Father Tom Christmas moves to the picturesque English hamlet of Thornford Regis to become its new vicar and to seek a peaceful haven. But inside the empty village hall, the huge Japanese o-daiko drum that�s featured in the May Fayre festivities has been viciously sliced open�and curled up inside is the bludgeoned body of Sybella Parry, the daughter of the choir director. Realizing this village is not the refuge he�d hoped for, Father Tom comes to a disturbing conclusion: Sybella�s killer must be one of his parishioners. No one is above suspicion�not Sebastian John, the deeply reserved verger, nor Mitsuko Drewe, a local artist, nor Colonel Northmore, survivor of a World War II prison camp. And over all hangs the long-unsolved mystery of a sudden disappearance, one that brought Father Tom to this picture-perfect place to live�or die.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from C. C. Benison's Eleven Pipers Piping.
Review
Advance praise for *Twelve Drummers Drumming �
�C. C. Benison has concocted a charming and deliciously convoluted mystery for the Reverend Tom Christmas, new vicar of Thornford Regis, which is an updated version of St. Mary Mead. Indeed, Twelve Drummers Drumming is a crime novel that Agatha Christie might have been justly proud to claim as her own.��Margaret Maron, New York Times bestselling author of Christmas Mourning *�
�C. C. Benison brings the English village� mystery into a more demanding era, crafting a story with dimension and subtlety, in which resoundingly real characters grapple with loss and danger and matters of immortality�without losing the whimsy, the tight plotting, and the palpable delight in Traditional England found in his predecessors.��Laurie King,* New York Times bestselling author of God of the Hive *�
�*Twelve Drummers Drumming is a beautifully written mystery set in an enchanting English village. May Father Christmas (he prefers Tom) long share� his wisdom and goodness.��Carolyn Hart, nationally bestselling author of Dead by Midnight
�The Reverend Tom Christmas is an intriguing sleuth, a dedicated vicar with admitted shortcomings that render him entirely human. Steeped in the aura of English village life, with a cast of entertaining characters, and blessed with a touch of humor, this delightful series will keep you charmed, intrigued, and guessing right up to the end.��Kate Kingsbury, author of Herald of Death*
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
C. C. Benison has worked as a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines, as a book editor, and as a contributor to nonfiction books. A graduate of the University of Manitoba and Carleton University, he is the author of four previous novels, including Death at Buckingham Palace. He lives in Winnipeg.
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