About this item
By 1 Kindle bestselling author of Christmas Is Murder, published by Midnight Ink. A winner. . . A must for cozy fans. --BOOKLIST, starred review Cozy up with a margarita or a cup of tea and settle in for a contemporary whodunit a la Agatha Christie 6 in the Rex Graves Mystery Series. When Scottish barrister Rex Graves and fiancee Helen disembark in Key West during a cruise to Mexico, they stumble upon a B B where a bizarre double murder has just taken place. Victims Merle and Taffy Dyer, dressed as clowns in celebration of Key Wests Fantasy Fest, have been served up cold for breakfast in their own kitchen. The intrepid, resourceful and downright curious Rex, gaining recognition as a world-famous sleuth, is all for abandoning the cruise and delving into murder instead.
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, the last Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released in November 2016. A new title has just been contracted for in the series.
Reviews for CHRISTMAS IS MURDER:
**STARRED** Review from Booklist: "The first installment in this new mystery series is a winner... At times, it seems we are playing Clue or perhaps enjoying a contemporary retelling of a classic Agatha Christie tale (And Then There Were None, or At Bertram's Hotel) with a charming new sleuth. A must for cozy fans."
- Booklist (American Library Association)
"C.S. Challinor's CHRISTMAS IS MURDER dishes up an English manor house mystery with the traditional elements: a murder, a small contingent of suspects thrown together, and an engaging and witty sleuth... Challinor will keep most readers guessing as she cleverly spreads suspicion and clues that point in one direction, then another."
- Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
"Shades of Agatha Christie. A disparate group of guests snowed in at an English hotel await Christmas and death. Rex Graves, QC,...uses his prosecutorial expertise to work his way through method and motive until he announces the murderer in a denouement in the classic style. Challinor's debut is a pleasant modern knockoff of Christie."
- Kirkus Reviews
"It's a charming novel, especially since the violence occurs offstage. CHRISTMAS IS MURDER is full of people with interesting characters and clues... Ms. Challinor was educated in Scotland and England, which explains how she writes so convincingly of both her setting and her characters."
- Florida Weekly
"CHRISTMAS IS MURDER has all the elements traditional English cozy fans have come to love. The plot is tight, suspects limited and an investigation uses Rex's wit rather than a lot of outside sources. The setting is lovely and the characters entertaining without being so overdrawn as to appear as caricatures. A great start to a new series that is sure to become a modern favorite traditional English cozy series."
