This is a story based on some biographical information about Charles Dickens, as well a lot of fiction. It’s a murder mystery involving Dickens and his fiancé, Kate Hogarth. You will recognize many characters from the original story by Dickens.

There were flaws, including repetition and pacing issues, but somehow I really enjoyed it because of my nostalgia for A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third and final book in the ‘A Dickens of a Crime’ mystery series by Heather Redmond.
A young journalist Charles Dickens is reporting on a fire in Herefordshire when he is approached by a young servant girl carrying a baby. She declares this is the child of her deceased sister and Mr. Dickens. Unsure of what to do, he takes the child back to London and placed in the care of his friends Julie and William.
To add a bit of spice to this story, on a chilly evening of caroling to raise money for charity, Charles accompanied by his fiancée Kate, friends and family witness the chained body of Jacob Harley fall out of a window on the property of counting house owner, the elderly Emmanuel Screws. The body of Harley disappears in the care of the undertaker and haunts Dickens home to lure him away from investigating this case. Here is the basis of this wonderful novel and where our journey begins.
With great writing, dialogue and interesting characters, The descriptions, sights and sounds transported me to Life in 1835 London.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, I would like to thank NetGalley, Kensington Press and Heather Redmond for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

More of a 3.5 rounded to 3

This is Book 3 in the Dickens of a Crime Mystery Series. I haven't read either of the first 2 books but, despite references to the earlier books, it didn't make this difficult to read.

What made this one difficult to read was the pace. It has a cozy mystery feel to it but with absolutely no thrill or action. It was slow from beginning to end. The mystery itself was pushed along by a lot of conversing which after pages and pages can become a bit tedious to read.

I really enjoyed the fact that this is a historical mystery series with Charles Dickens as the MC. I also loved the references to the actual book A Christmas Carol. That being said I don't think I will go back and read the first 2 books as this one didn't capture my interest.

I appreciate NetGalley gifting this E-Book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

Charles Dickens and his fiancé Kate Hogarth find themselves in an upside down version of Dickens' most famous (well, to some anyway) tale. They are out caroling when they see Mr, Harley plummet from the window of a building owned by his business partner Mr. Screws. Did Screws murder him? There's more afoot than meets the eye for these two sleuths, especially after - wait for it- Harley's ghost appears. There's a cameo by Cratchit and other Dickens characters. I've been a fan of the series - which I think has improved- and this would be fine as a standalone. I did, however, find the Christmas Carol references distracting from the more enjoyable pairing of Charles and Kate. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

A cosy mystery based quite cleverly on the life of Charles Dickens and his fiancee Kate Hogarth.

I enjoyed this book especially the way it presented Dickens in a fictional tale but with biographical facts about his life as well. I am sure he did not act as an amateur detective in real life though but he certainly does here. Events drag him into not one but two related murders and after a great deal of bumbling around he does in fact solve them.

I enjoyed the background of Dickensian London with its smells, overcrowding, poverty and fog. I liked many of the characters as well as Charles and Kate and will be happy to read more about them.

As my first read by this author and the by in this series, because of the famous main protagonist, I googled Dickens biography, as an eternal romantic, I just hope this fictional self and his soon-to-be wife have a better ending than their real counterparts.

While I had difficulties to enter fully the story, I loved the little hints peppering the pages as many clues about how A Christmas Carol came to life. From the staged ghost to the names of the protagonists and so on. It was so fun to pick up the tiny or not so tiny details sprinkling the tale.
Then at half mark I was finally in there. Once everything was on the table, I was glued to Dickens’ steps.
While in some ways I understand Dickens’ choices, I do not agree with him about not confiding in his betrothed and brother, it would have saved him some heartaches. I hated that Kate was relegated to be a side-character, she has no voice in this tale but it was alas the place of women in this time. The Victorian area was a Puritan one, full of hypocrisy. I much disliked his future-in-laws (but his father was close-by), how self-righteous they acted, ready to condemn and blame without even a trial.
He is a better man than me, I am a full of empathy woman but I would not have so easily forgiven to have been so quickly dismissed without even a hearing.

I much liked his friend William and his wife Julie and their new ward Lucy. But how sad is the treatment of Johnny Dorset. It is even a miracle he was not sent to an asylum as it was the place for the misunderstood, the insanes or those suffering from down syndromes or autistic disorder.
4 stars

I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Kensington Books and Netgalley, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

As Christmas draws ever closer, Charles has a number of problems arise that leave him feeling anything but festive. Charles is out caroling with friends and family in an effort to raise money for charity when things take a tragic turn. Outside the house of Emmanuel Screw, Charles and his fiance Kate witness a body fall from the second story window with what appears to be chains wrapped around its neck. Turns out the body belongs to Jacob Harley, business partner to the cantankerous Emmanuel Screw. Naturally suspicion immediately falls on Emmanuel however Charles isn't so sure and starts his own investigation. However before the investigation can even begin, Jacob Harley's body disappears and Charles is sure Jacob's ghost has starting appearing at his own lodgings. As if this is not enough to contend with, Charles is also tasked with finding a new home for a infant whose mother has perished that is thrust upon him with allegations that he is in fact the father. Charles must tread carefully and quickly in both endeavors if he hopes to spend a carefree holidays with his loved ones
A Christmas Carol Murder is, as the name suggests, is a creative spin on an adored classic, that is perfect for readers to add to their holiday reading lists. The story details Charles' life as a journalist before the publication of his first novel. Although Charles never acted as a novice detective, Redmond's novels in the Once Upon a Dickens series will have readers believing it just might have been possible. There are fascinating descriptions of society and everyday life in London during this time period as well as a peek into what a Christmas celebration looked like before the publication of a Christmas Carol. I highly recommend this book for fans of A Christmas Carol as well as those looking for a festive murder mystery perfect to gift or read during the holidays.

I have a fondness for the works of Charles Dickens so of course I was drawn to this, the third in the series. Charles is a young 23 year old journalist, would be writer and engaged to Kate. He also has a big secret he's keeping from her this December. Sometime earlier he left London on assignment to another town and was presented with a baby. The woman relinquishing the child claims that Charles is the father. Such is not the case but he takes the child and then turns him over to friends until he figures out what to do next. If that wasn't enough for him to juggle, he and Kate go caroling only to have a man pitched out a window to land, dead, at their feet. did his business partner do the deed or somebody else? Charles has one opinion and Kate has another. The search for the answer begins.
I enjoyed the connections to the Christmas Carol as we know it with the idea that this event planted the seeds of the published story in Charles' mind. The pace of the mystery was on the slow side but the descriptions of 1835 London with its glory and grime, made me glad I didn't live in those days. An enjoyable puzzle with the expected twists, turns and red herrings.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third in a series of Dickens's re-imaginings with Charles Dickens as the main character. As you can guess this is a retelling of his classic A Christmas Carol. It comes with all the classic characters including a "ghost".
A few days before Christmas Dickens is sent to a nearby town to cover a deadly fire and is mistaken for the father of a bastard baby Timothy. Dickens enlists his friends to help care for the boy because he cannot let his fiance know about the baby until he finds the real father. As they are out caroling one night a body falls from the house they are caroling at. Something does not seem right so Dickens begins to investigate.
It was definitely an interesting re-imagining in the fact that they are normally just putting the base story in a different environment but this one thought about it as if what is an event in Dickens life that would become A Christmas Carol. You could see this being the basis for a story he writes years later.I think this made me like the book more than I would have if it had just been a retelling.

THE MYSTERY DIDN'T CAPTIVATE ME, BUT I LIKED IT ALL THE SAME

This is one of those rare books where I have a long list of things I didn't enjoy. And yet, overall, I liked this book. It certainly had flaws in my opinion, but it was still enjoyable. The thing is, though... I can't exactly pinpoint what it was, that made it enjoyable 🤷‍♀️

👍 What I Liked 👍

A Christmas Carol: I absolutely adore A Christmas Carol and I really liked seeing all of the references to that story, disguised here as 'inspiration' for Dickens. I liked that the story was sort of constructed in a way that implied that this story was actually what inspired Dickens to write A Christmas Carol.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Secrets: One of my big reading pet peeves is secrets that blow up in the characters face. Whenever I encounter a character, who decides to keep a secret, however well meaning, from someone they love, I know how it's going to end. It will be exposed, there will be a fall out, and then they will get back together again in the end. It just doesn't work for me. I see through it every time. It's so tired.

Mystery: I'll admit that the mystery did not do it for me either. It was just not thrilling or exciting. Mostly, it was Dickens going back and forth between the same people over and over again. There weren't really any leads, evidence or anything to go on, it was just a string of slightly boring conversations.

Pace: The pace was really slow and it almost felt like the story never really god started. Probably because a lot of the story was just dialogue between the characters. I needed something more. Some more action.

No Kate: What I really liked about the previous installment was Dickens' fiance, Kate. Sadly, she was missing for most of this book and the story really suffered from her absence.

"A Christmas Carol Murder" is a mystery set in 1835 in England. It's the third in a series. You don't need to read the previous book to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

Vivid historical and setting details were woven into the story. The author tried to stay true to what is known about Charles Dickens' career and lifestyle in his early twenties. The main characters were interesting and acted realistically. I cared about what happened to them. Charles asked questions and otherwise investigated, but the other characters weren't able to help him. Kate hardly played a role in this one. Charles was busy trying to prove that he was not the father of an illegitimate son, save the mudlarks from a bad situation, and juggle all of the jobs he had to do, so I suppose it's not surprising that he took a while to catch on to what I guessed near the beginning. However, the exact details weren't guessable until the confession (especially as even the murderer wasn't sure how Harley managed fall out the window).

There were a couple uses of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.

I will say this was a better book read than the previous ones were when I listened to them. That said, it was still not a great book [not horrible by any means, just not fantastic. Maybe it was reading about Christmas when it was 85 degrees. Who knows?] for me. Probably some of the issue was that I am so very familiar with The Christmas Carol story that this story felt weird to me [and I did spend a considerable amount of time wondering how the character "Charles Dickens" was going to write ACC from the murder he solved; because I am weird like that] and I struggled with some of it I think because of that. I also had huge issues with Kate and her family in this one. To not believe someone who is not only in your employ, but engaged to your daughter - to not even let him defend himself and then to besmirch his good name...NOT OKAY!!! I get that Dickens loves Kate, but man, I would have walked away from that hot mess in a minute with no looking back. Especially at the end. SO rude. I know it was a different time, but the idea that the character of a man could change so abruptly seemed ludicrous to me.
The mystery part was good; I was pretty sure I knew the who and the why, but there were a few surprises that were fun and I liked how Charles persevered, even in the face of losing all he loved. I also loved how Julie [and William] stepped up and took on the responsibility of two charges and thrived. They are turning into excellent side characters and I enjoyed the limited time we had with them in this book. I also am liking Fred more and more; he is maturing and really starting to be a good companion for his brother and I hope we see more of him in future books.
Overall, it was a decent read. I wish they were about 50-60 pages shorter, but even that I can get around. I am not sure what is missing exactly to keep these from being 4 [or above] star reads, but it is something. But whatever it is isn't enough to make me NOT want to read these and I will be looking forward to reading her next one after its written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to discover this book and the series it belongs to. The idea of Charles Dickens as the MC is wonderful and I liked the mystery. It moved a little slowly in the beginning but picked up later on. Thank you so very much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to review!

Thank you to Netgalley, Heather Redmond, and Kensington Publishing Corporation for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I quite enjoyed this story and am so happy I came across it! A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite classics, and one of my favourite Christmas stories, so reading a book such as this one was a great opportunity! It was Sherlock Holmes-esque in some ways, and what fun for the main character to be Charles Dickens?!? The parallels to the original story were quite fun, although there were certain aspects I would have liked to see more of. It was also nice that while this took place in the 1800s modern language was used!

I liked the flow and pace of the story and the situations and events that take place are very fitting of the time. It is incredible to look at how judgemental we are these days and after realizing how judgemental people were in the 1800s that we have actually made advancements in this respect!

I would love to try more of this series and can’t wait to pick them up!

This is a fictional murder mystery novel, which puts Charles Dickens as an amateur detective in this novel. The title is a tweaking of the Dickens novel A Christmas Carol. In this novel, we meet characters who could be the model for the Dickens characters in A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol is my favorite novel by Charles Dickens.

I received a free Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

My first in the series and NOT my last! I am kicking myself for not knowing this series existed. Dickens is a great character and if you love him as a writer, you will fall in love with him as a character.

Fun! I enjoyed reading A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond. One of my all-time favorite books is A Christmas Carol so each time Ms. Redmond presented a twist on the original, it was an "ah ha" moment! Very creative!

I received an advanced reader copy through Net Galley. This is my voluntarily given, honest opinion.

I’ve read the first two books on the series and really enjoyed them. I do think this book wouldn’t work that well as a standalone but I liked it and would definitely recommend the entire series. This was a clever take on ‘A Christmas Carol’ back when Dickens was still a journalist. The whodunit has me guessing the entire time, I didn’t know who the murderer was until the reveal, which is always the sign of a good mystery.

If you’re a fan of historical mysteries, this book and the entire series are well written and intelligent and I highly recommend them.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest review.
I love the Christmas Carol by Dickens and that is why I wanted to read this story. It’s a creative take on the original but now Dickens is an investigative reporter and he is working on solving a murder. You feel as if you are right in the time period as the descriptions of the setting are excellent. I wasn’t aware this is the third installment in the series. I will have to read the other two, but this worked as a stand-alone too.
I recommend this one.

Reading this book, I determined that it runs flat. I read the book hoping that it would get to the part of a murder or at least a billed up. I found the characters had a good dialogue. Although the dialogue was ok, I felt they discussed random things that provided no contribution to the issue at hand. I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy. <img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/4c2082eade28a9b5297515683f15ceaa5f1ea57d" width="80" height="80" alt="10 Book Reviews" title="10 Book Reviews"/>