The Santa Klaus Murder

In this charming reprint of a title published in 1936 by Hay (1894–1979), someone masquerading as the jolly man in red shoots Sir Osmond Melbury, a miserly cookie manufacturer, as his family members gather for Christmas at his country house, Flaxmere, outside of Bristol, England. Motives abound for the murder: Melbury cut off his eldest daughter after she eloped with an artist, pressured his second daughter into renouncing her first love, opposed his youngest daughter’s engagement, replaced the faithful family chauffeur with a Cockney “Socialist,” and ousted his impoverished spinster sister from Flaxmere in favor of his scheming secretary. Following the convention of different characters narrating individual chapters popularized by Wilkie Collins in The Moonstone, the novel reflects the preoccupations of the period with its complex timetables, concealed doors, and alternate wills. Readers seeking to keep details in order may need to consult the cast of characters and floor plan provided, but they are part of the enjoyable universe of this Golden Age mystery. (Nov.)