
Member Reviews

I do love a cozy, funny crime book that is packed with quirky characters and this gave me all of that!
It’s Christmas 1953 and Frank Grasby and his boss Juggers (who I love!) are heading to Uthley Bay to investigate the mysterious death of a fisherman who has washed up on the beach strangled by a stocking along with a number of packets of stockings!!!
Frank’s Father Grasby SNR turns up with Hetty Gaunt (who was a very interesting character in “Murder at Holly House!) and things go from bad to worse with well known members of the community meeting a very sticky end, wild weather and more!
If you love a festive crime caper packed with humour and larger than life characters then this one is absolutely for you!

I am a Denzil Meyrick fan and really enjoy his DCI Daley books, but unfortunately I could not get into this book.
I like a cozy crime, and like nothing better than snuggling down to read one on a wet afternoon, but this one I struggled with.
I found the characters annoying, story line was just so slow, didn't engage me at all.
Not for me, sorry!

t’s December 1953, Christmas is just days away and the snow has fallen over Uthley Bay, a small Yorkshire fishing village. There’s a dead body and the local Bobby has been driven out of the area, leaving no one to investigate.
Travelling slowly by car, our dynamic crime busting duo are on their way to crack this case. They start with a local fisherman who is reluctant to talk to them about anything let alone a murder. This is a small village and someone must know something.
Inspector Frank Grasby and his Superintendent boss Arthur Juggers only know that a man has been strangled to death by a stocking, not a Christmas one. The question is, is there more to this? The answer comes with another body.
Once at the hotel, Juggers and Grasby attempt to be incognito. It takes less than an hour for them to be found out. Dot, who does almost every job in the hotel is having non of it. She’s a little power house and won’t stand for nonsense. There’s also Wilf and the very tall chef Tommaso who lifts Jugger’s very heavy trunk up 3 flights of stairs to their room in no time. Saves poor Grasby having to struggle with it. But these 3 are a mystery. Could they be involved?
This is a classic whodunnit. You meet other interesting characters that are written so well into the underlying story, that you just can’t help but wonder if any of them are guilty too.
I found myself laughing at the interaction between Grasby and Juggers. The way they converse is witty and believable. Juggers is most definitely in charge and even though his ideas don’t always work, he manages to play them out stylishly or just blame Grasby.
I read this in my head in a Yorkshire accent which made a lot of the text even more fun. I particularly enjoyed the introduction of the Rev Grasby, Frank’s dad and his companion who have booked into the same hotel for Christmas. The Trout Hotel is also full for Christmas with the promise of entertainment thrown in and its other staff and owner bring their own share of eccentricity which is also humorous
I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the murderer was, however, I wasn’t surprised. This would work well as a festive TV show and the book is cozy crime so whilst you’re guessing I would recommend snuggling under a blanket with a warm drink, maybe at the end of Christmasit’s calmer and you want to relax.
There is a twist in the plot which I didn’t expect but enjoyed. It made the story deeper and for me worked well overall.
This is the second Frank Grasby book, which is written in the style of his memoirs. I have purchased that one but not yet read it and I don’t think you need to have read it to enjoy this book.
This is also a new author for me and one that I will happily return to. Think a good Christie thriller with a lot of comedy thrown in.P

I really enjoyed this book and although it's a Christmas book, it's not just for Christmas.
I loved that it's set on the Yorkshire coast, it was beautifully described and so atmospheric.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Denzil Meyrick’s The Christmas Stocking Murders is a cosy yet complex Christmas mystery set in the bleak, snow-covered seaside village of Uthley’s Bay in 1953. The story follows the delightfully inept Inspector Frank Grasby and his boss, Superintendent Juggers, as they try to solve the murder of a fisherman found with a stocking around his neck. What begins as a simple inquiry takes on darker tones as a violent storm traps the detectives in the remote village and the body count starts to rise. Despite the dire circumstances, the book brims with Meyrick’s signature humour, largely from Grasby’s sardonic observations. His clumsy but well-meaning investigative style makes him a charming and relatable detective, offering not only apprehension but also moments of levity amidst the tension.
Meyrick crafts a sense of isolation, leveraging the brutal winter storm and small-town secrets to ramp up the suspense. As Grasby and Juggers encounter the strangely sinister villagers, including a bespectacled fellow who seems too interested in their investigation, the atmosphere becomes ever more claustrophobic and eerie. The interplay between Grasby and Juggers, along with Grasby’s strained relationship with his father, adds depth and humour to the narrative, emphasizing Grasby’s hapless yet intuitive personality. As stockings mysteriously wash ashore and the village’s obsession with fine hosiery takes on increasingly ominous significance, The Christmas Stocking Murders skilfully blends a festive mystery, com and even a dash of romance.

I haven’t read the previous book in this series but I was extremely interested in this book from the very start! It is set in the early 1950’s in a quaint North Yorkshire fishing village & features Inspector Grasby as the narrator. Now I don’t think this book will be for everyone as he does sound a bit like a cross between Bertie Wooster & Captain Hastings from Poirot & is written in this manner, but it’s certainly a good romp!
It’s a slow story but it doesn’t matter as it is so descriptive & humorous. Inspector Grasby & his superior Juggers have to investigate a strange murder in the village of Uthley Bay, a small fishing village.
There’s murder, snow, twins, guns, missing police constables, smugglers, Americans, a vicar & his seemingly inappropriate companion & Christmas!
All in all a throughly enjoyable story.

Christmas is fast approaching and Frank Grasby and his boss visit the Yorkshire coast to investigate the death of fisherman .
The fisherman is found with a stocking wound tightly around his neck .
There are a number of secrets and lies being told and plenty of suspects to choose from which makes the case challenging.
Grasby and Juggers make a great duo they are like chalk and cheese and this makes an entertaining read.
I enjoy the writing style of Denzil Meyrick , an easy read with added humour which is dark at times .
Plenty of red herrings to keep the readers interest and plenty of different characters.
A great addition to the series .
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers.

Firstly, I want to thank the author @denzil_meyrick the publishers @randomhouse and @netgalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book.
Ok, I'll be honest, I really struggled to finish this book. I probably gave up 4 times, but there was just something that kept drawing me back, I had to know how the story ended. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story, I just struggled with the language used. No, I don’t mean the Yorkshire accent as I lived up there for a while, more the use of it I think, due to when the story is meant to be set.
#TheChristmasStockingMurders #denzilmeyrick #NetGalley #frankgrasbymystery #arc #ebook #bookreview

This was my first introduction to Inspector Frank Grasby and whilst I don't normally read cosy crime I found this one to be a really engaging one.
As it not only delivered on the crime but the dark humour and the characters too.
Not to mention it had plenty of Christmas cheer and the period detail and setting was spot on and all together it made for a really enjoyable murder mystery. That I would happily recommend to others.

I was given an e-book copy of The Christmas Stocking Murders by Denzil Meyrick from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review of the book.
I really wanted to read this book after enjoying the first book in this series, Murder at Holly House last year.
Inspector Frank Grasby is despatched to the Yorkshire Village of Uthley Bay a few days before Christmas 1953 to investigate the murder of a local fisherman who has been found on the beach with a stocking wound tightly round his neck. This time he is accompanied by his Superintendent, Juggers who brings much humour to proceedings.
After checking into the only local hotel in the village which is filling up with Christmas tourists both officers set about trying to solve the murder. However, another murder is committed the day after their arrival and it becomes apparent that there is something pretty sinister going on in the village and the police (as well as the reader) just don't know who they can trust.
Plenty red herrings mean that the real culprits are not revealed until very near the end of the book which added to my enjoyment of the book.
This book could be read as a standalone but I would
recommend reading Murder at Hollt House first due to several recurring characters appearing in this second book.
I really enjoyed the pairing of Grasby and Juggers in this book and I hope that this duo will return in any future books in this series.
A thoroughly enjoyable cosy crime book and a great Christmas read.

I found this an easy-to-read, fairly light-hearted cosy crime that overall I enjoyed reading. But it didn't score higher for me as I felt it was trying really hard to be a bit Bertie Wooster and just couldn't hit the spot. I liked Grasby well enough, and perhaps if I already knew him from the first book I would like him more? But I wasn't entirely sure who he was, and whether he had any skills as a police detective, or if he just stumbled into solutions by accident a lot of the time. And the language is definitely on a Wodehouse incline, but it just lacked a bit of spark.
There are a lots of intriguing characters, and I wondered what was going on & so kept on reading, and then reading a bit more, to try to discover the ending. I liked the post WW2 setting too, so it had lots of good elements.

The second Frank Grasby mystery finds him investigating another mystery around Christmas, this time of a fisherman who was strangled with a stocking.
I thought the first Grasby mystery was ok, but I like giving series at least 2-3 books to see if I get more into the writing. Unfortunately, I just think the writing style here is not for me. I would recommend a reader read the first in the series first, just because they do reference the previous mystery.

I haven't read the first book in the series so started at a slight disadvantage but it did work as a standalone despite the references to previous events.
It is a humorous and entertaining book with good descriptions of people and places. It is obviously well written but the style is not what I am used to. It is set in the 1950s and narrated by Grasby himself with many wry asides. It is quite slow paced but the great detail makes up for that. Overall it's a decent read with quirky elements but not really my cup of tea.

Post war rationing is still prevalent so when a body is washed ashore with a stocking around the neck it is time to investigate. Frank and Juggers are sent, they are like chalk and cheese, (Laurel and Hardy). A remote village in Yorkshire cut off by heavy snow, a hotel that is of dubious quality and staff that are not quite what they seem the investigation into why there are suddenly so many pairs of stockings being washed ashore needs to be dealt with quickly. Another death doesn't help, but can it make things cleared in the end? Help arrives from unexpected quarters, but being kidnapped is unexpected. Is the whole village involved in the smuggling or is it maybe just the fishermen? Frank soon has it sorted but of course Juggers, his superior officer has to take the credit. A mystery with several false clues will keep you guessing, a very enjoyable read with wonderful characters.

The year is 1953, some rationing is still in place and there are restrictions on foreign imports, all as a result of the war. It’s a strange new case for DI Frank Grasby but at least it means not having to endure Christmas with his father, the retired Reverend Cyril Grasby, even though the downside is having to share a room (and maybe even a bed!) with Superintendent Arthur Juggers! A fisherman called Jack Wardle has been found dead on the beach at the little Yorkshire village of Uthley Bay and the two detectives from York Central head off through the falling snow to investigate. Juggers’ plans to pose undercover as birdwatchers are soon scuppered. Wardle has been strangled by a ladies stocking but soon Juggers and Grasby are inundated with the things when over five dozen packets of stockings are later found washed up on the beach. When the landlord of the Skipper pub (and identical twin to one of the local fishermen) is then found dead, strangled with a stocking pulled over his head, it seems there are definitely dark deeds afoot in the village. And that’s without the addition of a couple of very surprising, not to say unwanted guests for Grasby at their hotel. Cut off by the snow, it’s down to just Grasby, Juggers and three constables from Filey to solve the case before anyone else dies but where to start when everyone’s a suspect and none of the odd inhabitants are telling the truth?
There is so much humour in this beautifully written tale, I was literally laughing all the way through as Grasby puts his witty thoughts down about the stocking murders of Uthley Bay and his larger than life boss. In fact, the image of Juggers rising from the sea in all his glory will stay with me for a long time! Full of murder and mayhem and with lots of twists and turns for the reader, it’s a perfect Christmas comic cracker for the festive season!

Perfect for fans of christmas mysteries and works of Agatha Christie! A beautifully written, compelling atmospheric mystery with just the right amount of flair! Absolutely loved the 1950's setting and the contrast between our 2 mcs Juggers and Grasby made the story so much more dynamic.
I still would have loved to see a little more suspense because it was very predictable for me but it's a cozy Christmas mystery so I really can't complain much!
I hadn't read the first book, Murder at the Holly House so it took some time to get into the book for me and to get to know the characters but once I was in, I really had fun. The slower pacing of the book added to the investigation especially in this setting.
Overall a really fun and cozy Christmas read!!

The second in series, readable as a stand alone - and even better than the first!
As Christmas approaches, Frank Grasby and his senior officer, Juggers, are sent to the remote fishing village of Uthley Bay to investigate the murder of a fisherman whose body was found on the beach with a stocking wound around his neck. Before long, the beach is littered with hundreds of pairs of stockings brought in on the tide and a local innkeeper is murdered. Cut off from summoning help by a fearsome blizzard, Frank and Juggers just have to muddle through as best they can . . .
I loved the first book in this series and would say that this one is even better! Whilst creating a very involved crime mystery, Denzil Meyrick never misses the opportunity to introduce a bit of humour and I was back to trying to giggle silently while reading in bed. With it's beautiful cover, this will make a truly lovely gift. It's fair to say I found delight in everything in this one; highly recommended and definitely worth all five sparkling stars!
My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I found this a difficult book to get into...it's the second in Denzil Meyrick's Frank Grasby detective series set in an early 1950's Yorkshire. The opening chapters reference, and seem to rely on, an understanding of what went before in the previous novel (Murder At Holly House). The writing style seems dated to a period even earlier than this ..."Dear old pater...not a negative trait I recognise in my sire...Gosh yes sir"...all from Chapter 1...
Chapter 3 contains an irritating inconsistency - Grasby's father throws an overcoat "in the back of the car" BUT then we have a ridiculous exchange whilst the old boy gropes about his son's trouser pockets to get the keys to unlock the door on that same vehicle...eh?
As the book progresses through to Chapter 8 the level of absurdity (a trunk full of rifles carried in an old Oxford, a hard drinking policeman ordering a Pimm's) , coupled with the writing style lost my interest - I got the feeling that this should be described as a "comic novel" but I didn't find it funny...I couldn't warm to either Grasby or his improbably unfit, incomprehensible, infuriating superior "Juggers" and was skimming pages to try and find something positive to say about the book...I've got to be honest it proved to be a real struggle as every time I slowed down I found more to annoy me...whether it be dialogue, descriptive or situation (I don't want to give any spoilers so I'll not detail events as they unfold but I found "I can bally well...", "jolly japes" and the like too idiosyncratic for my liking.
Sadly after a totally unbelievable mistaken identity sequence, ending in a nonsense departure from a wife at the end of Chapter 14, about a third of the way in, I felt like I couldn't give the book any more of my time as I was not enjoying the experience.
There may be a market out there for the characters and/or the author but I'm afraid I'm not going to be included in any fan club on this experience.

I am a huge fan of this author's DCI Daley series (there's a new one coming - yay) and I also really enjoyed Frank Grasby's series opener - Murder at Holly House - when I read it last year. So much so that I totally pounced on this book as soon as I saw it available. And it was everything I thought it would be and more...
Ok so the actual crime being committed does rather take second place to all the rest of the shenanigans that surround Frank in this book. His relationship with his boss, his father and soon to be probably step-mother. His unrequited love for DeeDee, and his own musings. But you know, it takes a village and all that!
So... Christmas 1953 and Frank and his boss Juggers are hot footing it to Uthley's Bay where a fisherman as been found dead on the beach, strangled by a stocking. More stockings, still in their packaging, soon wash up on shore. Frank's father turns up at the inn along with Hetty Gaunt (remember her from book one) causing a bit of a to do between them and Frank. There's also shocking weather and the village is soon cut off.
In amongst all this Frank and Juggers have the murder to investigate, until that is they have two, and a disappearance... The stakes have got much higher and time is running out. And then there's an enormous curve ball which turns everything on its head...
One of the best things about this book is the way the author references the future in a very tongue in cheek way. You'll know when you see it! Genius!
Aside from that, it has everything else I need to make a book a great read. Brilliant, often larger than life characters, with some excellent dialogue and banter, playing out an intricate and well executed plot which gets on with itself very well. culminating in a wholly satisfying ending.
All in all, a cracking follow up to what is shaping up to being a series to watch. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

In this festive mystery set in 1953, Grasby and Juggers are investigating a murder of a fisherman who has a stocking tied around his neck. Soon more stockings wash ashore and the villagers are secretive and refuse to talk, meanwhile blizzards cuts them off from help. Will they beat the elements and work out who they can trust?
This was a fun festive read filled with plenty of humour. I liked the way the main characters are written as you can really get a feel for their quirks and personality, however I struggled to connect to them on a personal level. Although I think this was a well written story with an interesting premise , I found I could not get fully into the story at the time of reading. This was mainly due to the slow pacing and the feeling that the book was very long, I also feel that I should have read the first book prior to this one.
This is no means a bad story and even though this wasn’t 100% for me, I would certainly recommend it to those looking for a quirky, comedic cosy crime mystery and I would be interested to explore other books he has written that I haven’t read yet. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.