2.5 stars. Dive into the holidays and 19th century England while finding the truth behind a dangerous man (November 2020).
(Photo Credit: Amazon)
In the days leading up to Christmas, a small village in 19th century England looks like a snow globe: streets are blanketed in alabaster, crimson and gold bows embellish streetlights, and holly and mistletoe wreaths adorn front doors. But for Celia Hooper, wife of Detective Hooper, not all is as it should be. Her closest friend, Clementine Appleby, is recently engaged to Seth Marlow, a man Celia believes is deeply dangerous—and unless Celia and her husband can prevent the marriage and find out the truth about Seth, Clementine’s life may be changed forever. In bestselling author Anne Perry’s newest holiday mystery, Celia must make an important conclusion about the real meaning of forgiveness, judgement, love, and—above all—friendship.
Perry’s novel is a quick, 193-page-read which is historically accurate, clear, and offers a resolution filled with morals pertinent to the holidays. My favorite feature of the book was how well it drew me into the late 19th century. Not only is Celia’s life closely reminiscent of the time period, so is Perry’s writing; conversations, sentences, and thought-processes are those of a past era. In fact, it almost seems as if Perry traveled back to the 19th century to write the novel, with phrases such as, “What did your father do? What was his work? [Celia] knew that was the standard by which people were apt to judge, however it had little to do with a person’s worth.” While it was a major difference from the modern tone of my usual reads, I appreciated the extent to which Perry emulated the time period, something many historical fiction books struggle with.
Celia felt like a natural main character to lead the story. On her own, her traits are not especially unique, but her thought process is where the novel shines. She provides golden insights about marriage, what makes a solid relationship, bravery, and what it means to really forgive someone. Celia is not weak—rather, she is strong-willed and brave—but her position in society also reflects the norms of the time, a careful balance which the author maintains throughout the story.
Despite enjoying Celia’s characterization, as well as that of some other characters, I found Seth’s character to be plain and, quite honestly, annoyingly predictable. Though Seth has an intriguing backstory which Perry untangles as the book progresses, Seth’s reflection on his past feels stereotypical and overused. I left the book feeling like Seth had no character development, and was instead made to be a flat target for all the characters to take issue with. Personally, I enjoy characters with complicated twists who have clear reasons for their actions, and found the one-dimensional characterization to get on my nerves.
Beyond this, even though the book was short, I ended somehow feeling like it didn’t even need to be the 193 pages it was. Though Celia’s thought process was intricate, at times it felt monotonous and repetitive to the point where I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes, and I overall felt as though Perry could have deleted entire pages with no consequences to her plot.
Finally, I found the plot predictable and, just like Seth’s characterization, flat. I like to think of plots as paths taking the reader through an unknown landscape—and if we use that analogy, the path for A Christmas Resolution would have been ruler-straight, lacking the satisfying meanders that hold readers in suspense. I found myself eager to finish the book not because I was desperate to understand what happened, but rather because I wanted to end the monotony of reading it. Let’s just put it this way: I would have found A Christmas Resolution fascinating for an English literature class, but, for what I was expecting as an enthralling historical thriller, I was let down.
Comentarios