Morwenna Mutton is smart and obviously in great shape for her age. I marvel at the idea that not only does she find swimming in frigid water great fun but there's an entire group of residents who join her. Not her own mother, mind you. Nope, no polar plunges, so to speak, for Lamorna. Ex-husband Ruan is drawn to the water, yes, but seems to prefer boating atop it. In any case, Morweena is fiercely protective of her family. Her moments with granddaughter Elowen, who remains feisty and self-centered, are frequently a hoot. There are a lot of characters to take in, some important, some just passing through. Kudos to the author, by the way, for including not only a glossary but a characters list with a brief description at the beginning. I found that most of the terms used were easy to figure out but did need to refresh my memory on characters. Wait till you meet Lady Elizabeth.
Overall, the side characters are likable, even the seemingly cranky ones, and it was fun to revisit Seal Bay again and spend some time boating. As for the murder, it does put a damper on the holiday festivities. The Christmas party sounds both interesting and chaotic with people roaming the Pengellen's manor home seemingly at will. That gives us a long list of suspects. Heck, could it have been an accident? Good thing the local police were actually at the party (in costumes, no less) although Morwenna, in her usual way, manages to do some snooping before they can even get to the scene. And all this before the random visits from the sinister Santa and not so jolly Santa Claus cards sent to some.
That's about all I'm going to say about the plot, it's a complicated one with twists and turns but, hey, we get to watch a couple relationships bloom at the same time, so it isn't all bah humbug and whodunit. Watching Morwenna fret over mother Lamorna's budding romance was both sweet and sad, especially given her own confused feelings. Thanks #BoldwoodBooks and #NetGalley for the early invite to catch up on the doings in Seal Bay and among Morwenna's friends and family. After that ending, definitely looking forward to Leigh's next in this series.
No comments:
Post a Comment