Christmas Beginning / Anne Perry 190 p.

This Christmas offering from Anne Perry is set in Victorian times. It features returning character, Superintendent Runcorn. Runcorn seeks a respite from his depressing London scene. He runs headlong into a brutal murder on an isolated Welsh isle-- Olivia Costain, the sister of the local vicar. Olivia Costain rejected several suitors from the area. She was lively and wished a more exciting time that that to be had in Anglesey. The local constable is out of his depth. Runcorn questions residents multiple times and gradually a working theory emerges. Melisande Ewart is quite unaware of his love interest. He, in part, is working to protect her. As a towns person points out, if the murder remains unsolved, then everyone in Anglesey is suspect.