First of all, this novel by Andreina Cordani has a terrible book jacket image which does not represent the setting in any way, shape, or form--picky I know but really. I found the plotting entirely too complicated and the multiple flashbacks distracting, but Publishers Weekly loved the book. Here is their review in its entirety:
"Holiday magic goes horribly wrong in Cordani's delightfully eccentric follow-up to The Twelve Days of Murder. Merry Clarke steals her boss's invitation to the reopening of Verity's Emporium, a bespoke London toy store that's home to elaborate displays and strange mechanical attractions. After Montagu Verity, the store's Willy Wonka--esque proprietor, offers a warm welcome to Merry and a handful of other VIPs, the shoppers discover they've been drugged by their complimentary hot cocoa. They awake trapped in the multilevel, secret passage-filled building, their phones having been confiscated upon entry, and soon discover the dead body of the store's head toymaker. From there, flashbacks tease out each character's backstory and relationships to the Veritys, while tense conversations in the present slowly reveal their links to one another. Meanwhile, the store brims with clues and terrors, including a display depicting each guest's brutal murder. Cordani's plotting is devious and perfectly calibrated, revealing just enough to heighten dramatic irony while leaving plenty of room for shocking twists. This canny combination of whodunit and horror makes for a gleefully demented stocking stuffer."
Likewise, Booklist praises characters and setting: "Told from multiple points of view, both past and present, this compelling, stand-alone mystery with its myriad plot twists, well-drawn characters, and a lovingly described Christmastime setting will appeal to locked-room-mystery fans."
Kirkus, on the other hand felt much like I did. "...The problem is that at no time do any of her retrospective thumbnail sketches give readers much reason to wish for the grown-up characters’ survival. Even Merry, stuck in a dead-end job and hopelessly in love with co-worker Ross, is foolishly controlling, and TV celebrity Fran, tortured by a secret Cordani teases for more 100 pages before revealing as the most obvious thing possible, is shallow and self-serving. When bad things happen to good people, justice cries out for an explanation. But when bad things happen to bad people, well…why the hell not? A joyless Yuletide tale offers little to celebrate."
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