Crime and punishment with a nice Christmas ending. ( )

Like Perry's previous Christmas novellas, this one focuses on minor characters--in this case, Dr. Crowe and his assistant, Scuff. Scuff, the former mudlark, is also the adopted son of William and Hester Monk, Will. That's how he learned to read, and got his great interest in medicine--and became a medical student and Crowe's assistant.

They're working at Crowe's free clinic, when there's a serious carriage accident not far away. Crowe is called to the scene, and sews up two serious wounds on a young woman's leg. Then the men on the scene help transport her to his clinic.

She's Ellie Hollister, only child of a wealthy businessman, and not someone who would ordinarily come anywhere near his clinic. It's too soon to move her any greater distance, though, and Crowe takes her there, and sends her carriage driver to tell her father.

Crowe is soon smitten with Ellie, and she might be with him, too. Her father is outraged at her being in such an obviously inferior clinic, but accepts the advice of the Hollister family physician that Crowe has done excellent work and it's better for her to stay there awhile longer.

Once she goes home, Crowe expects to never see her again.

Meanwhile, he has sewn up a cut on a little girl's finger. The girl stays because it's warm and safe there, and helps Crowe with tasks that are within the ability of a five-year-old mudlark. On learning she doesn't even have a name, he calls her Mattie.

When Crowe, walking home from visiting a patient, sees Ellie having an argument that turns violent with a young man, he intervenes.

The man is Paul Dolan, Ellie's fiancè, and the son of ruthless and dangerous businessman Silas Dolan. Why has Albert Hollister, who obviously loves his daughter, agreed to this marriage? Why has Ellie? Does Silas Dolan have a hold on Hollister?

Crowe starts poking around, talking to friends, patients, and newsies who know things that would never go in the papers they sell.

These people tell him a lot, but also that Silas Dolan is too dangerous to cross. When Crowe learns about a warehouse fire in which a valuable cargo was destroyed, or reported destroyed, and a night watchman killed, he becomes alarmed, and strange things start happening.

Meanwhile, Mattie is becoming the most useful little pair of hands in the clinic, when Crowe or Scuff need another pair of hands, to thread needles, fetch clean cloths, and generally keep in order the things that she can safely handle. Crowe is startled when he has to explain what the color "blue" is. Scuff doesn't know how to say no when she brings home a kitten--so he doesn't say no, and makes sure Crowe doesn't, either.

When it becomes frighteningly clear that Ellie's father may be involved in the deadly crime Silas Dolan organized, Crowe's heart is aching, but he has to tell Monk what he knows.

This is a trip through the desperately poor and often dangerous streets where they people who seek the services of the free clinic. We see the desperation, but also the bonds of friendship and cooperation. We also see the bonds of found family, in Crowe, Scuff, Mattie, and Monk (and Hester, but she's referred to but not seen in this book.)

There's tension and fear, and warmth and friendship.

Satisfying as always.

I bought this audiobook. ( )

A Christmas Deliverance has Dr. Crowe from the William and Hester Monk mystery series as its protagonist. Will 'Scuff' Monk, their adopted son, has a big role, too.

This mystery series has already rescued two homeless boys: Scuff (introduced in William Monk #13, The Shifting Tide), and Warren, called 'Worm' (who may have been introduced in #20, Blood on the Water). I guess it's time for a homeless girl to be rescued. This one is the first patient of the book, only five or six years old. She can't tell Dr. Crowe her name after he stitches up one of her right fingertips. Crowe calls her 'Mattie,' after one of the long ago Queens Matilda.

Mattie is honest, so she wants to pay Crowe back, even though she has no money. She assists him in lancing a boil on a man's neck.

We get some of Crowe and Scuff's back stories in this novella. Scuff was only five when his mother and stepfather expected him to spend more and more time on the riverbank. A few years later, he might as well have been an orphan, fending for himself until he met William Monk. Crowe has no family that he'll mention. He first learned medicine from a ship's surgeon.

Crowe prefers to stick to the clinical side of patients' problems. Scuff knows that sometimes the patients really need someone to listen to them. Scuff's listening has provided them with a Christmas pudding from Old Mother Watson.

We're soon drawn into what will become the plot. Crowe starts remembering Eliza 'Ellie' Hollister, daughter of wealthy Albert Hollister, who owns a warehouse on Tooley Street. Ellie was injured severely enough in a street accident that she would have died had Crowe not treated her. Because Ellie could not be moved for several days, the two got to talk and know each other. That weas nearly a year ago and Crowe has definitely not forgotten her. Now he happens to see her being scolded, held too tightly, and slapped by Paul Dolan, son of very wealthy luxury goods importer Silas Dolan. From the conversation, it's clear that Ellie and Paul are going to be wed and Ellie doesn't want to marry him. Thanks to the slap, Dr. Crowe restrains Paul. Paul's struggles land him in the gutter.

So why is Ellie being forced to marry such a brute? Crowe is determined to find out. His investigations involve questioning river workers, mudlarks, William Monk, and using the library. Crowe uncovers possible arson and murder or manslaughter. It's a good thing that Crowe is out the times a police sergeant and constable come (probably from Dolan) to harass him. The sergeant is definitely not pleased to only have Scuff to verbally push around.

Meanwhile, Mattie brings her beloved tiny kitten to the clinic as payment. This gives Scuff a chance to remember his early life when he was a child of the streets, too. In response, he invites Mattie to stay to care for the kitten. On that understanding, Mattie accepts. Later, she'll assist Scuff as Scuff assists Dr. Crowe.

NOTES:

This novella is not divided into chapters. The page numbers are from the large print edition.

Page 54 gives the information about Crowe's past and why he didn't finish qualifying to be a doctor for so long,

Page 73 states that Scuff is now 22.

Page 77 According to a former patient, Coldbath Fields is the worst prison in England.

Pages 94-115 cover the first visit of the bullying sergeant and a summary of Scuff's past.

Page 115 introduces Mattie's payment, a tiny calico kitten named Rosie.

Pages 124-129 cover William Monk's first appearance in this book.

Page 135 introduces Dr. Crowe and Rosie the kitten.

Pages 197-203 cover Scuff's first serious solo operation,

This Christmas novella gives Dr. Crowe and Will 'Scuff' Monk more than a supporting role in the main series. I like Little Mattie. Crowe's investigations give readers a glimpse of river worker and mudlark life in London in the middle of the 19th century. The climax is a dangerous fight in the dark. If historical mysteries are your cup of tea, enjoy this one.

Dog lovers are out of luck, but cat lovers get an adorable kitten to enjoy. ( )

Having read many of Anne Perrys Christmas Novellas I often wonder why they are inhabited by such dislikable people? Well, not all of them - there are actually some pretty wonderful people in this Novella. Perry gets her characters so perfectly that with a few sentences we know who to trust and admire and who are the villains.

“Christmas was in the air, with bright decorations in the windows … but what was Christmas without a family?” Before the last page is turned Perry had given me a frank and demanding definition of what constitutes a family, of truly belonging. On reflection I liked this book so much more than I originally thought.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy. ( )

Anne Perry writes exciting mysteries centering on Christmas. This novella features Dr. Crowe, Scuff, and Monk. Dr. Crowe runs a medical service for the poor, and Scuff helps and follows instructions in an attempt to learn doctoring. Enter Eliza Hollester, the daughter of a prominent and rich man. Eliza’s carriage falls victim to a terrible accident and Eliza severely hurts herself. Dr. Crowe mends the tattered leg and falls deeply in love with Eliza. Eliza has been promised in marriage to the son of another wealthy man. Crowe witnesses Paul Dolan hitting Eliza and sets out to find why Eliza will marry such a louse. The result shows two prominent men cheating to remain in wealth and power. ( )