Cover Image: Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery

Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery

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Member Reviews

This is the first book in the Christmas Village Mystery series and while it did have several enjoyable Christmas themed aspects, I thought it fell short with some of the characters. The whole scenario of the circus performers seemed incongruous to the setting and theme. Maybe if these characters weren't in the first book in the series (and we got to know the other main characters better), the circus performers wouldn't seem so odd. However, I thought the ending was satisfying and I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the book.

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Sadly this book just wasnt for me I couldn't get into it at all the characters didnt grab me so, unfortunately, it is a DNF. As I have not finished I would rather not publish any reviews on goodreads

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First in the Christmas Village series. Rose Willoughby owns Plum Cottage and she has a group of travelling entertainer staying at her B&B. As she is hanging he mistletoe the manager (and scrooge) of the group runs into Rose as she is hanging the mistletoe. Rose’s ankle is injured and she needs help to run the cottage and finish baking for the Christmas Village festivities. Her friend Maribell Clause comes to stay at the cottage and when all the guests come down for breakfast one is missing Mr. Snipes the manager. As they are about to search for him Dr. Pontifex (local loner and keeper of local lore and myths) comes screaming about a dead body that has been killed by a mythical bird that leaves a bell on its victims. Sure enough the body appears to been dropped on the hill where there are no other footprints disturbing the snow not even the victim. Guess Maribell is known for solving puzzles and is willing to try and work on this as well as stay with Rose since there is a murderer staying at plum cottage. Another murder happens and it appears to be just as mysterious as the first with the only the victims footprints leading to the spot he is found and a different set of footprints leaving the body. Very creative murders and crime scenes and all makes sense at the end when you realize what clues were laid out for you along the way. Enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next in the series.

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A mystery = I am interested

A murder mystery = I am invested

A murder mystery with clues = I am itching to play the sleuth

A murder mystery with clues and a revealing "this is what that happened" = now you are talking my language.

And T. C. Wescott did indeed speak my language.

This was my first book by this author, and it gave an aura of a cute old time mystery. If you have read books for as long as I have, you will enjoy this book and appreciate those snippets of timelessness in this book.

A cute cozy village with different eccentric people, a bumbling sheriff, his reasonably sane deputy, a cackling effervescent mayor, a sweet, charming inn owner Rose, and the delightful intelligent omniscient MRS. MIRABEL CLAUS whose brain was a sponge which absorbed and stored all the clues and analyzed it later like a jigsaw puzzle.

Amidst this entered an entertainer group for the village festival before Christmas with various talents like the man on stilts, a strong man, a magician, an acrobat, and a psychic. And 2 of them got themselves murdered in mysterious circumstances by a disappearing ghoul. The mystery started, time to wear my detective cap!!

The book progressed slowly and some parts dragged for me, the rest showed me the lives of various people with their relationships, clues were scattered all around, tarts and puddings seemed scrumptious (I had a few chocolate chip cookies while reading the book, and I don't even like them, so I blame the author for this craving). The writing had an golden era charm to it, I could identify it with the books read in the decades past.

The story allowed me to play the supersleuth, I did guess how one of the murders occurred but the other eluded me. One out of two, was still a good score. I think author T. C. Wescott should deputize me, give me a sheriff's badge for the next book..

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Slay Bells by T. C. Wescott was one of the books I finished on New Year’s Eve. I had two current reads that I wanted to finish before the end of the year, which I did, this one and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. They winded up my year’s reading and my Christmas books.

Slay Bells is probably the most Christmassy mystery I’ve read. It takes place in Christmas Village during the annual Christmas festival and stars Mrs. Maribel Claus as our amateur detective. She has plenty of time on her hands this time of year, since her husband is so busy in his workshop.

The entertainers lodging in Plum Cottage are hired for the festival, but then one of them is murderer in a rather mysterious way. The actual villagers are never suspects. The killer is obviously a member of the troupe, no one else could have a motive.

I loved the holiday atmosphere, the customs and stories of Christmas Village. The characters are fun and quirky, although Sheriff Fell doesn’t seem terribly competent. I did like Mrs. Claus’s ferrets though. The clues were well-done and the wrap-up handled well.

The book has a reading guide in the back, but it’s a little different than usual. It’s divided into chapters and you/your book group is encouraged to read the chapters indicated then look at the questions related to them. In theory, they should help you figure out who the killer was. It’s a neat idea, but I didn’t do it. Maybe I should have, maybe I would have known who the murderer was.

This is a perfect read for the holidays. I’m hoping #2 will be out next Christmas.

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It takes a lot for me to walk away from a book duriing the first chapter, and in this case, it was "a lot of excess words". It felt like an author was told to flesh out an idea and instead of giving new details just added more synonyms.

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This was such an enjoyable read! It was lovely getting to know the village of Christmas; it reminded me of what you might see on a Hallmark movie. The plot was great and kept me guessing. I loved that it was a quick, easy read. There was also some humor, which I always love in books. The perfect cozy read for Christmas time!

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A charming murder mystery set in a village called Christmas! And Christmas and all its old traditions are certainly the most important thing to its inhabitants. Set during the week before Christmas Day a troupe of circus performers are staying in Rose Willoughby's guesthouse as part of the magnificent entertainment laid on in the village which draws in visitors from far and wide. All is going well until Rose sprains her ankle and her great friend and fellow cook Maribel Claus jumps in to help out. A good thing as it happens since the troupe's manager is found murdered and Maribel has a talent for seeking out the truth. From the Sheriff and the Doc to the Elders there are some fantastic and very individual characters who are well described, and this turns out to be a great whodunit (not to mention HOW did they do it?!) Heartwarming and most enjoyable, I would certainly like to read more of the adventures of the inhabitants of Christmas village.

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T.C. Wescott's Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery is a very nice holiday cozy with a good mystery. Well written!

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This is a solid cozy mystery with some fun characters and mysterious deaths to unravel.

Plum Cottage Inn is housing a traveling troupe that is in town as entertainment for the Christmas Festival. The troupe includes a magician, a strongman, a juggler who walks on stilts, an acrobat and a fortuneteller. The troupe leader is a tyrannical, complaining man who is assisted by the troupe’s efficient arranger. The Inn’s proprietor, Rose, is happy to share local myths and folklore and is busy with holiday preparations until she injures her ankle. Fortunately, her very good friend, Maribel Claus, steps in to help. That puts Maribel, who is a keen observer and lover of puzzles, in the middle of the mystery when death comes knocking.

The first victim is the unpleasant troupe leader who has no shortage of people who would be glad to see him gone. He is discovered on the top of a small hill outside of the Inn with no evidence of footprints or obvious murder weapon. This creates the first puzzle that pulls Maribel in to help the local sheriff to his frustration and reluctant acknowledgment of her skills. The investigation is serious in its efforts even as they try to ignore a local character who insists that monsters of folklore have descended on the town.

Several of the troupe members are easily suspected but the authorities are struggling to put together definitive evidence. A second murder occurs leaving another puzzling path as there are no footsteps leading to the spot of death other than the victim and then the footprints leading away from the body don’t match any of the suspects.

I enjoyed the cozy writing style although the beginning seemed a little busy and full of characters. As the book proceeds the characters are sorted out with the help of the investigation. It was fun to have the clues and theories bounced around committee consisting of the sheriff, his deputy, the town mayor, a local professor and, of course, Maribel. This is a solid cozy mystery and I recommend to fans of the genre.

Source: NetGalley.

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Maribel Claus is helping her friend with her guesthouse as Rose has injured herself. The lodgers start to die in unusual circumstances and Mrs Claus begins to investigate. The village is quirky and magical with unusual characters.

There's a puzzle and red herrings and the characters are likeable . A fun and easy to read novel.

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I felt like there was so much in this book that was not necessary and it was a bit boring for me.  I was skimming a little too much and was getting so frustrated trying to get to something of magnitude. I also felt like the resolution was not satisfactory for me. I had an inclination about who the murderer was the entire time but didn't have enough information about the characters themselves to really figure out more of it.
I found the book a little corny but most cozy mysteries really are. I also felt the Christmas Village and our Clause character was too a bit corny but again, expected. I did love the village traditions and found myself wishing I lived there (just not when a murderer is on the loose).
Even with my issues and me skimming through quite a bit, I was still interested in finding out how the murders happened as the murder itself was a bit mysterious and hard to comprehend. This won't be a read that I read again but I would recommend it to someone who enjoys a cozy mystery.

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Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery is murder mystery like no other. Although it follow that the theme of a mystery murder, it has surprising twist that led you wanting to know more. The characters are thoughtful and engaging within in this thriller. It’s magic captivates the audience and keeps them turning the page. I’d recommend this to anyone seeking and adventure or loving a good murder mystery.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This book was a fun read, very interesting characters and many twists and surprises along the way. This isn't your typical Christmas book. It gives you the holiday spirit while thinking and having mysteries all around. I recommend this book as a fun read. And you will never guess who Mrs. Clause is married to. :)

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I really enjoy cosy mysteries and was excited to pick this one up. They're usually pretty quick reads and since this one is set in Christmas Village it seemed the perfect Christmas read for me. Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I was super bored and I really struggled finishing it. Especially about 50% in I REALLY wanted to DNF this one, it already took me longer to read the first half than I expected to take for the whole book. Probably the only reason I didn't DNF it was because it was a review book, and I hate DNFing books, it's not something I usually do. Definitely not mysteries, as I'm always curious to see who did it and how.

The characters were quite bland and I just don't care for them at all. There wasn't anything special about them either way and they're incredibly forgettable. The mystery was so so, it started out pretty interesting but somehow it just didn't intrigue me. The first murder seems impossible and that should've made me want to read more and more but I was simply bored. While this was a pretty short book, it still felt too long. There wasn't enough happening and I wanted to skip ahead multiple times. The reveal in the ending wasn't that shocking and I'm not sure it the way the 'impossible' murder was committed is even possible.

All in all this isn't a bad book, but there is nothing compelling about it either. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone as it's very forgettable and there are so many more enjoyable cosy mysteries out there.

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When I first started reading I found the writing style a little old-fashioned but I soon got used to it and got lost in the story.
Rose (Willoughby) has a troupe of street performers staying at her lodging house in Christmas Village in the lead up to Christmas. When the Manager of the troupe is found dead in the snow on Plum Hill near the house the police start to investigate with the help of Rose’s friend Maribel Clause.
With very little to go on they are struggling to find the killer when another member for the troupe is murdered and another one goes missing. Can Maribel unmask the killer before anyone else dies?
Although I did guess who the killer was before they were revealed it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book.

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a mystery , a murder is happening in christmas village. the police needs h elp and an elderly woman Maribel is the one who solves the murder. entertaining to read

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Christmas is upon us once again, the cold winter nights making us long for a warm blanket and a cozy read.  Slay Bells is the perfect choice for readers tired of Christmas reruns, and looking for something fresh and seasonal.  Christmas Village is a magical place, far removed from the city, and steeped in tradition. But when a troupe of carnies visiting the town begin dying one by one, it’s time for Mrs. Claus to step in. Yes she might or might not be that Mrs Claus, but she is one heck of a perceptive lady, which is a big help, as the hapless sheriff is not equipped for a real investigation.  Part of Slay Bells charm is Wescott’s kindness in depicting the villagers’ quirks and foibles. It makes the characters endearing, even though you know someone will be unmasked as a killer.


Slay Bells not going to win any awards, but I can say the novel brought a smile to my face.  The idea of Mrs Claus as a sleuth is definitely an original one.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Slay Bells from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


-- Crittermom

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Another 5 star read. Awesome story line, great characters. Loved every minute of reading this book. 5 stars

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A delightful holiday read set in a fanciful place called Christmas Village that from the first page to the last grips the reader. Wescott's amateur sleuth Maribel Claus, her friend Rose, and Sheriff Fell are a welcome addition to the ranks of the cozy mystery genre. Combining the quirky and fanciful aspects of Christmas traditions with the harsh realities of human cruelty and fallibility makes the book enjoyable and believable. I hope that Wescott will continue the series and that I can enjoy spending time with his characters each Christmas.

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