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Charlotte MacLeod
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Rest You Merry (The Peter Shandy Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Charlotte MacLeod (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,174 ratings
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A Christmas scrooge discovers a murdered librarian in this holiday novel from an Edgar Award finalist known for her “witty, literate, and charming” mysteries (Publishers Weekly).
 
Each December, the faculty of Balaclava Agricultural College goes wild with holiday decorations. The entire campus glitters with Christmas lights, save for one dark spot: the home of professor Peter Shandy. But after years of resisting the school’s Illumination festival, Shandy suddenly snaps, installing a million-watt display of flashing lights and blaring music perfectly calculated to drive his neighbors mad. Then the horticulturalist flees town, planning to spend Christmas on a tramp steamer. It’s not long before he feels guilty about his prank and returns home to find his lights extinguished—and a dead librarian in his living room.
 
Hoping to avoid a scandal, the school’s head asks Shandy, sometimes detective, to investigate the matter quietly. After all, Christmas is big business, and the town needs the cash infusion that typically comes with the Illumination. But as Shandy will soon find out, there’s a dark side to even the whitest of white Christmases.
 

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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 10
    The Peter Shandy Mysteries
  2. Print length
    294 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  6. Publication date
    November 6, 2012
  7. File size
    5196 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The epitome of the ‘cozy’ mystery.” —Mostly Murder “MacLeod can be counted on for a witty, literate and charming mystery.” —Publishers Weekly “Charm, wit, and Holmesian logic." —AudioFile

About the Author

Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.  In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009S33M0A
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road; Reprint edition (November 6, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5196 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,174 ratings

About the author

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Charlotte MacLeod

Charlotte MacLeod

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Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.

In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
1,174 global ratings
Rest You Merry! A story from a slower time.
5 Stars
Rest You Merry! A story from a slower time.
This is an older book from the late 1980's. I've read this book each December for the last 25 years. There are no cell phones or computers mentioned in the story. It's a mystery and a love story. The 10 other books and 1 short story are also great reads. Charlotte MacLeod passed away in the early 2000's. She is missed. The attached picture of Mary Stuart Masterson is how I picture Helen Marsh in the story!
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Top reviews from the United States

Missy Ardinger
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun quick read
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2023
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The dialogue is so different and amusing! Always good twists and turns! Looking forward to reading more in this series!
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Holly
4.0 out of 5 stars Newly discovered older mystery series -- actually quite good
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2012
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One of my favorite things during the Christmas season is to curl up with a good mystery set during the holidays. This year, I was holding on to my copy of "Rest You Merry" until December rolled around and it was the first book of its type I picked up this month. Originally published in 1978, the entire series has recently been released on the Kindle and I was quite enthused since people I trust had strongly recommended it. Within the first few pages, I knew they hadn't steered me wrong.

Peter Shandy is the main character and sleuth in this series. With this first installment, it's Christmas time and the agricultural college where Shandy is a professor has a tradition of going all-out in their celebration. The Grand Illumination involves every house on the Crescent, except for Professor Shandy. Definitely a fly in the soup, his lack of involvement frustrates many of the townsfolk and he is regularly besieged to participate. Finally having enough, he hires a firm to put up some of the tackiest, most outrageous decorations imaginable and then locks his door and leaves town before the lights come on that night. When he later returns, one of the most insistent, pro-event organizers is discovered dead in his home and, with that, the mystery is off and running.

A fun romp through academia with off-beat characters, atmospheric setting, a good mystery, and a bit of romance sprinkled throughout. I truly enjoyed this book from beginning to end and will be reading the next one in the series when January rolls around. Not quite a 5-star book in my opinion, but that isn't unusual in the first installment of any series. It usually takes a while for the author to set up the characters and setting --- I can see the potential for the next ones to be that good.

Well worth a read and especially good during the holiday season.
13 people found this helpful
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J.E. Dragon
5.0 out of 5 stars A light-hearted mystery for the Scrooge in all of us!
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2013
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This is a great story, especially for all of us who occasionally get tired of all the hype around Christmas. Professor Shandy is fed up with all the commotion relating to the Christmas celebration (called the Illumination) in his normally quiet neighborhood. But when Shandy has enough, his "get even" stunt leads to the death of his neighbor's wife. Or does it? If Shandy's going to survive at Balaclava College and stay peacefully in the neighborhood, he has to solve the mystery of his neighbor's murder without offending anyone else or getting himself killed in the process! Some parts of this light-hearted mystery are hilarious! I laugh out loud every time I read the end of the first chapter. Lots of fun and a good mystery! It's also a great introduction to the Peter Shandy mystery series! Give it a try! I think you'll enjoy Professor Peter Shandy and his quirky neighbors, as well as these intriguing mysteries.
One person found this helpful
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B
3.0 out of 5 stars Great book, awful edition!
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2007
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I love Rest You Merry and I was thrilled to see a hardcover edition advertised, but this edition is awful. It is actually a paperback, not a hardcover edition. Probably a reprint of a hardcover without resetting the text for a paperback sized book. The font size is tiny, like foot notes and hard to read. While a normal paperback has 32-35 rows of text, this has 44 in the same size book! I hope there will be a new edition with a better layout at some point in the future. This is a gloriously funny book worth re-reading for the pleasure of escaping to Balaclava with its eccentric inhabitants and the reindeer on Peter Shandy's roof! Five points for the book, one point for the edition.
11 people found this helpful
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WelshDragon
5.0 out of 5 stars The quiet ones are the ones to look out for
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2020
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I was astonished to find an excellent story in this book. I was not expecting to enjoy it, quite as much as I did. The characters were fun, believable, and well fleshed out. The plot was like an avalanche, starting out slow, then gaining speed to a well thought out conclusion. I highly recommend this book. Well worth your time and effort to read.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Campus Cozy
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2014
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I have read all of the Bittersohn series and have begun reading the few ' Grub and Stakers' in these kindle editions: this is the first of the Peter Shandy I have undertaken. It is also the first in the series. The setting is a small Agricultural college, the cast, mostly faculty and administrators with some students, faculty wives and husbands, and assorted others who make up the College Community. The Hero is a Professor of advanced middle age, who has reached a stage in which some of the trappings which make the college popular with the local community and visitors grate upon his nerves. His immediate response leads to his finding a body in his home on his return from escaping the major popularizing event of the year. The Domineering President assigns to him the job of cleaning up the mess. The hero is a man noted for his research and bachelorhood. He is devoted to both. In pursuit of clarification, he creates circumstances threatening to both his academic and marital status.
As always MacLeod creates both warm characters and human villains. It is a most pleasant read and an inviting invitation to follow the lead characters further as the series unfolds. There are more intricate puzzles but not too many with the same human feel.
7 people found this helpful
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iiiireader
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Christmas mystery
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2021
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A character, in a book I read recently, said that this was their favorite Christmas novel. I was intrigued. I had only read one other book by Ms. MacLeod and it was from another series. I decided to buy the book, only to find that I had already done so!

Easy peasy, I read it expecting a “normal” Christmas tale. Boy, was I surprised. I laughed and shook my head at the shenanigans that Professor Shandy got up to.

In addition to funny doings and hysterical comments, there is a good mystery in the tale. I won’t discuss what the story entails.

If you want a Christmas mystery that will give you some laughs, this one will do it. While it may not be my favorite Christmas novel, I will certainly re-read it and go on with the rest of the series, as I also discovered, I had already purchased book 2.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Blair Fisher
5.0 out of 5 stars I am enjoying this series
Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2021
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As a P G Wodehouse fan I appreciate the references to his works, and have just started to read the Professor Shandy series, as well as Inspector Madoc of the RCMP. They are 'cozy mysteries' - don't expect a lot of bloodshed...
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Diana Wirtz
5.0 out of 5 stars Still love the book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2022
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It's a rebuy as my old paperback was falling to pieces. Still love the story and the unusual setting full of quirky characters. Charlotte Macleod is one of my favourite authors and I read (and own) both the Peter Shandy and the Kelling/Bittersohn series repeatedly
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kel
5.0 out of 5 stars Professeur shandy knows best
Reviewed in France on January 21, 2019
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Très sympathique plongée dans une université agricole originale
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viviencja
5.0 out of 5 stars Agriculture, snow and murders.
Reviewed in Australia on October 12, 2021
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Original unusual setting. Good mystery. Plenty of humour.Characters with depth and variety. Look forward to the next in the series.
*****
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Büchergourmande
5.0 out of 5 stars Endlich auch als eBook!
Reviewed in Germany on June 27, 2016
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Nachdem die Charlotte MacLeod-Krimis nicht mehr im handel erhältlich waren, wird hier eine große Lücke geschlossen:
ähnlich wie die Altmeisterin Agatha Christie, der Werke immer wieder unterhalten, sind die Krimis von Charlotte MacLeod Evergreens.
Bei Christie sind es die zwanziger und dreißiger Jahre, bei MacLeod die siebziger Jahre, die in manch hinterwäldlerischer Enklave nur unzureichend angekommen sind - auch das ein Quell der Komik.
Die Idee, ein Landwirtschaftscollege im Hinterland der Ostküste der USA zum Schauplatz von Kriminalromanen zu machen, hat MacLeod allen Regionalkrimis weit voraus:
hier kommen ernsthaftes Streben nach Wissen und kriminelles Tun so urkomisch und doch menschlich zusammen, dass die Unterhaltung gewiss ist. Auch wenn MacLeod es immer wieder schafft, die ernsten Hintergründe an zu sprechen, so lockert die Komik diese immer auf. Das ist aber nicht platt gemacht, sondern sehr selbstironisch und exzellent beobachtet, so dass normale menschliche Eigenschaften beleuchtet werden - die nun mal auch zu Mord führen können.
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