{"id":339312,"date":"2025-12-11T15:12:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/dead-festive-by-peter-buckman-bookchattercookiebiscuit\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T15:12:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:12:27","slug":"dead-festive-by-peter-buckman-bookchattercookiebiscuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=339312","title":{"rendered":"Dead Festive by Peter Buckman \u2013 Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Murder, mince pies, and mayhem\u2014a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo\u2019s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo\u2019s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.<\/em><\/p>\n

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?<\/em><\/p>\n

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn\u2019t eased by the arrival of Leo\u2019s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.<\/em><\/p>\n

#Dead Festive\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0@RandomTTours<\/a><\/em>\u00a0#bookX<\/em>\u00a0#booktwitter<\/em>\u00a0
Instagram<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0@randomthingstours<\/a><\/em>\u00a0#bookstagram<\/em>\u00a0#blogtour<\/em><\/p>\n

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Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?<\/em><\/p>\n

Who was really meant to receive Harold\u2019s glittering bracelet?<\/em><\/p>\n

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman\u2019s romantic cosy crime series\u00a0The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.<\/em><\/p>\n

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My Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love a book that is totally bonkers and Dead Festive<\/em> really hits the mark. It\u2019s part of a series that involves four septuagenarians (as am I), and a very perceptive poodle called Pumpernickel. I also have a very perceptive pooch (she knows where ALL the treats are hidden), so I can identify in so many ways.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Christmas Day and lawyer Leo (owner of aforesaid Pumpernickel), his partner psychotherapist Marion, oldest friend Dennis \u2018the world\u2019s most fearless crime reporter\u2019 and his wife Susan are celebrating together. They have been joined by granddaughter Jazz, the eccentric cross-dressing Harold, who happens to be Marion\u2019s brother, and his partner Julian. So far so good. Do keep up!<\/p>\n

They are playing charades, which I love, but Julian hates. He reluctantly acts out the film Dead Man Walking<\/em> and promptly drops down dead. In actual fact he sits down and doesn\u2019t get up again, but \u2018drops down dead\u2019 sounds much more dramatic.<\/p>\n

The police are called but they can\u2019t attend for at least an hour so our intrepid foursome and co carry on eating and drinking \u2013 drinking mainly \u2013 as it would be a shame to let it all go to waste. They are joined by Leo\u2019s younger sister Becky, who swears like a trouper and says the most inappropriate things, her husband Graham, and their moody-but-handsome son Jonathan.<\/p>\n

So basically the story revolves around how Julian died and why, and what\u2019s the importance of Harold\u2019s bracelet? Pumpernickel thinks it\u2019s poison \u2013 he has the nose after all \u2013 but why would anyone want to murder Julian? It\u2019s all very irreverent \u2013 in a good way \u2013 and hilarious. I just love the way they carry on as normal with a dead body lying under a sheet, which hasn\u2019t started to smell yet as someone observes.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to\u00a0@annecater<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for inviting me to be part of\u00a0#RandomThingsTours<\/p>\n

The Pumpernickel Mysteries series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Word of Mouth Books
Available as Amazon Kindle and PB\u00a0
PB ISBN: 978-1-0683333-6-1<\/p>\n

Leo Wengrowski runs a one-man-and-a-dog legal practice in London\u2019s Soho. Pumpernickel, a standard black poodle, is the dog. They are both in their seventies; the dog has more hair. Leo\u2019s partner is Dr Marion Fitzwalter, a psychotherapist with an international reputation who is a couple of years older, and a couple of inches taller than Leo, though as he says it makes no difference when they\u2019re lying down.<\/p>\n

Leo\u2019s oldest friend is Dennis Arbuthnot, \u2018the world\u2019s most fearless crime reporter\u2019, who has extensive contacts among both the police and the criminal world.<\/p>\n

Leo provides legal advice to victims and those suspected of violent crimes, Marion helps people with messed-up minds, Dennis rubbishes Leo\u2019s attempts to act like a detective but occasionally provides inside information. Pumpernickel acts as a sounding-board for Leo\u2019s ideas, offers reassurance to his nervous clients, and can sniff out drugs, disease, and dishonesty.<\/p>\n

Four veterans who are still working, still learning, still arguing, still loving life and each other, and still able to surprise the younger generations who come to them with their problems. Problems that are often in today\u2019s headlines, including the oldest headline of all: murder.<\/p>\n

Also in the series:<\/strong>
Dead Early<\/em><\/strong>
Dead Honest<\/em><\/strong>
Dead Rich<\/em><\/strong>
Dead Famous<\/em><\/strong>
Dead Religious<\/em><\/strong>
Dead Unpopular<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Buckman\u00a0<\/strong>was one of the youngest editors in publishing and is now one of the oldest literary agents still practising. In between he was a full-time writer, producing books, plays, scripts for films, television and radio, articles and reviews. The Pumpernickel Mysteries\u00a0<\/em>are his first crime series, and feature a quartet of characters in their seventies (including the dog) who are still working, still learning, and still enjoying life with all its problems. Peter and his wife Rosie have lived in the same Oxfordshire village for over fifty years; they have two daughters, two grandchildren, and a black cockerpoo called, amazingly, Pumpernickel.<\/p>\n

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