Francis Duncan
1949
4/5 stars
Retired tobacconist Mordecai Tremaine is invited to a Christmas house party by a man he doesn't know well. He chooses to go, because of the intriguing postscript stating that "something was wrong" in the household. That something was most definitely wrong was proven when a dead Father Christmas was discovered under the tree on Christmas Eve. Mordecai uses his sharp eye and keen reasoning to investigate his fellow house guests to determine the motive and method of the crime.
This was a delightful mystery, with an engaging protagonist and a well imagined cast of characters. The mystery itself was intelligent, believable, and nicely plotted. Duncan's writing wasn't perfect; there were repeated phrases and the occasional awkward sentence. Despite that, I would most definitely recommend this nearly forgotten Golden Age mystery. I will most certainly be reading more of Mordecai's adventures.
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