Christmas is Murder

Rex Graves Mystery #1

by C.S. Challinor

Christmas in the English countryside―what could be more charming? Not even a blizzard can keep Rex Graves away from Swanmere Manor, a historic hotel in East Sussex. But instead of Christmas cheer, the red-haired Scottish barrister finds a dead guest. Was it a stroke that killed old Mr. Lawdry? Or an almond tart laced with poison? When more guests die, all hopes for a jolly holiday are dashed. Worst of all, the remote mansion is buried under beastly snow. No one can leave. Confined with a killer, no one can enjoy their tea without suspicion and scrutiny. Rex takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, but the most intriguing evidence―a burnt manuscript―offers few clues. Could the killer be the sherry-swilling handyman? The gay antiques dealer with a biting wit? The quarreling newlyweds? Surely, it's not Helen d'Arcy, the lovely lass Rex seems to be falling for . . .
"CHRISTMAS IS MURDER is the first book in a new series featuring Rex Graves as barrister and sleuth. The book is an enjoyable and quick read. The setting is great, a Victorian hotel in England in modern times, the characters are interesting and the mystery is engaging. I couldn't figure out who the murderer was―any of the guests could have done it! This is not a very 'Christmasy' book. It could be read just about anytime of the year. I look forward to more books in this series."
~ The Friendly Book Nook

"Agatha Christie fans, here you go! You have been waiting for a mystery writer that can hold the torch, well we found C.S. Challinor. CHRISTMAS IS MURDER is her first book in the Rex Graves series, and we didn't solve the mystery! In fact, we were not even close. She told such a wonderful story that we were lost in her world for a while!"
~ Suspense Magazine

"CHRISTMAS IS MURDER is an engaging whodunit populated with an interesting and imaginative mix of characters and a very appealing and charming sleuth in Rex Graves. The story effortlessly combines elements of a classic country house mystery with an Agatha Christie-style denouement to great effect. With some of the guests concealing secret objectives for being present, this quick-reading mystery will keep readers guessing until the end."
~ Mysterious Reviews

"Authors are sometimes compared to Dame Agatha but, in my opinion, few of their books have those characteristics and―more important―the overall feel of hers. CHRISTMAS IS MURDER does."
~ Cozy Library

"Wanted to let you know I just finished the book and enjoyed it very much. I'm thinking of pairing it up with a large assortment box of shortbread at the holidays. Eat some shortbread, make a cup of tea and curl up with a good book."
~Barbara Selvaggio, Walkers Shortbread US

"Cozy fans will want to find CHRISTMAS IS MURDER tucked into their stockings for a cold, winter's night read. This is one to help you while away the hours without scaring you out of your slippers; a delectable tidbit of a puzzle that will leave you hungry for the next Rex Graves Mystery."
~ Mysterical-E Magazine

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Fiction, Holiday, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, British Literature

203 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

C.S. Challinor was raised and educated in Scotland (St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh) and England (Lewes Priory, Sussex; University of Kent, Canterbury: Joint Hons Latin & French). She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She now lives in Southwest Florida. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild, New York, and writes the critically acclaimed Rex Graves cozy mystery series featuring Rex Graves, Scottish barrister-sleuth.

CHRISTMAS IS MURDER, the first in the series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. This title is also available in large print hardcover through Thorndike Reviewer's Choice. The fifth in the series, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. JUDGMENT OF MURDER, #8, the newest Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released on November 8, 2016, to highly favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.

Please note, the covers shown on Goodreads for MURDER IN THE RAW and PHI BETA MURDER are the old covers. These two titles have since been recovered for subsequent editions, print and digital.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tis the Season A Thon: Read a book while enjoying a holiday/winter drink(Hot Chocolate mixed with Coffee)

C.S. Challinor is obviously extremely influenced by Agatha Christie. I mean Christmas is Murder is basically And Then There Were None, but badly written. The author didn't write characters that were well defined or that felt real at all. I didn't care about any of the characters and I didn't care about the mystery.

I also found it super odd that despite people dropping dead left and right, the other guest seemed really chill about it. I mean a man has just died of a suspected poisoning and people are like "I'm starving when's dinner" ????? It made ZERO sense.

I didn't enjoy this book but I wasn't angry I read it so it gets 2 stars instead of 1.

P.S. This book spoiled the ending of Murder on the Orient Express, so if you haven't read it ( I have)but plan to, I wouldn't read this book.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but it was so slow and dragging that I’m gonna dnf it.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rex is heading to a BnB to spend Christmas with a childhood friend's mother, the owner. Unfortunately when he arrives, one of the guests has expired. Another guest suspects fowl play. The next day another guest dies, and this time it's obvious they were murdered. Rec is determined to solve the crime.

I loved this novel, it's very Agatha Christie. Solve who the murderer is, without any gruesome crime or some 'divorcé who owns a sweet shop pining over the hunky sheriff' business. I'm definitely looking forward to reading this series, light-hearted stereotyping aside.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute cozy mystery set in rural England where our sleuth is a Scottish barrister named Rex. I thought it was well written with good character development, and I might read more of the series.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rex Graves QC has been invited to Swanmere Manor for Christmas-December 23-27, and his ‘friend’, a widow, has left Scotland to provide aide to Iraq, Iran, or some country in that area. Rex decides to accept this invitation to his mother’s best friend home-now a hotel-instead of spending Christmas in Edinburgh alone. Besides, Rex has fond memories of exploring this house when he was younger. C.S. Challinor’s Christmas is Murder (Rex Graves Mystery #1) provides an English country setting and meeting new people for Christmas along with unexpected heavy snow and murder. When Rex arrives at Swanmere Hotel, the snow follows and then murder throws a wrench into the festivities. The old Victorian house has not changed, Rex observes, since his adventures in his youth. Mrs. Dahlia Smithings, the owner and his mother’s best friend, runs a tight ship, but Rex, shortly after his arrival, is made aware of a dead guest. With the heavy snow, facilities are down, and Rex, a part-time sleuth, heads up the investigation. Then another death occurs. Will another murder become a reality? With the constable’s agreement, will Rex, using his defense attorney’s knowledge, solve these Christmastime murders? 4 stars.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

With a definite Agatha Christie feel to it, this book reminded me in many ways of her book, And Then There were None. Set in England, a group of people have been invited to Swanmere Manor Inn for Christmas. Before Christmas Day, several of them have been murdered. Rex Graves, a British Queen's Defender, is one of the guests and he feels that it is his duty to try and solve the murders.

This was an enjoyable cozy with a good plot. The characters were interesting and varied, and there were enough red herrings to keep me guessing who the culprit was. I did mark it down as it did include some drunkenness by the manor's caretaker as well as some intimate scenes that weren't necessary to the plot.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great fun to read. The first book in the series has Scots QC Rex Graves (attorney for those of us in the US) visiting the home/motel of his mothers best friend for Christmas. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm, Rex is greeted with a dead body and a cast of characters that are as diverse as they are interesting. With more bodies showing up, Rex needs to solve the mystery of who is killing the guests, and why? There are a couple of small "bumpy" spots in the story but on the whole I loved it and can't wait for the sequel to come out so I can continue to look at life with Rex.

[Ruby Spark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christmas themed murder mystery.

A group of people snowed in at a manor in the English country side, when murders start happening. I liked the characters and the pace of the book. What I didn't like about it was the motive for the murders, just not convincing enough.

[Jeanine Sk.]

I picked this up because it was a short book, thinking a quick read before going back to a book I put aside. Holy cow! It was a quick read as it only took me a few days to finish it. Had I read straight through it would have been a few hours!

A quiet Christmas in a quiet inn. That's what Rex thought he would be doing, but when he finally arrived, there had been an unexplained death.

This was a great book, lots of surprises, once there seemed to be a solution, there was another twist, right down to the last few page!

(Very hard to write this review without adding spoilers!)

This book was written in 2008, and purchased at a library book sale. I really enjoyed it and I'm hoping to find at least the next Rex Graves mystery... also hoping to find more than one!

I love stories that are easy (quick) to read, but are still intriguing and enjoyable!

If you have a few days (or hours) and you like murder mysteries, I highly recommend you pick this one up and have fun!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a series of five Rex Graves mysteries as a Christmas gift. This is the first of the series. It is written in the Agatha Christie style of mystery and really well done. There’s even the gathering and big reveal at the end.

Not a bad first look at this author. The next two go on vacation with me for beach reading.

[Sagexox · Rating 3 out of 5]

British Christmas books, imo, are the Epitome of a "Traditional Christmas Book". This one started off great and then all the American bashing began... that and the politics ruined it for me, otherwise it was a nice read with great characters and the brit humour i adore.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. A cozy mystery, reminiscent of Agatha Christie. The ending could have been a little better.

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Christmas is murder... when you're stranded in East Sussex with a killer." An Agatha Christie-esque British cozy. Twas satisfying for a vacation read.

[Amy Prosenjak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great vacation read while in the sun! ☀️

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas is Murder Earns 4.5/5 Fir Felonies…Clever & Entertaining!

White Christmas. English countryside. Multiple murders. The trifecta of a fun, cozy read! Reginald Graves, QC (like a prosecutor), receives a formal invitation from one of his mother’s oldest friends Mrs. Smithings to spend the Christmas holidays at Swanmere Manor, now a converted hotel. It’s better than spending it alone, but guests at the Swanmere Manor are dropping like the snow falling outside. Cut off from outside help, Rex is compelled, if not necessitated, to use his part-time sleuthing skills to find a killer among the guests and staff. The murders are plenty, each different than the last, so motive is difficult to pinpoint. The final reveal was something I thought might happen, but I still enjoyed it. C.S. Challinor’s writing style was entertaining using sensory-laden and image-making descriptive language to provide the chill of the weather and the cringe of the murders realistic. Great read after a day of prepping for the holidays.

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. I haven't seen anything else by this author. Her lead character is a man and I think that was a mistake; she'd probaby do a more convincing job writing about a woman. She gets some details wrong as well -- uses US instead of UK military ranks -- and getting cut off in snow! It's meant to be England! Still, it's better than anything I could write so good luck to her and her efforts helping wounded servicemen.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty light but somewhat fun. People falling dead all over the place. But there is a QC on hand to solve the case before the police even get there.

Who poisoned the old man? And how to tie the other murders together? It helps that they are snowed in for the holidays. Plus Rex finds a little lost puppy on his way from the station.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Kindle deal of the day and I got it for 99 cents. It was a fast, easy, fun read, but better than the Patterson/Evanovich/Higgins Clark mysteries I used to read and can't stand anymore (no offense to anyone, trust me, just my opinion! For years all I read was Patterson!). Christmas is Murder was a perfect holiday book for in between the deep heavy books I seem to be choosing lately.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed better editing. There were jumps in the plot. The characters were made out of cardboard from cereal boxes. This could have been interesting but was just annoying. Like when you're craving good chocolate and there's only the cheap stuff with too much sugar in it available.

A disappointment.

[Laurie Mucha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the book for a dollar so I can't be too disappointed. It does provide a Christmas cozy set in a country manor with loads of snow. However character development was lacking particularly. No one seemed afraid that they might be the next victim.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall pretty good for the first book in a series. Although set in modern times it had the feel of being set in a much earlier time period.

[Susan Springer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first introduction to Rex Graves mysteries. A secluded Victorian
hotel in the English countryside is home to a succession of murders
with more suspects than the game of "Clue".

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a contemporary English murder mystery series featuring Scottish lawyer(Queen's Counsel /QC) Rex Graves. He's a widower with an 18 year-old-son. The teenager lives in Miami enjoying the "sights," as his father mentions to another character in the book. Rex apparently has a semi-regular relationship with a woman who at the moment is in Iraq working for a charitable organization. His mother is in Australia.

This is how he ends up in an English manor house for Christmas. And not just any manor house. It is owned by a family friend, Dahlia Smithings, whose son was killed in the Iraq war and had been Rex's childhood friend. However, once Rex arrives at the estate, he discovers two b things: a horrible snowstorm (of course!) and an elderly gentleman has died, and one of the other guests suspects he had been murdered. Soon enough, two more guests are murdered in as many days, and the police can't help due to the snowstorm. It's up to Rex to discover the murderer before anyone else is killed.

I generally don't like contemporary murder mysteries (for the very reason as presented above: they use current events as a backdrop, and it very often hits too close to home. This was no exception). That said, this was a well-written mystery with several plausible suspects. I had no idea who the culprit was, let alone motives or opportunities.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

[Dian Beatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming little locked room type mystery at a small bed and breakfast in a rural part of Scotland during a snow storm. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, and perhaps wished she wrote with more brevity, then you’ll probably like this story. The guests are a bit chummy for being strangers, but this is a necessity to move the plot forward.

Rex Graves, a lawyer, has been invited by the owner of Swanmere Manor, an old family friend, to spend his Christmas at her bed and breakfast rather than spending it alone in his bachelor apartment. Rex is looking forward to a relaxing holiday, but he won’t be getting the rest he is hoping for. One of the guests dies just before he arrives, and he is tasked with solving the mystery since the local authorities won’t be able to investigate until after the storm. It seems simple enough, until a second body turns up…

[BBoulier · Rating 2 out of 5]

C.S. Challinor’s “Christmas is Murder” (2008) is the first of eight books in the Rex Graves mystery series. Graves is a Scottish barrister who has been invited to spend Christmas in Sussex with an old friend of the family, an elderly woman who has converted her home into a small hotel. Despite a blizzard, Graves manages to trek to the hotel, only to find that one of the guests, old Mr. Lawdry, has died. Was it a stroke or a poisoned almond tart? Before a day has passed, another guest has died. Can Rex find the killer before the police are able to come to their rescue? This is a well-written and entertaining mystery until the end. Unfortunately, I find the solution to the mystery implausible. For this reason, I cannot recommend it. However, it is sufficiently well-written that I will try the second mystery in the series.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really felt like an old locked room mystery updated with a scene or two of cell phones.

The group of unrelated parties are snowed in over Christmas Eve and Christmas as the deaths start to happen.

There is an interesting mix of guests and no two deaths are the same. The solicitor acts as the investigator with the help of the fireman/parametic.

This was a fast read and a fun one.

I did not buy into the killer though. Perhaps there was not enough set up.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Sandra M]

This is the first book of C.S. Challinor in a series, but I read it after reading Murder of the Bride. Hard to decide which one is better. Both of them keep you on your toes. The setting of this one is quite interesting as all the guests in an old London hotel are left inside the hotel for several days without being able to leave due to snow. Many murders occurs, but the reader keeps guessing who is the murder.

Read on. I am going start the 2nd book in chronological order in less than 10 days. Great mystery books and so far only around 200 pages each.

[Neer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up with a great deal of anticipation. Christmas, snow all around, cut-off from the world, the odd guests, the sinister servants, the piling dead bodies....but where was the terror,the growing distrust, the suspicious glances, the false faces??????????????...A totally non-atmospheric mystery. Not keen to read more of the series.

First Line: Mrs. D. Smithings requests the pleasure of the company of Reginald Graves, QC at Swanmere Manor, December 23 to 27.
RSVP

[Janet Rosfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, this mystery finds a disparate group of people snowed in, at a remote Victorian style hotel. First to die is an elderly WWII vet, poisoned by an almond tart. Our sleuth is Rex Graves , a middle-aged , Scottish barrister with plenty of charm and no end of suspects. More murders ensue in rapid fashion. This cozy mystery is charming , the characters well drawn and the mystery is satisfying. I just love a good Christmas murder!

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is murder by C.S. Challinor is the first book in the Rex Graves Mystery series. Scottish barrister Rex Graves arrives at Swanmere Manor for Christmas in the middle of a blizzard and finds that a guest is suspected of having been murdered the previous day. An enjoyable classical style cozy mystery that would appeal to Agatha Christie fans. A light and very traditional secluded English manor house mystery.