Mary Picken's Reviews > The Christmas Stocking Murders

Frank Grasby is a Yorkshireman and a fine figure of a detective- as he modestly portrays himself in his memoir. Grasby is an ex-soldier. He has a difficult relationship with his taciturn ex-clergyman father, which may have something to do with Frank’s fondness for wine, women and a spot of gambling. Or it might be the result of his clergyman father’s inability to see any good in his luckless son. The Rev Cyril Grasby seldom has a good word to say to anyone.

It’s true that Frank often lacks the ability to see what’s actually going on round about him. Yet his war background suggests that he’s not without substance and that there’s more to Frank than meets the eye.

Denzil Meyrick does a fine job of recreating the post war period when people were still suffering shortages and the black market was going full tilt. The Cold War is settling in and soldiers like Grasby, who were fortunate enough to return from the war still able to do a job, were nevertheless far from being uninjured. There’s pathos in Frank’s remembrance of his war years and his reflections on those years are sombre and painful – a reminder of what most people have gone through.Many people felt that they had suffered enough and there was a restlessness in the population to experience a return to prosperity.

In this, his second Christmas outing, following the daring escapades of Murder at Holly House, Grasby has earned some brownie points from that case and is enjoying basking in the mild approval of his superiors.

Grasby is mulling over the previous night’s York CID Christmas Party when he is summoned by Superintendent Arthur Juggers and told to prepare for a trip to the secluded fishing town of Uthley Bay.

Frank’s not entirely unhappy with this development as he’s not looking forward to spending a dour Christmas with his father. This mission, which involves a dead man on the beach with a stocking round his neck, will likely keep him in Uthley Bay for a few days.

He’s surprised when Juggers tells him he’ll be going with him, but at least, as Frank knows, Juggers likes a drink and there are worse ways to spend Christmas than in a seaside hotel, he reckons. Juggers seems to know a little more about this mission than he is saying, but whatever it is that he does know, he’s keeping it to himself.

Jugger’s plan is that the pair will pose as ornithologists and conduct covert surveillance until they get the lie of the land, though of course they have barely arrived before the villagers have them pegged for exactly what they are.

Denzil Meyrick’s storytelling is rich and immersive. He melds together different types of humour from the farcical to the sarcastic, from sharp, dry wit to the absurd and it all has its place. Yet there’s no doubting that this caper is very serious and more than one dead body will be found as this murder mystery turns seriously deadly.

In this small community, the villagers know more than they are prepared to divulge. The Trout Hotel houses some strange characters and the talk therein is mainly of stockings, coincidentally a number of pairs of which have been found by Frank and Juggers, washed up on the beach. The appearance of Frank’s father with his psychic paramour, Hetty Gaunt, just puts the tin lid on things for Frank.

Meanwhile, Juggers is still clearly keeping his knowledge under his hat, which allows Frank to go blundering where others less foolhardy might have feared to tread. Juggers is a brilliant character and the physical comedy involving him and Frank is impeccably done. He’s down to earth and as forthright as a blunt Yorkshireman can be which makes even more comical the moments when you can’t help but laugh at his slapstick antics.

Atmospheric and with the early 1950’s period beautifully captured, this Golden Age murder mystery enjoys the feel of an Agatha Christie plot with added glorious humour. As the snow falls and the village is cut off from the rest of Yorkshire, the cruel sea adds to the danger. There may be laughs abounding, but there’s also serious peril and Frank is not always sure that he’s the man to look danger square in the face.

Verdict: Meyrick throws in some wonderful red herrings, a great deal of mis-direction and some fabulous Ealing comedy style moments. This is an expertly crafted, well-baked comedy caper with a serious side of crime and a dash of romance here and there to spice the mix. It’s exactly the festive treat that Santa ordered and I loved it. Best consumed with a glass of robust red wine and a mince pie.