‘Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife’ by Martin Edwards

Published by Head of Zeus,
11 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-03591058-8 (HB)

Harry Crystal has thirty-two mystery novels to his name, but with his career stalling and a failed marriage he now lives alone in dowdy rented accommodation.  It’s no surprise, therefore, that he accepts an invitation to attend an all expenses paid Christmas break in Midwinter Village.  The unexpected offer includes an opportunity to take part in a mystery game with a special prize for the winner.  As Harry disembarks from the train at Midwinter Hall, he hopes his luck is about to change. 

Snow is falling as Harry waits outside the station for a promised chauffeur.  He is not alone.  When a Mercedes arrives, he and one other invitee are welcomed by their driver.  After a short, but increasingly treacherous drive, they reach their destination where Chandra Masood, “Head of People” at the Midwinter Trust, is on hand with maps of the area.  Unnerved by a surprisingly rigorous initial check in, Harry is relieved when he is at last permitted to mingle with the five other guests.  It soon transpires that they all have links with the world of crime fiction, and they have all fallen on hard times.  Bad blood between some of the characters adds spice to the retreat as contestants are encouraged to “Trust no one.”  Meanwhile, the snowfall has intensified and threatens to cut off the remote village; uncomfortable for the six guests, but the perfect prelude to a wicked Christmas crime!

The characters are delicious and inscrutable creations.  The six guests are encouraged to keep a journal as they try to work out the prize puzzle mystery, and the reader is given access to those written by Harry Crystal and a fellow guest called Poppy de Lisle.  These first-person reflections are woven through with a third person account that focuses on the six characters from the Midwinter Trust who have organised and are responsible for the Yuletide event.  The different narratives are skilfully managed alongside other text types that appear throughout the tale as past events begin to reach through fairy lights and tinsel to turn the seasonal Ho! Ho! Ho! into a communal No! No! No!

The concept of the novel is intriguing and unusual.  I thoroughly enjoyed pitting my wits against the brains behind this cosy crime mystery.  And, whilst I failed to solve the puzzle, it didn’t detract from the pleasure of being in the company of the Midwinter twelve and I rejoiced in my small successes along the way!

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife is unusual, engaging and very funny.  Characters who delight and deceive, an ever-increasing death toll, and red herrings galore, the perfect recipe for a Merry Christmas. 
Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent  

Martin Edwards is the author of 21 novels, including the Lake District Mysteries and the Rachel Savernake books, and also an acclaimed history of crime fiction, The Life of Crime. He received the CWA Diamond Dagger for the sustained excellence of his work. He has also won the Edgar, Agatha, CrimeFest H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards, the Short Story Dagger and Dagger in the Library, plus the Poirot award for his contribution to the genre.  

 https://martinedwardsbooks.com        
www.doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.