Don't be misled by the title, "Shakespeare's Christmas" is is not a "Christmas Special" where we get to see the people of the small town of Shakespeare acting as if they were in a remake of "It's A Wonderful Life". It is the darkest, and I think the best, book in the series so far. It's set before, not at Christmas and most of it takes place outside of Shakespeare.The mystery in "Shakespeare's Christmas" is not a polite "whodunnit" murder under the mistletoe, but the death of a young mother, knifed and left to bleed out in the snow, and the search for a monster who preys on children while masquerading as a family friend. It has enough twist and turns to keep you guessing and enough evil to evoke rage in the reader.As with the first two books, the thing I enjoyed most was the continuing development of Lily Bard. It's clear to me now that the five books in the series track Lily's evolution from someone who has isolated herself so that she can cope quietly with the task of staying alive from day-to-day, to someone who has taken the risk of creating a life that she values with people that she loves, even though she is always afraid of the vulnerability to loss and grief that this could produce.In "Shakespeare's Christmas", Lily has reluctantly come back to her home town to attend her younger sister's wedding. She knows that she will have to put on her company manners for the wedding showers and rehearsal dinners but what worries her are not the formal niceties but the need to show herself to the family and friends that she walked away from, after her rape and mutilation, when she could no longer live with their pity or their pain.There are no soft edges here, no Hallmark Moments, instead we get an honest exploration of how Lily copes with being back with people she loves but who she finds it hard to live with, not just because they grieve for who she was but because she no longer wants to be that person.In her mind there is the old Lily from before the rape and the new Lily she is now: someone solitary, someone vigilant, someone strong enough to protect herself, someone who's old life has been stolen from her, someone who can no longer believe that other people are fundamentally good.Lily struggles to connect her new self to her family and her friends. One of the things that helps her with this is her encounters with children. Lily believes that she does not understand children, yet the reader sees that her honesty, her directness and her strength mean that she succeeds in winning their trust and their admiration. Like at least some of the children around her, Lily believes in the monster beneath the bed; she believes that safety is an illusion; that vigilance and strength are necessary to survival and that men are willing to use violence to get what they want.What Lily learns from the children is that she has not become a cold, distant monster; she has become a dragon-slayer.As events unfold, Lily also learns that part of her strength now comes from being with Jack. Typically for Lily, while she knows this to be true and suspects it to be good, she worries that it will make her vulnerable.There is evil in this book. An evil made worse because, as Lily and Jack try to search out its source, they find too many potential candidates too close to home. There is also love in this book. As Lily does what she needs to do to make those around her safe, she finally comes to understand that she can be the new Lily, strong, honest, and wary and still be loved as a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a one-time lover, and an old friend.The book ends with Lily going back to Shakespeare for Christmas. It is her home now. It contains the things in her life that she most wants to celebrate.After finishing the book, I decided that to read the rest of the series back to back. I'll keep you posted on my impressions.
Well, this was interesting to me. I had not read any previous books in this series, and frankly, am not interested in any of the author's other series, but this was a book I liked.Lily Bard lives in Shakespeare, Arkansas, and when the book opens, she is participating in the town's Christmas parade, to promote her cleaning business. Lily is an interesting character, not a cuddly, sweet type, more a defensive, tough type. Which is apparently a result of having survived an abduction, rape, and mutilation. Anyway, she is headed to her home town of Bartley for her younger sister's wedding, and dreading every minute of it, since her family and former friends don't seem to know how to act around her since the harrowing event. Shortly before she heads home, she reads a story in the local paper, that is part of a series they run every year, about cold cases. She is particularly drawn to one about a baby that was abducted from a nearby town, and the parents that have never given up hope.It turns out that when she gets to Bartley, her current boyfriend, a private investigator, shows up, investigating the very child abduction case that rattled Lily. With only a few days before her sister's wedding, there are all of a sudden a few murders to solve, and Lily becomes convinced that they are related to the abduction of the baby eight years ago.This was interesting to me, both as a new series, and with a main character that was not really that appealing, or who put the "cozy" in cozy mystery. Everything happens shortly before Christmas Day, and Lily wants it all resolved so she can be back in Shakespeare, celebrating the holiday the way that SHE wants to!I am intrigued by this series, and will probably at least read the first installment for background.
What do You think about Shakespeare's Christmas (2005)?
3rd in the series and the hardest book to find for a long time until Charlaine Harris became famous from Sookie. This is a Reread! This book explores Lily's family as she returns home for her sister's wedding. She is dreading the whole social scene and having to be a part of it when Jack shows up, not just for her but with a job - to find a kidnapped child. The child, kidnapped as a baby almost 8 years ago, may be one of three girls including Lily's soon-to-be niece. Another great mystery full of twists and turns with the real mystery hidden until the end!
—Sarah Adamson
Also posted to Jen in BooklandAnother great Lily Bard Mystery. I love Lily. She is so much fun to read and see all the things she just happens to find. I also really like Jack and am glad he is still a part of the story. I think Lily and Jack are great together. They both are kind of prickly at times, they both have some dark in their past, they so cute together! They both kind of back off when things get too real and close and it is so much fun to read. In this story Lily goes back home for her sisters wedding right before Christmas. Jack turns up in town as well to see Lily and to work on a case of a missing child (who has been missing for 8 years). As I was reading this one I realized a lot of people tend to die in these books. Lily gets herself into bad situations and is always there when something is happening.Lily's family cannot really deal with her since what happened to her so she doesn't go home much. Lily is worried that her sister's fiance might have the stolen child. Someone had sent a photo to Jack's mentor and since the mentor is now in the hospital the task of solving the case lies with Jack. The photo shows three little girls and one of them is the stolen one. The sister's fiance's daughter is one of the girls. Lily is really cute trying to help Jack solve the case. She told herself not to ask him for anything, and in return not to do anything without being asked, but she tries to help however she can. The ending usually makes me feel a little bad for Lily. Like poor her she is in this crazy situation, and she really doesn't mean to be usually. I cannot wait to read the next one.
—Jennifer
I've gotten very attached to Lily Bard. It was interesting this time around to see her outside of the Shakespeare setting and interacting with her family. (view spoiler)[ Can't say I'm very fond of her new bro-in-law after their last conversation. What a tool. And after she cleaned his house (albeit with ulterior motives) for him too. (hide spoiler)]
—Emily
