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In Victorian England, Grandmama Mariah Ellison, chronically cranky and miserable, must stay with the mother of Charlotte Pitt (of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery series), Caroline Fielding, and her younger actor-husband, Joshua, for the holidays. Since Grandmama's daughter and son-in-law are off to France, she is disgruntled at being shuffled off to chilly, windswept, and rustic Romney Marshes. How dare her daughter treat her this way! She prepares to be bored out of her mind.
Grandmama's boredom lasts only a few days. A new visitor, Maude Barrington, arrives; she is a distant relative of Joshua's, and her family inexplicably does not wish for her to stay with them for Christmas. Vibrant Maude has spent 40 years away from England, traveling the world's exotic desert destinations by herself. She regales them with tales of the marvelous sites she's experienced --- Persian gardens, African cities, and the scent of moonlit jasmine blossoms. Grandmama is not charmed. She is jealous of the attention Caroline and Joshua bestow on the interloper, and appalled at the very idea of a lone Englishwoman traipsing through foreign countries. However, deep down, she feels a certain interest as she unwillingly spends time with the fascinating Maude.
Early one morning, a maid bursts into Grandmama's room with horrendous news --- Maude is dead. Grandmama is quite put out: now they will have to spend Christmas in mourning! Her dreary holidays will become even worse, with everyone wearing black, the mirrors covered, and all of them eating cold meats.
But Grandmama also feels sorrow. After all, like Grandmama herself, Maude was a visitor at Romney Marshes because her family didn't want her with them. She wishes she had let Maude know how much she admired her. In retrospect, she feels great pangs at the loss of someone who could have been a true friend. She wonders how the almost obnoxiously healthy younger woman could have died. Soon Grandmama focuses on the peppermint water Maude had mentioned she would take that night for indigestion. Who gave Maude the herbal tincture?
Grandmama becomes determined to discover the truth surrounding Maude's death. In fact, she feels she owes it to Maude and even offers to travel to notify Maude's family of her demise. Grandmama wonders if their rejection of Maude isn't related somehow to her death.
Grandmama is soon a guest at Maude's family's home. As Grandmama attempts to elicit information from Maude's relatives, she discovers how difficult effective sleuthing can be. Is she asking the right questions? Will she find herself in danger? Even more importantly, she delves into the mysteries of her own life that explain her cantankerous personality. Her introspection leads her to wonder if a life led without joy can be redeemed. Is she set in her ways, or can she change at this late date?
The complex layers beneath Grandmama's waspish character deepen the murder mystery plot, which more than compensates for a resolution that feels the slightest bit rushed. As always, Anne Perry's description of life in Victorian England is fascinating. A CHRISTMAS GUEST is a quick and enjoyable read with an understated and uplifting theme of redemption, making it a perfect refuge during the harried holidays.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
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