We’re continuing the Ada Moncrieff read-through with the nect of her Christmas mysteries, Murder at the Theatre Royale. We’ve moved on from Hugh to a new protagonist (and a surprisingly popular type). Daphne is an agony aunt for a London newspaper who longs for a “real” beat. She talks her way into covering a new production of A Christmas Carol for the culture section. This places her at the scene when the lead actor dies.

A middling mystery

This mystery is… fine. It’s fine. Moncrieff sets Daphne up as a somewhat experienced investigator – she’s already friends with a police inspector and seems to know her way around an investigation. I’m not sure it’s exactly fair-play, but it generally tracks what I think of as the modern cozy crime formula. That is, Daphne does a lot of investigating, and when we decide whodunnit, it tracks as much as any other solution. It’s also interesting that the writing references Daphne’s extensive investigative background – but we don’t ever learn specifics. Feels very much like a case of “show, don’t tell”.

Like Murder Most Festive, this story wants to be an homage to the Golden Age. But there’s not quite enough meat on the bone to pull that off. Still, there’s been definite improvement in the writing, character development, and mystery overall. Daphne in particular is more fun to read than Hugh Galveston, and she’s the character that kept me reading. The rest of the cast can be hit-or-miss, a bit more tropey than real at times. That contributes significantly to the underwhelm on the mystery – harder to feel engaged with characters that feel a bit stock.

Winter is not the same at Christmas

So what about the Christmas factor? Well.

Murder at the Theatre Royale is very much a winter novel, and only slightly a Christmas one. In the beginning of the novel, Daphne mentions wanting to avoid her family over the holiday. And later, she reviews A Christmas Carol. It avoids the worst elements of Murder Most Festive by avoiding murder actually during holiday festivities. And that, friends, is the extent of the holiday spirit in Murder at the Theatre Royale.

I would care less were these books not billed as “Christmas Mysteries” – that’s literally the series name. But if that’s your proposition, you’ve got have more Christmas spirit than setting.

Reader’s notes and rating: 🎁🎁🎁

Murder at the Theatre Royale is fine. If you’re looking for a cozy, winter-set mystery (and you don’t mind a bit of extraneous language), this will do wonderfully. If you enjoy female reporter stories, this will be right up your alley. (And if you enjoy queer protagonists, Daphne is a fun one!) Just don’t look for the strongest Christmas flavor – this is more LaCroix than Sprite.

3 Christmas presents.

Tomorrow, more Ada Moncrieff – and more Daphne King! Until then – stay cozy, and stay curious!