What Child Is This?

By: Alice K. Boatwright

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

It's Christmas in the Cotswold village of Little Beecham...a season to celebrate with caroling, mistletoe, and mince pies.

In this sequel to Under an English Heaven, newlywed American Ellie Kent is looking forward to her first English village Christmas, but a missing Oxford student and an abandoned baby soon draw her away from the fireside into danger.

When a body is discovered on Boxing Day, Ellie comes to believe all these events may be linked through a group of teenage girls who identify with Shakespeare's tragic Ophelia. The police scoff at her theory, so Ellie pursues her own investigation to identify their secret Hamlet, who may be a killer.

Don't miss the first Ellie Kent mystery - the 2016 winner of the Mystery and Mayhem Grand Prize for best mystery. In Under an English Heaven, life brings the skeptical American Ellie Kent to a village in the Cotswolds as the vicar's new wife, but death keeps her guessing how long she'll be there.

©2017 Alice K. Boatwright (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Not only is Alice Boatwright a good detective writer, but a first-class storyteller as well. A great find." (M. C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mysteries)

Wonderfully Sweet Christmas Cozy Mystery

What a delightful seasonal mystery this turned out to be..well written little piece too.

Well written with immersive story

I loved it. I think audio version is even better. The book is easy to follow and once you are in it, you can easily relate to the emotional journey that author takes you to.

Ok story. Slow but interesting.

Had to fast forward a few times just to get on with the good parts. Little to know action but it fit the storyline perfectly. Good listen, not my usual type. No humor and Witt but good solid story line.

Mystery in Christian setting

The amateur sleuth is a vicar’s wife, and the story takes place during the Christmas season. The wife is an American, and it is interesting to see the English Christmas traditions through her eyes. The mystery was interesting, but I actually enjoyed the characters and the setting more than the mystery plot.

Superb English Christmas Mystery

What an interesting listen! American, Ellie Kent, married to the English vicar, Graham are going through the 40 days of Christmas (that's right: FORTY) at the little church in Little Beecham, when the plastic Baby Jesus in the nativity scene is replaced with a real baby on Boxing Day. Ellie, already searching for a missing teenager, who had been missing for three months, is now getting deeply attached to the abandoned baby. Soon after the baby is discovered, another teenager is found hanged to death. With mysterious Shakespearian clues, Ellie begins to believe the dead teen and the missing teen are connected. I love the writing style and the atmospheric descriptions of the people and the small town. This is the second in the series, although I haven't listened to the first, I'm going back for it now. 😊 The suspense mounts as the search for the missing college student ramps up. Excellent conclusion to a wonderful book. Don't miss it.

English village cozy with lots of Christmas warmth

I have enjoyed both of the Elle Kent mysteries, even though cozies are not usually my favorite. The idea of an American English professor marrying a village vicar in England is interesting and fun. Elle is an amateur sleuth, partly because she is somewhat bored and trying to find her role as the vicar's new wife. The plot is good with teenaged girls getting pregnant and a couple of murders in an otherwise sleepy village at Christmas. The Christmas and New year's rituals and customs were very interesting, as were the plot clues that relate to Shakespeare's plays. The story is well-paced and I did not suspect the final outcome. The narrator was very good.

A great sequel

I have enjoyed the first book in this series, and has a great time listening to this book 2. Many supporting cast returned, and were given more depths in their characters.
Unlike most books in same genre, the baddie was revealed earlier on and not till end of story, but the story was still interesting.

Excellent story excellent reader

Ellie kent mystery series is both excellent in content and narration. Can’t wait to listen to Boatwright’s next novel. Could not put it down

What Child is This

What a lovely heart warming mystery, the characters were good and the story filled with sadness, love hope. The narration was good.

Excellent!

cozy-mystery, England, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation

A year ago Ellie was a professor, had an ex husband and an ex lover, and celebrated Christmas with her parents in California. This Christmas she is a vicar's wife and amicable stepmother in a Cotswold village with a new assortment of friends including some of her friends' teenagers. And she soon became involved in the second murder investigation and a missing person since taking up residence. The detective on the cases is predictably less than pleased with her involvement. There is a young woman gone missing nearly three months, an unknown tiny newborn in the creche during the Christmas Eve service, a young woman who did not commit suicide, and other linked mysteries. The mystery is well crafted and the characters are engaging.
I have it as Whispersync and Saskia Maarleveld proves to be a remarkable voice performer!