A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry

A Christmas Beginning: A Novel - Superintendent Runcorn of Scotland Yard has taken his holiday on the island of Anglesey. While he is there he meets Melisande Ewart’s brother, John Barclay. Melisande had been a witness for Runcorn in London and he has not forgotten her. He attends the Sunday morning services of the nearby church hoping to see Melisande. He meets the pastor, his wife, and his sister, Olivia. A couple of days later, Olivia is murdered. Melisande asks Runcorn to help and the local constable reluctantly agrees that he needs it.

This book is part of Perry’s Christmas Novels series. Runcorn is a character from the Monk series. I think that this series does not necessarily need to be read in order. However, I do think knowledge of her Monk and Pitt series do help with the background of the main characters.