My Third Novel
The Christmas Tree Murders
It is December 1884, and we have a murder to solve.
Come, my friend – follow me, for we have much to see this yuletide season.
First, a house: a brand-new country estate, with all the latest technological innovations – electric light-bulbs, running water, dumb-waiters, hydraulic lifts.
Second, a family: celebrated inventor Sir Russell Morgan, his grown-up children, his elegant new wife.
Next, their guests: the great and the good (well, the rich), dressed in all their finery, eager to celebrate Christmas at Clifftop House.
And finally: a body – for what festive mystery would be complete without one? Here lies one of the servants, laid out beneath the Christmas-tree, his hands covered in burns.
The police dismiss his death as an accident, but our heroine, Millie – kitchenmaid and keen reader of sensation novels – is not so sure.
Christmas Day is fast approaching. Can the mystery be solved before the killer strikes again?
Praise for The Christmas Tree Murders
‘A fabulous book. I was immersed from the very first page. Katie Lumsden writes with wonderful style, confidence, and absolute control. The Christmas-Tree Murders is superb entertainment, a rich puzzle imbued with all the splendour of the Victorian Gothic’
Tom Mead
‘The perfect read to curl up with on Christmas Day. I was completely immersed in the windswept, snowy surrounds of Clifftop House, captivated by the charming and wry omniscient narrator from the very first line, and thoroughly entertained by the eclectic cast of characters who have plenty of secrets between them’
Lexy Hudson
‘Delightfully festive and irresistibly addictive, The Christmas Tree Murders is an essential addition to your Christmas list. Just brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!’
Jessica Bull
‘This immersive Victorian treat of a book is packed with fascinating characters and clues. It's an absolute delight’
Josie Lloyd
‘This is a proper Victorian murder mystery that kept me turning the pages to find out whodunnit. A perfect Christmas read’
Louise Hare
‘Uniquely voiced, and murderously charming, this thoroughly beguiling whodunnit should be under everyone’s Christmas tree this year’
Lisa Timoney
‘A deliciously entertaining murder mystery with a unique historical setting. I loved the feast of characters, especially the unstoppable Millie, and the very original narrator was a touch of genius’
Sarah Dunnakey
‘Imagine Janice Hallett writing a Victorian murder mystery, and you have this book – a perfect Christmas read’
Emily Koch
Welcome to Clifftop House . . .
Map by Jeff Edwards