Murder, mince pies, and mayhem—a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo’s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo’s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn’t eased by the arrival of Leo’s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.

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Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?

Who was really meant to receive Harold’s glittering bracelet?

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman’s romantic cosy crime series The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.

My Review

I love a book that is totally bonkers and Dead Festive really hits the mark. It’s part of a series that involves four septuagenarians (as am I), and a very perceptive poodle called Pumpernickel. I also have a very perceptive pooch (she knows where ALL the treats are hidden), so I can identify in so many ways.

It’s Christmas Day and lawyer Leo (owner of aforesaid Pumpernickel), his partner psychotherapist Marion, oldest friend Dennis ‘the world’s most fearless crime reporter’ and his wife Susan are celebrating together. They have been joined by granddaughter Jazz, the eccentric cross-dressing Harold, who happens to be Marion’s brother, and his partner Julian. So far so good. Do keep up!

They are playing charades, which I love, but Julian hates. He reluctantly acts out the film Dead Man Walking and promptly drops down dead. In actual fact he sits down and doesn’t get up again, but ‘drops down dead’ sounds much more dramatic.

The police are called but they can’t attend for at least an hour so our intrepid foursome and co carry on eating and drinking – drinking mainly – as it would be a shame to let it all go to waste. They are joined by Leo’s younger sister Becky, who swears like a trouper and says the most inappropriate things, her husband Graham, and their moody-but-handsome son Jonathan.

So basically the story revolves around how Julian died and why, and what’s the importance of Harold’s bracelet? Pumpernickel thinks it’s poison – he has the nose after all – but why would anyone want to murder Julian? It’s all very irreverent – in a good way – and hilarious. I just love the way they carry on as normal with a dead body lying under a sheet, which hasn’t started to smell yet as someone observes.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

The Pumpernickel Mysteries series

Publisher: Word of Mouth Books
Available as Amazon Kindle and PB 
PB ISBN: 978-1-0683333-6-1

Leo Wengrowski runs a one-man-and-a-dog legal practice in London’s Soho. Pumpernickel, a standard black poodle, is the dog. They are both in their seventies; the dog has more hair. Leo’s partner is Dr Marion Fitzwalter, a psychotherapist with an international reputation who is a couple of years older, and a couple of inches taller than Leo, though as he says it makes no difference when they’re lying down.

Leo’s oldest friend is Dennis Arbuthnot, ‘the world’s most fearless crime reporter’, who has extensive contacts among both the police and the criminal world.

Leo provides legal advice to victims and those suspected of violent crimes, Marion helps people with messed-up minds, Dennis rubbishes Leo’s attempts to act like a detective but occasionally provides inside information. Pumpernickel acts as a sounding-board for Leo’s ideas, offers reassurance to his nervous clients, and can sniff out drugs, disease, and dishonesty.

Four veterans who are still working, still learning, still arguing, still loving life and each other, and still able to surprise the younger generations who come to them with their problems. Problems that are often in today’s headlines, including the oldest headline of all: murder.

Also in the series:
Dead Early
Dead Honest
Dead Rich
Dead Famous
Dead Religious
Dead Unpopular

About the Author

Peter Buckman was one of the youngest editors in publishing and is now one of the oldest literary agents still practising. In between he was a full-time writer, producing books, plays, scripts for films, television and radio, articles and reviews. The Pumpernickel Mysteries are his first crime series, and feature a quartet of characters in their seventies (including the dog) who are still working, still learning, and still enjoying life with all its problems. Peter and his wife Rosie have lived in the same Oxfordshire village for over fifty years; they have two daughters, two grandchildren, and a black cockerpoo called, amazingly, Pumpernickel.