Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story

By Anne Meredith

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

"Golden age fans will be enthralled." —Publishers Weekly STARRED review

'Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931.'

Thus begins a classic crime novel published in 1933 that has been too long neglected—until now. It is a riveting portrait of the psychology of a murderer.

Each December, Adrian Gray invites his extended family to stay at his lonely house, Kings Poplars. None of Gray's six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve—and by the following morning, their wish has been granted.

This fascinating and unusual novel tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night; and what the murderer did next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781464209055

Reviews for Portrait of a Murderer

[andy5185 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun to read an old tale of murder for the holidays. It was interesting enough to keep me going until the end.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This really wasn't much of a mystery. It's more of a charcter study. The father dies. One of his children committed the murder. We know which one it was and how it was done. He's just trying to hide it from his siblings. I really disliked the entire family. It simply did not resonate well with me; however, persons who like to see character drive the story may enjoy it. It's labeled as Christmas crime. Just because the murder happened at Christmas when the family gathered does not make it a "Christmas" story. This one could occur at a family reunion any other time of the year. This is based on an electronic galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.This novel begins with a paragraph stating that Adrian Gray was murdered by one of his children, and, at the 20% mark, we learn which of the children it was. Although there is an intelligent gentleman police detective, we see little of him and he does not correctly identify the murderer. A lawyer, who is related to the family by marriage, is the one finally to put the pieces together and confront the culprit. We are introduced to each of Adrian's children and their respective spouses in the opening chapters (which are excellent), but they mostly fade out during the second half of the story, as the focus shifts to the murderer and whether the crime was in some way excusable.I have read other reviews which suggest that the reader feels sympathy for the murderer - I did not. While I thought the author did a good job in explaining SPOILERShis emotions and motivations, these did not serve to enlist my compassion. I found his attitude to and behaviour towards his wife and children unforgivable. Being capable of creating a work of art does not make a man "noble" or "great", and certainly not worth protecting from the consequences of his actions. It is perhaps indicative of the era in which this novel was written that the man he is intending should hang in his place is a Jewish financier who has swindled hundreds of people out of their life savings.Nevertheless, well written and engrossing.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very wordy but very enjoyable mystery. To be accurate, this is less of a mystery than a psychological examination of the family members of the intensely disliked patriarch, Adrian Gray. The family has arrived at his home, Kings Poplars on Christmas Eve for what is going to be anything but a Merry Christmas. The reader is introduced to the murderer early on and the remainder of the book swings between the family members, their belief that they are entitled to an inheritance and their ruinous social and financial decline. All of their ulterior motives and failings are brought into sharp focus and none are left unchanged or unharmed.This was written of a time and place and it was perfect for me but others may find it long-winded. A new favorite quote at the very end: “It is a pity that we cannot die when our lives are finished.” Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Christmas 1931 (the book was published 1933) and Adrian Gray, at 70 years old, is residing at Kings Poplars. But he has his family visiting him for the season and is killed by one of his children. With none of them fond of their father we read the story of the murder, their thinking at the time, and what they did next as an act of self-preservation. Will the murderer slip up, will anyone care enough.
An interesting and enjoyable read.
A NetGalley Book

[brokentune · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The crime was instantaneous and unpremeditated, and the murderer was left staring from the weapon on the table to the dead man in the shadow of the tapestry curtains, not apprehensive, not yet afraid, but incredulous and dumb.This is not a spoiler. This is the start of the book.Unlike other murder mysteries, the book starts with the murder and even shows us who the murderer is. The suspense element in this story is based on whether the murderer gets caught in the story. In a way, this was a lot like an episode of Columbo, where we also see the solution to the murder mystery at the start of the episode, then watch Columbo drive the murder nuts with questions until they trip up in their own web of lies. Unlike in Columbo, there is no clever detective driving the murder to confession, and instead we, the readers, are fully relying on the Gray family to find out the truth. Unfortunately, most of the family are rather unlikable.“A charming family débâcle,” Olivia agreed.“Well, you must acknowledge this, Eustace. We do do things thoroughly; no skulking in odd corners for the Grays, once they get started.”And yet! I really enjoyed this book. It took a while to get the story going and to get used to the characters and structure of the story, but there is something incredible thrilling in watching this train wreck and hoping that someone will slam on the brakes before an innocent person is hanged.

[obi2015 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Adrian Gray,an unpleasant patriarch of an equally unpleasant family invites his six children (and their partners) to the family manor to celebrate Christmas. He is not a very loved or likeable man and his family have solid reasons to murder the old man. And one of them does murder Adrian Gray on Christmas Eve. The identity of the murderer is immediately revealed. This is not a who,how or why done it. The story revolves mainly around the exposure and evidence seeking to convict the culprit. It has definitely a modern,not Golden Age at all,twist about it but it took me an eternity to finish it and some parts just dragged on. True,my mother passed away in December and that really didn't help me to keep focused...Therefore it is really very difficult to give an unbiased opinion on this classic mystery...