A Christmas Return

In Perry's latest seasonal novel (after A Christmas Message), Charlotte Pitt's grandmother Mariah Ellison returns for more sleuthing in the wake of her investigation in A Christmas Guest. It's nearing the Yuletide season when Mariah receives a letter from Peter Wesley requesting her presence in Haslemere, where his grandfather Cullen died 20 years earlier. The death was ruled accidental, but there were always suspicions of foul play, especially since Cullen, a lawyer, had refused to continue to defend Dr. Durward shortly before he went to trial for killing a 14-year-old youth. Now Durward, who was acquitted and moved out of the area, has returned to clear his name, but he greatly underestimates Mariah's determination and persistence. While she wasn't able to fight back against her abusive husband, she's not going to let this man get away with murder.