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"Croquet
is a metaphor for life" Jane Allan, 10 Lords A-Leaping
Father
Tom Christmas (Vicar of St Nicolas Church in Thorn Regis)
has decided to combine all his fund raising events into one.
His goal is to make enough money on one event so he can forgo
all those small fundraisers. He does so with a skydiving fundraising
event which turns out to be more of a hair-raising event.
When the The Lords leap everyone is spellbound...
Once
the fundraiser is over, Tom plans to celebrate his 40th birthday
with his mothers. But after a bad fall, Lady Fairhaven lets
Tom convalesce at Eggescombe (known as the Manor for Christie's
Chimneys). While there he witnesses a bitter rivalry between
family members, becomes attracted to Lady Lucinda and discovers
a dead body in the Eggescombe Labyrinth. Tom's pretty sure
he saw the back of the murderer's head as he or she left the
scene.
At one
point Tom feels the desire to divorce himself from the trouble
of this privileged family. Just give what he knows to the
police and exit Eggescombe, but he knows he must wait out
the investigation; he owes it to Lord Fairhaven who agreed
to the Skydiving fund raiser.
It's
just not a Christmas mystery without Detectives' Blessing
and Bliss. They arrive to assist the village rookie policeman,
which makes Tom a bit nervous. He doesn't want them to know
"everything" he's been up to…
Ten
Lords A-Leaping, as Benison's last two Christmas mysteries,
successfully entertains the arm chair sleuth with a complex
mystery while tickling his/her funny bone. I love Tom Christmas.
He's as realistic as a character can be. He makes you feel
okay. Benison's writing flows effortlessly.... It was over
all too quickly....
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