Murder at Christmas by T.A. WilliamsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Christmas is approaching and Dan and his wife Anna are planning to spend it with her daughter in Northern Italy when Dan gets a call from an old friend inviting them to spend a few days at a luxurious Alpine chalet. The only catch, the host believes that his life is in danger and wants Dan to investigate.
When Dan and Anna arrive at the chalet they discover their host Bartolomeo is the CEO of a famous sports clothing and equipment company, Dan's friend Serena is a famous actress who he is trying to persuade to be the face of their sportwear. The other guests include Bartolomeo's brother and his wife, the finance director of the company and his wife, Bartolomeo's son and his wife, Bartolomeo's daughter, and the widow of Bartolomeo's partner. The staff consist of a husband and wife who cook and look after the chalet and Bartolomeo's assistant.
Bartolomeo believes his life is in danger because he does not believe that his partner's death only a few weeks earlier was an accident, despite the police ruling that way. He is concerned that someone wants to take control of the company by killing him as well. At dinner the first night it is clear that there are numerous tensions around the table and their host appears to be a bit of a letch.
When Dan finds Bartolomeo's dead body in the snow, killed by a blow to the head off a protruding rock it is unclear whether he fell (perhaps when drunk) and hit his head, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff and hitting his head on the way down, or was pushed. The more that Dan delves the murkier things get and it seems he and Anna might be the only ones without a motive for wanting Bartolomeo dead.
Yet another engrossing mystery featuring a former Met Police DCI and his trusty dog Oscar, enjoy the descriptions of the food and try to puzzle out what really happened.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
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