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On one of Charles Dickens’ journalist assignments, a baby is thrust upon him claiming he is the father. Charles asks friends to care for it in secret. Out caroling with family and friends, Charles and his fiancée Kate witness the body of counting house partner Jacob Harley falls out of a window wearing chains around his neck. Before the body can be buried, it vanishes and what appears to be Jacob Harley’s ghost shows up at Charles’ home. He also tries to find the baby’s relatives without his fiancée finding out.

A Christmas Carol Murder is the third and final installment of A Dickens of a Crime by Heather Redmond, published by Kensington Books. The story is set in London England 1835. It is about Charles Dickens when he works as a journalist. Christmas draws close and Charles, his family and friends decide to go caroling to raise money for their charity. Outside counting house owner’s Emmanuel Screws property, the body of Jacob Harley falls out of a window wearing chains around his neck. While in the undertaker’s care, the body vanishes. What appears to be the ghost of Jacob Harley turns up at Charles’ lodgings attempting to scare him off the case. Charles tries to find Timothy’s relatives without ruining his engagement to Kate.

Main character young Charles Dickens tries to support himself as news paper journalist. When on breaks from his money paying endeavors he works on his book. I find him a well crafted, believable main character who cares for others around him and he is my favorite in this story.

Supporting character Emmanuel Screws is the counting house owner. As the story progresses I felt unsure what he was about. One minute he was on my suspect list, the next I felt he seemed just a nice old grandpa. He was my least favorite character of this story, but I think his character played a vital part in the drama of the story.

The writing style and dialogue I felt was fantastically unique. With a definite modern vibe it still felt authentic, helped by descriptions of interesting (but pretty unreliable) methods to find a murderer’s identity.
The story included fascinating descriptions of life in London at the time. The writing was so vivid, I felt almost a like a fly on the wall near Charles Dickens and the people around him. I particularly enjoyed reading about family life when Charles was invited to dinner at his in-laws.

Conclusion: The plot had me all baffled and confused towards the end and I could not stop reading until I knew who the culprit was. I read this story as a standalone, which worked perfectly. I enjoyed the hints to previous books, and I am excited to read the two previous installments in the series.

Fans of Heather Redmond will love this final installment in A Dickens of a Crime. Readers of crime fiction would also enjoy this book. Similar authors to explore might be Victoria Gilbert or Joanne Fluke
Thank you to publisher Kensington Books and NetGalley for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4 stars / 5
Main reasons: interesting seasonal plot, unique writing and dialogue, great ending