Thomas and Charlotte Pittβs former maid takes a new job as Christmas approachesβbut not everyone in the household may survive the holidays in this tension-filled novel from bestselling author Anne Perry.
βPerryβs Victorian-era holiday mysteries [are] an annual treat.ββThe Wall Street Journal
After leaving her position with Charlotte and Thomas Pitt to get married, Gracie thoughtΒ her days as a maid were behind her. But when her good friendβs daughter, Millie, turns up on her doorstep just before the holidays, frantic because things are going missing from the kitchen in the household she serves, Gracie knows she has to find out what is happening. Millie, whose mother died years before, canβt risk being accused of theft andΒ getting thrown out on the street, with no character references for a new position.
So Gracie takes on Millieβs job herself, claiming Millie is sick and needs a fewΒ days to recuperate. At first, it seems that all is normal in the household, even if the coupleβs elderly granny keeps entirely to her bedroom upstairs. But Gracie begins toΒ realize that Granny is suffering from neglectβand rather than helping her, the husband and wife have decided she isnβt dying fast enough.