procedural, PTSD, flashbacks, support-system, surprises, suspense, British-detective, family, family-dynamics, friendship, class-consciousness, laugh-riot, law-enforcement, London, lol-humor, mental-health-issues, murder, murder-investigation, consultant, wealthy, situational-humor, verbal-humor*****

What a busy book! Kate and "The Gov" are mostly healed from the physical horrors they suffered on an earlier case, Pol Bahr has been promoted and nudges Kate to come back to London (with Tony as consultant) to work this new case with him while the rest of Kate's family are still lodged in the countryside this week before Christmas. The case itself is weirder than most and the team have a lot of work to do. Meanwhile, Kate is having PTSD issues, Pol is trapped between his "smother" and changes in his private life, and there are a whole lot of surprises.
This series is a whole lot of fun and laughs that make a mockery of reality. Love it!
I really appreciate the talents of voice actor Matthew Lloyd Davies to help me with easy differentiation of so many characters in the audio, and he always underplays the scenes! ( )

Story seems to talk a lot about the aftermath of the previous book, which I have not read, and there is not enough of a mystery in this story concerning the death of millionaire Barnaby Galen.
( )

BLUE CHRISTMAS is the 6th title in Emma Jameson’s Lord & Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series.
This is a Christmas-themed title. There are many surprises and unexpected endings.
Barnaby Galen is found dead (of fright) in his dilapidated, feces-encrusted mansion in a posh area of London. It is a very peculiar situation as Mr. Galen is a millionaire and the murder weapon is a corpse.
Tony and Kate are transitioning again - into the busy world of detective work and the hustle and bustle of London. (Please read #5 BLUE BLOODED before you read this title.) Paul is trying to transition ‘away’ from his mother. Maura is transitioning into a sober lifestyle and both Henry and Ritchie have been making adjustments to their lifestyles in the country house.
Another good read with a quirky plot and even quirkier characters. I have a favorite new character, the new, young M.E., Trevor.
Not so much a police procedural as very witty social dynamics.
A good title and good addition to the series. **** ( )

An interesting variation on the Christmas story of Scrooge calls Kate and Tony back to London to help DI Paul. Temporarily in charge, he is a bit overwhelmed by the odd case of murder by fright and his personal, mother and girlfriend, distractions. A Bob Cratchit-like family is caught in the middle when it appears that their mechanical genius son may have been involved in the crime. The characters remain complex and lively and the plot is sufficiently quirky for this entertaining series.

paul. ( )

After a long wait for the next installment in Lord & Lady Hetheridge series, I was a little disappointed. Kate is suffering from PTSD from her last case and recovering from knee replacement and other surgeries and is living with Tony at his estate in the country for 6 months. An interesting case comes up in London and Paul calls them and asks for their help. In a "Christmas Carol" scenario a mean old grumpy miser has been murdered and his meek assistant (a family man with five children) is the main suspect. ( )