant. In town as festival entertainment they’ve each brought their own bag of tricks. And a closetful of skeletons.

When the entertainers begin dying in inexplicable ways, some villagers believe a beast from old village lore is the culprit. The sheriff knows better, but he’s just as helpless to catch the invisible killer as are the town folk with their eyes to the sky in search of a flying creature. But our mysterious murderer hasn’t counted on yet another lodger coming to the cottage: Maribel Claus.

Short as a stump, round as a wheel, sweet as a candy cane, and a sharp as a whip, Maribel loves a good puzzle. But has she finally met her match at Plum Cottage?

Can you figure out whodunit before Maribel does? If you’re up to the challenge, here’s your first clue—the key to unlocking the secret of the murderer’s identity lies in figuring out how the murders were committed. Good luck!

If you’re looking for a fun, baffling read that’s cozier and more mysterious than the usual fare, replete with diagrams of the murder scenes and a one-of-a-kind BOOK GROUP CHALLENGE, then Slay Bells is the perfect gift to buy yourself this Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Holiday, Fiction, Ebooks, Crime

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 23, 2018

Reviews

[Rachel]

*thank you to Netgalley, T. C. Westcott and BooksGoSocial for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


3 stars.

This was an enjoyable cosy read. Slow paced but a nice mystery Christmas story. It's one to take your time with.

[Nila (digitalcreativepages)]

A mystery = I am interested

A murder mystery = I am invested

A murder mystery with clues = I am itching to play the sleuth

A murder mystery with clues and a revealing "this is what that happened" = now you are talking my language.

And T. C. Wescott did indeed speak my language.

This was my first book by this author, and it gave an aura of a cute old time mystery. If you have read books for as long as I have, you will enjoy this book and appreciate those snippets of timelessness in this book.

A cute cozy village with different eccentric people, a bumbling sheriff, his reasonably sane deputy, a cackling effervescent mayor, a sweet, charming inn owner Rose, and the delightful intelligent omniscient MRS. MIRABEL CLAUS whose brain was a sponge which absorbed and stored all the clues and analyzed it later like a jigsaw puzzle.

Amidst this entered an entertainer group for the village festival before Christmas with various talents like the man on stilts, a strong man, a magician, an acrobat, and a psychic. And 2 of them got themselves murdered in mysterious circumstances by a disappearing ghoul. The mystery started, time to wear my detective cap!!

The book progressed slowly and some parts dragged for me, the rest showed me the lives of various people with their relationships, clues were scattered all around, tarts and puddings seemed scrumptious (I had a few chocolate chip cookies while reading the book, and I don't even like them, so I blame the author for this craving). The writing had an golden era charm to it, I could identify it with the books read in the decades past.

The story allowed me to play the supersleuth, I did guess how one of the murders occurred but the other eluded me. One out of two, was still a good score. I think author T. C. Wescott should deputize me, give me a sheriff's badge for the next book!! 😂 😂

[Kim]

This is a fun holiday cozy mystery. The characters in the book are quirky and entertaining. In the mystery how the murder was committed was as much of a mystery as who is the murderer. The pacing of the storyline was a little slow, but steady and contained many twists and turns. I look forward to reading more in this series.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, I have not been influenced by anyone.

[Dana-Adriana B.]

It is a great mystery book set in Christmas Village, where the Sheriff with the help of Mrs. Claus will have to solve a mystery. You can only guess but it is not who you think. Nice cozy mystery.
Thank you Netgalley for this delightful story.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

I started reading this because I need a Christmas themed mystery for a challenge. I will need to find another book as I can't finish this. In fact, I could barely get past the second chapter. Too many characters, too many cliches, and too much which makes zero sense.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

This was a book that made me gasp, giggle and groan, T C Wescott has drawn some nice strong characters and it was fun to get involved with their lives! I would love to stay at Plum Cottage (err but not when there is a murderer also staying there), the food sounds delicious and you are obviously made very welcome by Rose.

With all the traditions in Christmas Village there is plenty to think about and plenty to do and the fact that we have Maribel Claus whose husband is seriously busy and will be until the end of Christmas Eve (leaving her free to snoop and crime solve) just adds to the fun.

[Nola Arganbright]

A mysterious mystery

It is time to the annual celebratuon in Christmas Village. This year there is a Circus troop to add the the festivities. They are staying at the Bed and Breakfast cottage. The night of their arrival there is a murder of their resented boss and it shakes up the entire town, but the show must go on.

[Jammin Jenny]

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery set in Christmas Village, where Mrs. Maribel Claus lives with her husband (who is hardly ever home especially at the holidays). Her friend Rose runs a B&B where a bunch of circus/carnival troup performers are staying so they can do their acts during the weeklong Christmas festivities. There's a fortune teller, a strong man, a magician, a juggler and stilt walker. The man running the show is killed, and one of his troup is to blame. Maribel goes along her merry way, kindly correcting the Mayor and the Sheriff when they're on the wrong track. I thought that was really cute.

[Kelly]

I love a good Christmas story at this time of year. This is the start of a new series, A Christmas Village Mystery Book. I loved the town of Christmas Village where there is snow and flowers blooming at the same time. The main character, Maribel Claus, is an interesting older woman who is an integral part of the goings on in Christmas Village. And Plum Cottage, Rose's bed and breakfast, sounded lovely and the food sounded delicious. The mysteries kept the reader guessing, and this was a fast, easy read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through Escape with Dolly Cas. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Novelesque Life]

SLAY BELLS
(A Christmas Village Mystery: #1)
Written by T.C. Wescott
2018; Books Go Social (273 pages)
Genre: series, holiday, christmas, small town, cozy mystery, mystery

(Review Not on Blog)

RATING: 1 STAR (DNF @ 40%)

It took me DAYS/HOURS to get to 40%. I kept reading the first two chapters over again as I had no clue what was going on as nothing happens. Then someone is dead and I am still confused with all the chatter and characters. I had to put it down before I said "humbug" out loud.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

[Laura Thomas]

There are several ingredients I like in cozy mysteries.

The first is a small town setting. Christmas Village reminded me of Whoville come to life. It’s time for the annual Christmas Festival and the whole town jumps in to make it another magical experience. But the town has their own Grinch in the guise of a killer.

The second is a diverse cast of characters. You sure get those in Slay Bells. Welcome to Plum Cottage. The picturesque Inn is filled to capacity with a very unusual cast of character’s. Magicians, acrobats, psychics. It’s a cornucopia of suspects with abilities that make for a long list. Add to the mix, Mrs. Maribel Claus, a lodger with a huge dose of curiosity and a nose for crime and the plot thickens.

The third is the mystery. It needs to be investigated with vigor. And plenty of humor. As soon as the crimes began, I was hooked. So many colorful suspects and a fearful local legend and trail of false leads that left me tangled up in tinsel. I don’t think I’ve ever read a cozy mystery quite like this. I felt challenged directly by the author to untangle the clues, figure out why the crimes happened, and identify the killer. I jumped eagerly into the challenge, determined to be right in my conclusion.

Tis the season and Slay Bells was quite the holiday read. So much fun. Such an enchanting village. And whew, what a mystery to unravel. If you decide to accept the challenge and try to solve this one, you’ll be lead by the nose to a surprise ending. Enjoy the visit. And be sure to imbibe in the ht cider and tarts.

I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.

[Nina Silva]

Miss Marple meet the happy hamlet of Christmas Village where a murder will mar the tranquillity and joy with which the townsfolk carry out their daily activities.
Okay so this isn’t a Miss Marple story but it sure gives off the same charming vibe, right down to the cute sketches of key scenes!
I found the mystery satisfactorily done. It wasn’t too hard to figure out the culprit but the motive and means kept me guessing.
The characters are delicious. Miss Marple... I mean Mrs. Claus is too cute for words as is her friend Rose. The other secondary characters add funny moments and create a unique community.

Sheriff Fell stepped forward to speak. “Sound? It’s not a sound theory at all! You have a man climbing a tree with one hand while carrying a person in the other.”
“Tarzan did it all the time,” was the mayor’s response.

The language is actually a bit dated, so much so that I was surprised at times when modern conveniences such as cell phones and text message explosions were mentioned! I think this adds a tremendous amount of charm to the story, however, and I really enjoyed it.
Sometimes the cutesy descriptions, while great for creating a festive atmosphere, are a bit excessive and I found myself skimming a little.
Perhaps my biggest disappointment with this one is the big reveal. I found it to be unnecessarily drawn out. Thankfully the charm continues at full tilt to make up for it all. I look forward to returning to this hamlet to read more Christmasy mysteries.

Overall I give this story 4/5 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a Christmas Cozy.

[Amanda]

I started out thinking this book was set sometime in the past, with Rose Willoughby hanging mistletoe in the parlor of her lodging house, with a traveling troupe of performers - her lodgers - watching. There was also more formal speech and no mention of a geographical location - at least none I'm familiar with. But as I continued reading, small mentions of modern day began to creep in - jeans, lawyers, texting - and it made me feel a bit disoriented. As I got to know the characters and the plot progressed, I decided to let all that go and just enjoy the story, and I'm glad I did! This is a richly woven mystery with solid, plausible suspects, puzzling crime scenes, and plenty of plot twists. I didn't really figure out the culprit(s) until the final reveal.

Despite my initial confusion about the time and location of this book, I really enjoyed the story! The feeling of near-timelessness and mysterious location with perpetual snow and foliage, along with protagonist Meribel Claus, whose husband spends most of his time in his workshop up through Christmas Eve, lend a magical, North Pole feel to Christmas Village. I'm interested to read more in this series, and find out if we'll get to see Christmas Village at another time of year. This was my first book by T.C. Wescott, but it won't be my last.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

[Trisha]

"So, it is with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts that every soul in the village, farmer and squire alike, closes their eyes in anticipation of sunrise. One among them will not live to see the sun. Something moves among the birds, along the snowy lanes, skirting the light in favor of shadow. In Christmas Village, this night, a creature is stirring."

This was an adorable Christmas mystery who-done it. I mean, sure, people die, but it's a traveling group of performers and they are all pretty silly and full of fun and jokes before people start dying. Even after, the sheriff is pretty bumbling so his expressions were pretty funny as well.

I especially loved the maps - I mean, who doesn't want to see the area around the body and how it was found. It was a great addition. All in all, cute story and fun mystery.

[Dora (Swift Coffee Book Blog)]

Full review (available from 22nd Dec, 2018): http://swiftcoffee.blog/2018/12/22/sl...

My actual rating is 4.5!

This book was sweet, cozy, well-written, and had an interesting story. Christmas Village is a quirky place, with funny, interesting residents just enough crazy to be adorable. As Wescott's previous mystery, it had all the attributes a classic crime story has, and beyond that it transferred a wonderful holiday atmosphere that I felt so needed in my life!

Just as before, I loved the author's style, and the story was engaging. Even though I figured out the person of the murderer pretty soon, I didn't guess the 'how' that soon - and I had that 'whaaat, really, I should've known that' feeling at the end. It was fantastic! (Really, it was super logical. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier.) And having Mrs. Claus as our main amateur sleuth investigating? How awesome is that?

My only tiny problem that I should mention was that for a very long time I didn't really care about the actual suspects. (The 'outsiders' in the village.) The villagers were so great characters, but those lodgers were pretty forgettable. It took me a lot of pages to become able to tell one from the other (well, the men at least), and even then I didn't really care which one was the murderer (only for the sake of the mystery) - I didn't feel like it would made a difference. By the end, it improved a bit, or so I felt. Otherwise, it was all perfect, and I loved the villagers and their place and traditions very much!

[Aileen (Ailz) Grist]

An exciting story in Christmas Village. The entertainers for the Christmas Fair are staying at Plum Cottage. Mrs Maribel Claus - not having a lot to do at home as it's her husband's busy time of year - is helping out at Rose - the owner of the cottage - has sprained her ankle; when the owner of the troupe turns up dead.

Will the Sheriff - with the help of Maribel - find the murderer befor Christmas is ruined?

A good fun book and interesting read.

[Terri Arturi]

Totally Thrilling !!

I couldn't put this book down !! I took it everywhere I went and read as many pages as I could whenever I got a chance to bring it out. The characters were all exciting to read about. I found myself one minute being absolutely sure the murderer was one person and several pages later being sure it was someone else. Questions weren't answered until the very last pages. This book is well worth the read !!

[Rachel Casey]

A fun and festive read, Slay Bells is a cosy murder-mystery guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

It’s Christmas Village’s most wonderful time of year when all the inhabitants are preparing for the annual, week-long Christmas Festival.

But all is not right at Plum Cottage, as a troupe of entertainers in town for the festival are shocked at the death of their manager, Mr Stipes.

But this wasn’t just any death. Mr Stipes was murdered and left atop Plum hill, with no footprints going up or down in the snow. The town is baffled as to how the murder was committed, and who committed it.

As the village tries to go on with the festival, Sherriff Fell, along with the help of Maribel Claus, try to quell rumours of a Glockenvogel (or giant mythical bird) while working to find the murderer before they strike again.

In my opinion, there are four things that make a great murder-mystery and Slay Bells has them all.

Firstly, you need a suitable setting and if Christmas Village isn’t the perfect setting for a cosy mystery then nothing is.

It’s like every village from Midsomer Murders rolled into one. It’s got a town hall and council (or Elders as they’re called here), a historical society, gossipy villagers, cute cottages, and so much more that make it an ideal place to get engrossed in.

Secondly, you need a seemingly unsolvable murder. A locked-room murder, if you will.

While there’s no locked room in Slay Bells there is a body at the top of a hill with no footprints going up or down. How could the murderer have climbed up and down the hill without leaving any mark in the snow? It’s seemingly impossible!

Thirdly, a list of suspects, all with their own motive for wanting to kill the victim.

The troupe of entertainers make up this list, with an acrobat, a magician, a juggler, a strong-man, a psychic, and their beautiful assistant, all with their own grudges and gripes against the dead man. Freakin’ perfect.

Lastly, a great murder-mystery needs an investigator who leaves no stone unturned when trying to find the murderer. Maribel Claus is the investigator in this book, along with Sherriff Fell, the local head policeman.

I was a bit worried when I started this book first, as I thought Maribel was going to be a Miss Marple knockoff.

I hate Miss Marple.

I know, I know, it’s an unpopular opinion. But I just think she’s a nosy cow who needs to mind her own damn business, and she annoys me so much!

So I wasn’t looking forward to reading about another old lady sticking her nose into police business.

But Maribel is nowhere near as annoying as Miss Marple. She’s kind and funny and makes a great amateur detective, and she’s not too smug when she figures everything out before Sherriff Fell.

There was only one thing that annoyed me about this book and that was the ending being dragged out for much longer than it needed to be.

Once Maribel figures out who the murderer is, she waits until the next morning to reveal how the murders were carried out rather than just telling everyone straight away. What a tease!

It was the only part of the book that annoyed me because we just want to find out what happened, dragging it out for two or three chapters was a bit unnecessary.

But Slay Bells is the perfect festive read nonetheless. It’s cosy, it’s intriguing, it keeps you hooked, and it gives you all the Christmas feels you could possibly need.

Plus the title has a pun in it, and if you don’t love that then I’m sorry, I don’t think we can be friends.

(This and other reviews can be found on my blog at https://rachelsramblingreflections.com )

[Mary Lou Hoffman]

SLAY BELLS is the first book in the Christmas Village Mystery series. It is yet to be seen if they will need to be read in the order of release, though this one stands on its own with no cliffhanger.

The story is a wonderful cozy mystery with a Christmas theme. Christmas Village is a peculiar little town that embraces everything to do with the Yule season and will use any excuse for a fair or town celebration.

My favorite character is Rose’s best friend Maribel Claus. Her husband is very busy and will not be available until after Christmas Eve is over. He is working with his helpers in the workshop. Hmmm, I wonder what he could be working on that is so important? It never is said!

I love the humor, the characters, the well-plotted mystery, and the setting. I must admit that I did figure out the who long before the end, but the how had me stumped until just a chapter or two before the reveal. I like that. The clues were provided, and it could be figured out. I didn’t feel cheated as so often in other books some clue is held back that you can’t possibly know the answer until the final page.

I look forward to returning to Christmas Village!

Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC via NetGalley, my opinions are my own and are given freely.


Title: SLAY BELLS
Series: Christmas Village Mystery #1
Category /Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended for: 16+ due to murder theme
Grammar/editing: A – near perfect
Received from: T.C. Wescott (as an ARC gifted copy)

[Ruth Hill]

I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

First of all, this is a cozy mystery. No profanity, sex, or graphic violence. Additionally, this is also the first in a series of books, and I was pleased to see a good foundation established with the characters.

I adore Christmas and mysteries, and there could be nothing better than the combination of these. I was thoroughly enchanted with the characters in the book, and the mystery was one that continued to keep me guessing. About the time I thought I had it figured out, I discovered my faux pas. In a place where murder never happens, this certainly sets the people of Christmas into a tizzy. What was an idyllic village on the surface seems to hold a plethora of secrets. All is not what it appears to be. There is no doubt that the author has a delightful formula for her mystery novels, and this only sought to whet my appetite for more books in this series. I am intrigued to know more about the characters, but this was quite a fun introduction.

[Kim]

While I didn't dislike this book, I was left wanting more out of it. I was excited to read it when I first started it, because it seemed like a fun concept, but about half-way through the book I was ready to move on to something else. I just don't think the writing style was doing much for me - it wasn't very polished, I'd say. I'm not sure how to explain it.

The character dynamic was weird to me - I wasn't really sure how everyone fit together outside of the troupe. And the way that Maribel treated Rose was weird to me, too - it was like Rose was this fragile thing that needed to be handled with care, but...why? And the sheriff...oy. As I'm thinking back on the whole thing...I have so many questions...

Plot/Character Driven - a bit of both - it's very Clue-like, in a way...
Character Development - I'd say it's not really a focal point of the book.
Likable/Lovable Characters - not really; none that I connected with.
Diversity - Aside from being male/female characters, that's about it.
Focus on Character Flaws - n/a; it didn't really factor into the plot at all

[J.J. Rusz]

T.C. Wescott’s “Slay Bells” was my first foray into the cozy mystery genre. It’s set in an intimate small-town environment (Christmas Village), holds violence and sex to a minimum, and celebrates amateur sleuthing. No problems with any of that.

But I found the story slow to develop and its characters more eccentric than interesting, like a Hallmark movie directed by Fellini. The writing is generally sound and the murder plot intricate—almost to a fault. At the conclusion, you may find yourself thinking “oh” more than “wow.”

I also found the novel odd in its treatment of Christmas. Only its final chapter reminds us (briefly) that the holiday has dimensions beyond getting and spending—and maybe baking. Change the season, and Christmas Village might as well be Flowertown or Candyland.

[Tracy Condie]

This story was almost too cute for words. Mrs. Clause is a dazzling detective and just days away from the Mister's big day. Helping her friend Rose to determine which of her B&B guest carnie workers is a murderer. The story has an old world feel the characters are using cell phones to text. The plot was good and I did not guess who the killer was but I was able to noodle out how the first victim ended up on the undisturbed, snow covered hill. The story painted a picture me of a village that you might see in a snow globe charming old world charm which flows across to the characters as well. Looking forward to making this one a Christmas tradition for my annual reading list.

[Megan]

I just finished Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery by T. C. Wescott and I give it 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this cheeky cozy mystery. I loved how little details of Christmas were weaved into everything, I loved the main character, Mrs. Claus, and the setting was so dreamy. I enjoyed the creativity and although I suspected who was the murderer, I didn’t know until it was revealed. I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a cozy Christmas mystery. I look forward to following Maribel Claus in the future.

[Evan]

Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery is murder mystery like no other. Although it follow that the theme of a mystery murder, it has surprising twist that led you wanting to know more. The characters are thoughtful and engaging within in this thriller. It’s magic captivates the audience and keeps them turning the page. I’d recommend this to anyone seeking and adventure or loving a good murder mystery.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Marie (UK)]

This follows the Cosy mystery genre to a T. The characters all live in a village dedicated to Christmas with one if its seven leaders being Mrs Claus whose husband is noticeably absent in the run up to christmas. It is terribly twee but at least the investigation does include some real thinking and collaboration, although Mrs Claus is, as usual in this genre, better than the paid detectives. I enjoyed it, didn't need to suspend disbelief too much and would read others in the series

[Melli]

This is a new author to me and I loved the writing.. even thought it was a cozy mystery it’s formula for The Who done it was quite different . Just when I thought that I knew who did it I was proven wrong by the end of the story. This is definitely an author that I will continue to read because the fact that the story had me second guess my conclusion as to the mystery means that the author has a talent for story telling.

[Shawna Shaheen]

Book 1 it was Christmas time. Rose has a Bed and Breakfast that her family owned. She had some magicians there in this one. A man on stilts jugglers, and psychic, and assistant and the owner of them all performing for Christmas. Rose made her pudding with trinkets stuffed inside. When the owner but into. He screamed that if his teeth were chipped he would sue. Maribel Clause was helping Rose with her Inn because The owner knocked her down while she was putting up Holly. Well the owner was killed. And the doc of the town found him outside. He was convinced it was an monster bird that killed him. Everyone told him he reads to much fantasy books. All the magicians could not stand him. There were 2 murders in this one. It was a pretty good book. I will read book 2 when I comes out

[Annarella]

A lovely cozy that brings you to an enchanted town. I loved this book, the style of writing, the cast of characters, and the plot.
It's enjoyable, heartwarming and entertaining.
I hope that this is the beginning of a new series because I would like to read more books set in this town and with this cast of characters.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

[Niki]

very cute book!

Though i did not read it during the Christmas period, i could feel that festive vibe throughout :)

A very cozy Christmas story, which you should definitely try reading anytime in the month of December! :)


Also, very nice cover!! ;)