The Holly Village Murders: A cozy Christmas mystery

Written by Benedict Brown

Narrated by George Blagden

The snow falls, carollers sing, and a killer plots his next move…

London, 1928. Marius Quin and Lady Bella Montague are ready for a quiet Christmas when they learn that Bella’s beloved Aunt Adele has met a shocking end in her picture-perfect cottage. Immediately heading for Holly Village, the enclave of retired aristocrats and eccentric pensioners where Adele lived, they discover that her death was far from natural.

The dead woman’s priceless Manet painting has vanished, and a cryptic note she left hints at scandalous goings-on among her neighbours. When another resident is murdered during the village Christmas party, it’s clear that a devious killer is preying on the sleepy community. Marius and Bella must navigate a web of village intrigue, false identities, and long-buried scandals to stop this from being a Christmas to remember for all the wrong reasons…

A delightfully cozy, twisty Christmas mystery that will charm fans of Agatha Christie, Downton Abbey and T E Kinsey.

Readers love the Marius Quin mysteries:

‘Wowwwwwww!!!!! This book totally blew me away!!!! So well written! So engaging!!! I truly couldn’t put this down!!!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Absolutely charming… Lots of fun, very clever, and so well-written that I didn’t guess the killer and was very surprised at the end! A+++’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Jam-packed with lively wit, quirky characters, red herrings and cleverness. I felt an instant connection and was riveted to each page, even giggling out loud at times. Spellbinding books such as this are pure joy!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Absolutely fabulous… While I hate to use the cliche of unputdownable, it really was. More of this crime fighting duo please.’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I laughed myself silly… Loved it!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘An absolute showstopper, with crazy characters, a red herring around every corner, and endless twists and turns. It’s a must-read that will keep you reading until the last page.’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Agatha Christie vibes… Recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical British mysteries!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘A fun, entertaining historical cozy mystery with a nice touch of tongue-in-cheek humour… Extremely likeable protagonists… Kept me guessing right up to the big reveal… I am so here for it.’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘A lovely cosy whodunit… Lots of twists and turns and beautiful character development. A very cosy read!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘So easy to read and there’s a bit of humour thrown in for good measure. Curl up with this story and enjoy!’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Has everything I love in a cozy… Humor. Threats and murders to be solved. Even a lovable dog… It’s a lighthearted read, that had me guessing until the reveal.’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘My first book by this author but I absolutely loved it!… A twisty-turny mystery that kept me guessing to the end… A cross between Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse,this is an engaging, witty story that made me laugh and kept me hooked.’ Reader review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Language: English
• Publisher: Storm Publishing
• Release date: Nov 10, 2025
• ISBN: 9781837002696

Benedict Brown

I’m a Welsh-Irish-Englishman originally from South London but now living in Burgos, a beautiful city in the north of Spain, with my French-Spanish wife and our young daughter. Writing has always been my passion. It was my favourite half-an-hour a week at primary school, and I started on my first, truly abysmal book as a teenager. So it wasn’t a difficult decision to study literature at university which led to an MA in Creative Writing. I grew up in a crime-fiction-mad family and had made a few clumsy attempts at writing one over the years before coming up with the idea for my contemporary whodunits "The Izzy Palmer Mysteries". My second series, the 1920s-set "Lord Edgington Investigates...", has been a great success, with each of the books becoming a bestseller. If you'd like to tell me what you think about my detectives, my writing or the world at large, I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to get in touch at www.benedictbrown.net where you can also download my free mystery novellas and join my readers' club.

Reviews for The Holly Village Murders

[crittergazer1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly enjoyable as always. I'm looking forward to further books.

[Andrea Author · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Private detective Marius’s quiet 1928 Christmas is disrupted when his partner Bella’s aunt dies suspiciously. Marius and Bella uncover scandalous secrets, a priceless missing painting, and a devious killer preying on the quaint village. While this charming cozy mystery can stand alone, I recommend reading the series in order to more easily follow the series arc.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.