Holmes and Watson are invited to a Yule-tide party at Shaw Manor by James Harding who was invited to it by the owner, Gerald MacMillan. Holmes has looked into MacMillan's background and knows he is a conman. They all go and meet others who have been invited in the same manner. Mr. MacMillan portrays a jovial man but has his moments when his mask drops. While there they meet Mr. MacMillan's aunt. She is murdered. Who did it? Can Holmes catch the killer?

I found this story a bit slow. Holmes is very clever as he explains the murder. I liked the other characters who meet at Christmas. It is an eclectic group of sensible people which Mr. MacMillan figures will be to his advantage as the truth comes to light on many things about him.

I also liked the secondary story arc. I liked that ending. Holmes has an interesting way to end that mystery. ( )

One day just before Christmas, Holmes and Watson are called upon by James Harding as he is suspicious about an invitation from a gentleman previously unknown to him to attend a Christmas gathering at a manor house. Of course an incident happens but can Holmes solves the case.
A story I enjoyed. ( )

This Christmas Sherlock Holmes spin off novella did not really convince me. While the portrayal of Holmes and Watson was reasonably authentic, there was something slightly off key about it in places, especially in the case of Holmes, that I cannot quite put my finger on. The premise was suitably intriguing: a client comes to Sherlock Holmes with what seems like a trivial issue: he has been invited by a near stranger to keep Christmas at his manor house and to bring as many friends as he wishes for a long stay into the new year and wonders at his host's motives - needless to say Holmes and Watson accompany him to find out. Of course, all is not as it seems and it is no spontaneous gesture of kindness. The host's true motives form a reasonable plot, though his means of achieving them rather far-fetched. This resolution is reached just over half way through the story, with the remainder taken up by sub-plots that combine to give a happy Christmas ending (though it takes until the following Christmas to reach its full resolution). There was an air of unreality about the whole thing. (Plus for true Holmes fans like me there is a problem with the dates as this story supposedly takes place over the course of a year in the early 1890s, but Holmes was missing for three years from 1891-94 during the "Great Hiatus" following his struggle with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls; that said, Conan Doyle himself was not consistent over dates either). ( )

It's Christmas time, and a man comes to see Holmes at 221 B with a strange story. It seems that a man he has never met before has invited him to his home in Sussex for a party to celebrate the holidays. He wants to know whether or not he should go -- and Holmes tells him to do whatever he'd like to do. The man then invites Holmes and Watson (whose wife is away with relatives for the holidays) to join him, and off they go, meeting several other people who have never met their host before. It's not long until the purpose behind this rather odd gathering is revealed, and Holmes & Watson are off again trying to solve the crime.

While I admit that the premise is quite good (and new to me), it's so obvious what's going on that Billy, the boy who helps Holmes in many of his adventures, could have solved it. Aargh! Not one of Val Andrews' best, by far. I think this one is actually skippable. ( )