Mavis Doriel Hay – Carol's Notebook

Author: Mavis Doriel Hay

Mavis Doriel Hay (1894–1979) was a novelist of the golden age of British crime fiction. Her three detective novels – The Santa Klaus Murder, Murder Underground and Death on the Cherwell – were all published in the 1930s. She was an expert on rural handicraft and wrote several books on the subject.

The Santa Klaus Murder is a vintage mystery, set in a country home where the family, and a couple of others, are together to celebrate Christmas. Add in a murder and it should be a perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I found it rather lackluster. It starts off slow, with members of the household telling their version of the events leading up to the murder. Sir Osmond was not a nice father, overbearing and holding the children's inheritance over their heads so that they would marry someone he deemed appropriate. Everyone had their own reasons for not liking the man. I was listening to the audio version and it got a little confusing as to who was who. It definitely picked up once Colonel Halstock takes charge of the investigation, but it's still has a few too many problems for me to really recommend it. - Just too many characters. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audio, but between the family,...