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Murder at Christmas by T A Williams #Review #Publication '

BRAND NEW instalment in the page-turning Armstrong & Oscar cozy mystery series, this time in the snowy Italian Alps.    A festive gathering... Private investigator Dan Armstrong, accompanied by his wife and his canine sidekick, Oscar, are spending the days before Christmas in a luxurious Alpine chalet tucked away in a hidden valley. It should be the perfect escape, except the owner is in fear for his life. A house full of secrets... Amid perfect winter wonderland scenery, the more Dan discovers about his host and the other guests, he realises that all is not as it seems. What should be a happy family party is riddled with rancour, mistrust and hatred. A killer in the snow? Then the snow falls – fast and heavy – and within moments, someone is dead. Accident, suicide, or murder? As the snow closes in, Dan has to work out if he's looking for a killer, or whether he and Oscar are barking up the wrong tree. My Thoughts   Dan and Oscar find themselves in a remot...

After Alice by Gregory Maguire

    After Alice by Gregory Maguire is a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Ada, who is mentioned in Lewis Carroll's work, sets off to find Alice and a minute late, tumbles down the rabbit hole herself. We follow her search for Alice in the subterranean world of inconsistent rules and strange happenings, as she meets some of the familiar characters found in the original. Above the ground, Lydia, Alice's sister and Ada's governess are on the lookout for the girls. 

    The premise of the book sounded quite interesting. Modern takes on Victorian literature always appeal to me but I found that the style of writing made it a difficult read. The vocabulary and sentence structure were self- consciously complicated. I also found that that two parallel plotlines, one above and one below the ground seemed separate and unconnected. Including real life people such as Charles Darwin was a nice touch however and Victorian Oxford was a welcome character in the book. 

In short: a slightly disappointing journey down the rabbit hole. 

Thanks to the publishers, Headline, for a copy of the book via Bookbridgr. 

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