What do You think about A Christmas Secret (2006)?
A CHRISTMAS SECRET (Historical-England-1800s) – VGPerry, Anne – 4th Christmas standaloneHeadline, 2006- Amer Hardcover*** Dominic Corde, brother-in-law to Charlotte Pitt, has left banking, is married to Clarice and is a cleric in a church in London. However, Dominic and Clarice have sent to a small town to fill in for a much-beloved vicar during his Christmas holiday. They soon discover the vicar did not leave town after all.*** Perry’s Christmas novellas are wonderful little gifts. I love that she takes the secondary characters from her main series and gives them a platform and personalities of their own and then creating distinctive supporting characters, each with their own weaknesses and foibles, around them. Perry is unsurpassed in taking her readers into the time and place of the story. As a mystery, it is light, but that doesn’t matter to me. What I most admire is that, while it is a Christmas story and deals with all the basic themes of love, charity, forgiveness, hope and honor. I never felt preached to, but felt instead the possibilities and strength of the human spirit.
—LJ
Dominic Corde is thrilled to “fill the robe” as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham, while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. Glad to escape his dreary London flat and a less-than-satisfying job as church curate, Dominic and his beloved wife, Clarice, set off for what they hope will be a lovely winter getaway.Upon arrival, in the midst of a frigid, exceptionally snowy season, Dominic and Clarice are welcomed by warm, hospitable neighbors and enchanted by the cozy, inviting vicarage. Everything seems almost too perfect. Dominic's only concern is how he will be received by the congregation, who hold the Reverend Wynter in such high regard. But as Clarice soon discovers, she and Dominic have much more dire matters to worry about. It turns out that the Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday at all - and that something very sinister has transpired.As a blizzard leaves Cottisham treacherously snowbound and the isolated village swirls with unsavory secrets, Dominic and Clarice suddenly find themselves in deadly danger.Another really nice Christmas mystery by Anne Perry, this one dedicated to new beginnings.As in her other books she is very good at delivering period detail and the cosy and not so cosy sense of small villages, in with the cosiness of helping neighbours goes hand in hand with less than welcoming and well meaning characters.In this story Daniel Corde, a secondary character in the first book of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, arrives at Cottisham to replace the vicar who has left on a Christmas holiday. Unfortunately soon his wife Clarice finds the vicar dead in the cellar and they both decide to find the truth about his death. Vicar Wynter was apparently well loved by all his parishioners and his murder is quite unexplainable.Corde knows he has to prove himself as worthy of following in Vicar Wynter’s footsteps, even if he has to dig up some unpleasant secrets, and wishes the Bishop would allow to stay in Cottisham indefinitely as this is the perfect opportunity for him and Clarice to start building their lives away from London and their less than fortunate circumstances there.Perry is also great with the character development and I always finish these stories with a sense of understanding and sympathy towards the main character. Although the mystery might not be very complex it is a wonderful cosy read and a treat for fans of the Pitt series who want to know more about some of the secondary characters. It closes with Corde’s holiday sermon and a message of hope and forgiveness which seemed fitting.Grade: 4/5
—Ana T.
A lovely festive read.Reverend Dominic Corde and his wife Clarice have just moved to a new parish temporarily to take over Reverend Wynter's flock while he is away on holiday.The couple adore the area and hope to prolong their stay but the village seems to hold dark secrets, it seems like each inhabitant has something to hide.Things are nagging at Clarice, why if the Reverend has gone on holiday did he not take his personal Bible or even his art utensils as he adores drawing, why would they be left behind?Then one day Clarice goes down into the cellar and finds the body of Reverend Wynter, the doctor seems to think it was just a heart attack but evidence points to something more sinister.But in a village full of lies and secrets where do they start to look for the murderer and are the couple themselves safe or are they probing too much?Exciting and well written, a real good winter's night read.
—Ria
