A wonderful holiday mystery to cozy up with on a cold winter's night. The quirky characters make the plot line even better. The perfect book to read by Christmas Tree light while sipping eggnog. I wish all holiday mysteries were this entertaining!

The synopsis of this book is so very appealing to a Christmas crime addict like me. A snowy village setting in the week leading up to the big day, where almost everyone and everything has a Christmas name. Murder is committed and local ‘sage’ is tasked to solve it.
Sounds like the perfect December reading recipe.
Unfortunately, merely calling things cute names and having a few eccentric characters isn’t enough for me. I struggled from almost the start of this book, finally admitted defeat about a third of the way though and turned to the end to see who did it. Then realised I didn’t care anyway! The writing is pedestrian at best, I felt like I was just reading a list of dialogue from one dimensional characters. The denouement wasn’t much of a surprise either.
I’m sure this will appeal to some, but I like a bit more to get my sleuthing teeth in to.
Thank you to the publisher for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

A fun and festive read, Slay Bells is a cosy murder-mystery guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

It’s Christmas Village’s most wonderful time of year when all the inhabitants are preparing for the annual, week-long Christmas Festival.

But all is not right at Plum Cottage, as a troupe of entertainers in town for the festival are shocked at the death of their manager, Mr Stipes.

But this wasn’t just any death. Mr Stipes was murdered and left atop Plum hill, with no footprints going up or down in the snow. The town is baffled as to how the murder was committed, and who committed it.

As the village tries to go on with the festival, Sherriff Fell, along with the help of Maribel Claus, try to quell rumours of a Glockenvogel (or giant mythical bird) while working to find the murderer before they strike again.

In my opinion, there are four things that make a great murder-mystery and Slay Bells has them all.

Firstly, you need a suitable setting and if Christmas Village isn’t the perfect setting for a cosy mystery then nothing is.

It’s like every village from Midsomer Murders rolled into one. It’s got a town hall and council (or Elders as they’re called here), a historical society, gossipy villagers, cute cottages, and so much more that make it an ideal place to get engrossed in.

Secondly, you need a seemingly unsolvable murder. A locked-room murder, if you will.

While there’s no locked room in Slay Bells there is a body at the top of a hill with no footprints going up or down. How could the murderer have climbed up and down the hill without leaving any mark in the snow? It’s seemingly impossible!

Thirdly, a list of suspects, all with their own motive for wanting to kill the victim.

The troupe of entertainers make up this list, with an acrobat, a magician, a juggler, a strong-man, a psychic, and their beautiful assistant, all with their own grudges and gripes against the dead man. Freakin’ perfect.

Lastly, a great murder-mystery needs an investigator who leaves no stone unturned when trying to find the murderer. Maribel Claus is the investigator in this book, along with Sherriff Fell, the local head policeman.

I was a bit worried when I started this book first, as I thought Maribel was going to be a Miss Marple knockoff.

I hate Miss Marple.

I know, I know, it’s an unpopular opinion. But I just think she’s a nosy cow who needs to mind her own damn business, and she annoys me so much!

So I wasn’t looking forward to reading about another old lady sticking her nose into police business.

But Maribel is nowhere near as annoying as Miss Marple. She’s kind and funny and makes a great amateur detective, and she’s not too smug when she figures everything out before Sherriff Fell.

There was only one thing that annoyed me about this book and that was the ending being dragged out for much longer than it needed to be.

Once Maribel figures out who the murderer is, she waits until the next morning to reveal how the murders were carried out rather than just telling everyone straight away. What a tease!

It was the only part of the book that annoyed me because we just want to find out what happened, dragging it out for two or three chapters was a bit unnecessary.

But Slay Bells is the perfect festive read nonetheless. It’s cosy, it’s intriguing, it keeps you hooked, and it gives you all the Christmas feels you could possibly need.

Plus the title has a pun in it, and if you don’t love that then I’m sorry, I don’t think we can be friends.

Who wouldn't enjoy taking a break in all their holiday preparations and reading a clever golden age style mystery set in a Christmas Village with a main protagonist named Maribel Claus who husband is away and busy through Christmas Eve. Maribel's friend, Rose, takes in lodgers but needs help caring for them after spraining her ankle. This Christmas, the village has hired a troupe of circus performers and they are staying with Rose when sadly a murder takes place, a seemingly impossible one. Take a break from wrapping and see if you can figure this out.

Christmas and mysteries. Yes, please!

The story is set ion Christmas Village that is simply magical. At the lodge in town, murders begin to happen and the sheriff is clueless on what to do. He gets Maribel Claus to assist him to track this murderer down. Will they be able to find the murderer before Christmas or before things get out of hand?

I want to visit this town (sans murder of course). What a fun and magical place! This would be a fun place to hang out during the Christmas week. So pretty! The townsfolk seem like fun too even though they are all useless, especially the sheriff, without Madame Claus.

I didn't mind Maribel Claus, but she seemed too knowledgeable about people she didn't even know. Maybe she is magic too ;) I felt bad for the Sheriff. So dumb, so dumb. But yes, I didn't really connect with anyone. That was my biggest downfall for this book. I just didn't care as much as I wanted to. I just felt like I was along for the ride and didn't really connect with anything. Not the author's fault. The writing was done well enough. I just didn't really get into it like I normally do with mysteries!

The mystery did seem obvious but not obvious at the same time. I had my guesses who the murder was. I realized who it was after about the halfway mark. However, I wasn't too sure. My first guess had been wrong. Super, duper wrong.

The book dragged at the beginning until a certain event happened and then I was drawn in. I was worried there for a bit. I wanted to DNF, but I hung on and then what happened happened and I had to know the truth.

Overall, this wasn't bad. I enjoyed the mystery, but I didn't love this book. I didn't connect with anyone and I felt like it dragged too much at the beginning. I am curious to see what else this author has. Maybe more mysteries in this interesting town! I'll give this 3 stars.

I do love a cosy mystery set in a quaint village but this was a bit too twee for my personal taste. However, I’m sure plenty of genre readers will love it.

I have never read this author or any cozy mysteries so it seemed a little slow paced for me. I had a very hard time completing the book because the characters really didn't come to life for me. I failed to make the connection of the character names,setting and timing. It was interesting to note the drawings of the setting landscape. If you want to be able to put a book down and read in small parts then this book may be for you.
This book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

A fun Christmasy read not the most hard to guess mystery but still fun and easy to read. Perfect for fans of cozy mystery’s like the Hannah Swenson series. I would definitely read a sequel so I hope they choose to write more!

A cosy, locked room type mystery, which didn't hit the mark with me. Bit of a fun read and fun characters with a good storyline and mystery.

I started out thinking this book was set sometime in the past, with Rose Willoughby hanging mistletoe in the parlor of her lodging house, with a traveling troupe of performers - her lodgers - watching. There was also more formal speech and no mention of a geographical location - at least none I'm familiar with. But as I continued reading, small mentions of modern day began to creep in - jeans, lawyers, texting - and it made me feel a bit disoriented. As I got to know the characters and the plot progressed, I decided to let all that go and just enjoy the story, and I'm glad I did! This is a richly woven mystery with solid, plausible suspects, puzzling crime scenes, and plenty of plot twists. I didn't really figure out the culprit(s) until the final reveal.

Despite my initial confusion about the time and location of this book, I really enjoyed the story! The feeling of near-timelessness and mysterious location with perpetual snow and foliage, along with protagonist Meribel Claus, whose husband spends most of his time in his workshop up through Christmas Eve, lend a magical, North Pole feel to Christmas Village. I'm interested to read more in this series, and find out if we'll get to see Christmas Village at another time of year. This was my first book by T.C. Wescott, but it won't be my last.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in Christmas Village just before Christmas, we have a group of entertainers there to preform. Mrs. Claus investigates since she is a village elder as well as a friend to the property owner where the body was found. The mystery kept me entertained and guessing. I look forward to more in this series.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished Slay Bells: A Christmas Village Mystery by T. C. Wescott and I give it 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this cheeky cozy mystery. I loved how little details of Christmas were weaved into everything, I loved the main character, Mrs. Claus, and the setting was so dreamy. I enjoyed the creativity and although I suspected who was the murderer, I didn’t know until it was revealed. I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a cozy Christmas mystery. I look forward to following Maribel Claus in the future.

Intriguing story with lots of plot twists that will keep you guessing until the end. Some very interesting characters that will keep you entertained. Can a town with very little crime solve this mystery? You'll read just to find out all the details.

I am usually an avid fan of cozy mysteries, but I really struggled to get into this one. The premise sounded wonderful, but I was somewhat disappointed in the book at first. I really struggled to get past the first few chapters.

The setting is sort of a fairy tale place, Christmas village, which is the home of Santa and Mrs. Claus and a whole host of somewhat quirky and often slightly unusual residents. Mrs. Claus is the amateur sleuth, and the sheriff is portrayed as somewhat bumbling and inept.

Once I got into it, I was interested enough in the story to keep reading, and I will say that T. C. Westport did manage to pull off a fairly well plotted story once I got into it. He began with what at first seemed like an impossible mystery, threw in a few red herrings, some more unforeseen happenings, and wrapped it all up with a very plausible solution.

I think that this book will definitely appeal to mystery fans that appreciate a novel that is just the tiniest bit out of the ordinary.

I have read quite a few Cozy Mystery books and I found this one to be lacking. I didn't like the fact the the Sheriff in this book was portrayed as a bumbling idiot. If it wasn't for Mrs. Claus this case never would have gotten solved. She literally took over the whole case and everyone looked to her for answers and really for a cozy mystery that's not how the story should go. Yes she should help but not take over and not make the Sheriff seem like he has no idea what he is doing. I know who the killer was in the beginning of the story and to get to how everything happened just took way to long and the only one who could see it was Mrs. Claus.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

An exciting story in Christmas Village. The entertainers for the Christmas Fair are staying at Plum Cottage. Mrs Maribel Claus - not having a lot to do at home as it's her husband's busy time of year - is helping out at Rose - the owner of the cottage - has sprained her ankle; when the owner of the troupe turns up dead.

Will the Sheriff - with the help of Maribel - find the murderer befor Christmas is ruined?

A good fun book and interesting read.

This is a classic English country house murder mystery! It is set at Christmas! The book sets up the mystery from the beginning. There is a Troupe of performers staying in the village at Plum Cottage, the murderer is also staying there which makes everyone suspicious of each other. It turns out one of the performers is the murderer and then the finger gets pointed at every performer. Then another dies and Christmas pudding trinkets are linked to the murder and they start turning up on those who are alive which was a great plan and it gave Christmas pudding a sinister twist. The Sherriff and Maribel set a trap to catch the killer and it works! I have to say I didn't expect who did it but at the same time I wasn't shocked.

I loved the Descriptions of Christmas village, it sounded like a beautiful Christmas village and it made me feel very warm and Christmassy. Also I loved the villages Christmas Traditions like the walk of lanterns.
Maribel Claus is quite sassy which I liked. She's the investigator and I'm pretty sure she is Santa's wife. I liked her friendship with Rose (she owns Plum Cottage) and the rest of the villagers. I loved the Sherriff. He is the Sherriff who isn't really equipped to deal with murder and the book pokes fun at him. I also loved the Mayor! The people who lived in the village are eccentric and they sometimes go off topic which I really enjoyed. It made it feel more realistic to me. The discussion of how the murders could have happened are funny as some of the things suggested are just ridiculous. I really liked that it ended with a Christmas Eve celebration,

cozy-mystery, magic, fantasy, Christmas, suspense, friendship, whodunit

What fun! A Christmas village with all interesting characters and omens of evil brought on by the character so patently out of place that the reader is glad when he is bumped off! Mrs Claus is the chief snoop, half of the characters are members of street players, and the other half are proud members of the community. The sleuthing is pretty good and complete with surprising twists and red herrings. Great fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Better Mousetrap Books via NetGalley.

This is the second T.C. Wescott book that I read and I absolutely loved it. If there is a list of perfect books for Christmas, then I am pretty sure that Slay Bells is also on the list.

I love T.C Wescott's books. A cozy crime novel with oodles of suspense, Slay Bells is one of the best books that I have read so far! If I had to describe this book in three words, I would say Fascinating, Brilliant and Spectacular.

Not just the Elders or Doctor Wilcox or Sheriff Fell or Rose, even I was curious to know how the murderer committed these crimes. No DNA or fingerprint evidence whatsoever and no footprints, how on earth did the two victims die?

The folklore - Glockenvogel, and Doppelkopflome (double-headed lion) was a nice inclusion to the story. With Pontifex seeing a blue figure that hopped from one tree to another, the story of the big bird seemed almost real!

Maribel's caring and curious nature reminded me of Miss Marple. But let me tell you, Maribel's husband is Mr.Claus and he owns a toy shop. The Mister, as Maribel fondly calls him, is busy during Christmas, visiting children and giving them gifts. Does it ring a bell? There's more about Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the end of the story.

How can I not mention the wonderful and mouth-watering delicacies that Maribel makes for the guests and for the stall at the festival! Tarts, cookies, sandwiches and whatnot, Maribel is an all-rounder! She's a member at the Historical Society and she's also one of the seven Elders (the council). Now you know why I called her an all rounder. There are also a mention or two of how Maribel helped the police in solving a case or two. And it goes without saying that Maribel (helps) solves the mystery behind these murders too.

There's something about Wescott's writing style that makes it quite different from the usual cozy or crime mystery. Maribel reveals the identity of the perp and the perp is arrested. But the question of how the murders were committed still remains a mystery. Maribel makes Rose and the troop, Sheriff Fell and Mayor Cobblestone wait until the next day to reveal the mystery. Not just the characters in the book, even I was eager to know how the murderer committed the crime. Did they fly? Did they jump? Or, were they so strong that they could throw Snipes' body over the hill?

There's no doubt that T.C. Wescott is in the list of my favorite authors. His storytelling skills are mind-blowing, the stories are full of suspense and keeps the reader hooked onto the book until the very end and the endings are simply fantastic! If you are looking for a cozy crime mystery this Christmas then do not miss to check out Slay Bells by T.C.Wescott

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Afraid to say this book was not for me
Loved the cover and the whole concept but didn't do it