Book Review - Cyanide with Christie

Cyanide wit Christie
By:  Katherine Bolger Hyde
Published By:  Severn House Publishers
Publication Date:  March 1, 2019
3 Stars

It’s almost Christmas and Emily Cavanaugh is getting ready to welcome her first guests to Windy Corner, her Victorian home which she has recently converted into a writers’ retreat.  An extremely fierce storm is headed to the area, and Emily hopes that all of her guests will be able to make it there before travel becomes too difficult.  All of her guests eventually arrive safely except for one that backed out at the last moment.  That space would not remain vacant long, for an unexpected visitor, Cruella Crime, shows up.  Not only does Emily take an immediate dislike to her brash manner, but she is also dismayed at the tension she seems to cause the other guests.  As much as Emily would like to show her the door, she knows she can’t turn her out in the middle of this storm.  After several strained days, Christmas arrives and Emily hopes that everyone will be able to get into the spirit and enjoy the day.  Those hopes are shattered when Cruella Crime is found dead in her room.  All signs point to poison, and the atmosphere in the house turns even more uneasy as everyone tries to deal with the fact that a murderer is among them.

The premise of this book seems rather unoriginal.  We have a college professor who inherits a house and decides to open up a writers’ retreat. I felt like this has been done before.

Having said that, I found the story itself to be very enjoyable.  I adored all the references to Agatha Christie’s books.  I also enjoyed the fact that we had a strong villain who becomes the victim as it adds a moral dilemma angle to the story.  All of the suspects must wrestle with the thoughts of being glad the world is rid of such a toxic person, to whether or not she deserved to die.  The other characters all help to round out the story.  The author does a good job developing their storylines and bringing them to a satisfying close at the end.  I think that readers of cozy mysteries and those that like books about books will enjoy this story.

Thanks to Net Galley and Severn House Publishers for an ARC of this book.  #NetGalley #CyanideWithChristie