A Christmas Resolution
A Christmas Resolution
By: Anne Perry
I didn't know this was a novella when I started reading it. I'm not usually a fan of short stories so I can't hold it against Anne Perry and will still give her William Monk series another try, but ‘A Christmas Resolution’ did not change my opinion about short stories. There just isn't enough book to really develop any characters or spin a complex or interesting story. I feel like you can read the summary of this book and really have all the information you would get if you actually read the story. I suppose it's one of those 'cozy' reads if that interests you. But even the Christmas aspect of it didn't feel very tangible to me.
Basically the whole story is: Celia's friend Clementine is engaged to a man with a hard past that may or may not be dangerous. Her husband who is a policeman tries to find out while Celia worries about her friend and struggles with whether or not she is being judgmental and denying them both a chance at happiness. That's it. The results of the investigation aren't super surprising- which is fine, I read plenty of mysteries that I can figure out- but there just wasn't enough pages to really do anything with it in my opinion.
I am also confused by the title of it- ‘A Christmas Resolution.’ After reading it, I am not entirely sure what the resolution was and who was making it. They talk a lot about forgiveness so maybe they decide to forgive more?
Another thing to keep in mind- it's set in a time period where men and women's roles were not what they are today. So it'll probably make you cringe, but we can at least recognize how far we've come from that at least.
So the positives: it's a feel-good story, it portrays a healthy marriage between Celia and Hooper, it has a message of forgiveness, it's a quick read (a pro since I didn't like it that much)
The negatives: to me, it was boring and lacked depth
I'm guessing if the cover of this book appeals to you and looks like something you would like, then you probably would like it. I just prefer longer, more complex or hard-hitting books. If I was going to read a cozy Christmas mystery then I would have preferred to have the Christmas part more tangible and descriptive... like a Hallmark Christmas movie.
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**