The Twelve Clues of Christmas cover art

The Twelve Clues of Christmas

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Twelve Clues of Christmas

By: Rhys Bowen
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £13.15

Buy Now for £13.15

Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Female, 2014

She may be 35th in line for the throne, but Lady Georgiana Rannoch cannot wait to ring in the new year—before a Christmas killer wrings another neck…

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me—well, actually, my true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending a feliz navidad tramping around South America. Meanwhile, Mummy is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with that droll Noel Coward! And I’m snowed in at Castle Rannoch with my bumbling brother, Binky, and sourpuss sister-in-law, Fig. So it’s a miracle when I contrive to land a position as hostess to a posh holiday party in Tiddleton. The village is like something out of A Christmas Carol! But no sooner have I arrived than a neighborhood nuisance, a fellow named Freddie falls out of a tree, dead…. Dickensian, indeed.

Freddie’s merely a stocking stuffer. On my second day in town, another so-called accident turns up another mincemeat pie—and yet another on my third. The village is buzzing that a recent prison break could have something to do with it… that, or a long-standing witch’s curse. I’m not so sure. But after Darcy shows up beneath the mistletoe, anything could be possible in this wicked wonderland.

©2012 Janet Quin- Harkin (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Amateur Sleuths Cosy Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Holidays Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Winter Christmas Village Crime Royalty Romance Christmas Thriller
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"Katherine Kellgren performs an impressive range of accents: Irish brogue, high-pitched Cockney, fussy American, West Country burr, and more. Kellgren triumphs as Georgi, who is 34th in line to the throne, giving her a refined accent contrasted with down-to-earth sensibilities. Due to the author's light touch and Kellgren's humorous delivery, the many Yuletide deaths in this cozy do not become macabre. The listener just marvels at the mounting 'accidents' amid the bountiful Christmas cheer." ( AudioFile)
Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Female, 2014
All stars
Most relevant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to a friend if the friend needed a good listen while doing a mundane task. This is a guilty pleasure book which I find helps me keep ironing or cleaning the house. Nothing wrong with that!

If you’ve listened to books by Rhys Bowen before, how does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any other Rhys Bowen books before but will be listening in future. There is always a pile of ironing and my house never stays tidy.......cheaper than a cleaner.

What does Katherine Kellgren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The narrator is fantastic and has a good range of character voices. I would have given the performance five stars except that I HATED the voice of Darcy. He was meant to be from an aristocratic Irish family but spoke as if he was there to Tarmac the driveway.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This was a gently funny Christie-esque book.

Any additional comments?

Some audiobooks are mind improving and others are just for pleasure. This was an enjoyable pleasure.

A cosy murder mystery.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it. Great Christmas murder mystery. I'll definitely check out other books in the series

Fun Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good grief, the SHRIEKING of nearly all the characters! Such a shame as this kind of thing - 1930s plucky female detective - is right up my street. But it was ruined for me by the constant high-pitched and emphatic tones of several of the characters. Is absolutely everything so filled with drama it needs to be voiced with such melodrama? No, it's not, and it's exhausting to listen to. I would love to hear an alternative version of this story, voiced by somebody who understands you don't need to assault listeners in this way.

Ruined by the screeching voices

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Twelve Clues of Christmas to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version but I enjoyed the audio version.

What other book might you compare The Twelve Clues of Christmas to, and why?

I would compare this book to a hybrid of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse with a bit of Brian Rix performance style thrown in.

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard any of Katherine Kellgren's material before but I shall look out for her in the future.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Plenty of moments that made me smile and some that made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

I though that this was a good all round lighthearted listen that was enjoyable from start to finish. I found my self trying to guess the next victim so I had obviously become drawn into the story-line. Probably not my usual sort of listening but I will look out for some more of the same in the future.

Light and entertaining listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have never read/heard a book by this author before, but I’ll certainly be looking out for her books in the future. It is very well-written, with strong characters. The only thing that put me off a little was the high- pitched narration.

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews