Ed Kay

This is a well studied and gently paced tale of an eccentric old duke on a quest for knowledge. The majority of the story describes his day to day existence which is never anything less than odd, his journal's providing the main evidence though scattered through with amusing anecdotes as told by his staff (I chuckled out loud on the tube when his maid described finding him hanging upside-down from a tree by his trousers!) The duke is preoccupied with the nature of existence; his explorations into science and shamanism offer many interesting perspectives on the dichotomy of body and soul and our place in the ‘grand scheme'. There are certainly plenty of abstractions to think about.

However, I was always hunting the undercurrent of plot tying the whole piece together, which was often too disguised or subtle for my tastes, if not entirely absent. While entertaining, I sometimes found myself wondering exactly where, if anywhere, the story was heading. I felt a little like the duke himself, wandering lost around his own huge estate, looking for evidence of his own existence.

By the final pages I had given up on there being any point to the story at all, when there was a sudden rush of clues and information which led to the twist which, personally, I had already assumed a few chapters previously. I must say it was a highly entertaining denoument, if a little inexplicable. There was no obvious catalyst to the dramatic change in the duke's behaviour. I would have preferred a more gradual build up of information and direction, and a clearer sense of purpose.
However, if you enjoy books for the characterisation and are not too interested in plot, then this is a very engaging and well written piece.

Having heard so many great things about Sophie's World, I thought I'd ease myself into Gaardner's work with A Christmas Mystery. However, this tactic almost backfired as in the more miserable moments of trawling through this trite and tedious tale I considered never purchasing any of his books again!

I do feel slightly churlish and something of a scrooge being so unforgiving about a book that seeks to reinvigorate the Christmas story with passion, wonder and joy, but the sad truth is that it is as hollow and repetitive as baubles on a Christmas tree.

This is a mystery in the loosest sense of the word, lacking in any suspense or tension. The characters are one-dimensional, capable only of repeating the same lines again and again (and again!); the story is equally repetitive, conveying just as little. The whole package resembles an empty box wrapped in pretty paper - arousing hope and excitement but leaving you with a hollow feeling of disappointment.

I am not even sure if it would work as a children's story, to be read as an advent book, since the vague efforts Gaardner makes to link the tale in with ancient geography and religion are likely to confuse.

The story is redeemed only by the few aphorisms of real wisdom which make rare appearances in the otherwise rattly text - and of course the insistence that the true message of Christmas is peace. Even a Grich like me cannot argue with that.