C. J. Daley
Book 4 in this seasonal series I didn’t expect to like but now can’t get enough of.
The town of Mistletoe, Maine is gearing up for Christmas again and it’s busier than ever. Not only are Holly and Sheriff Evan getting married on the big day, but the mayor has secured a series of shows from a dance troupe performing the Nutcracker. But on the day of the town’s big parade, the lead dancer is poisoned—and worse, it appears to be foul play again in their little town. The group is shacking up at Reindeer Games Inn though, allowing Holly all the nosy, amateur sleuthing her heart desires. Red herrings, complaints from the sheriff, and the all too familiar threats to Holly’s life and livelihood begin all over again.
I’m really not sure what it is about these that works for me so well, but at least in part, it’s the fact that while they are cozy in nature, the author maintains the thread of stakes and suspense. The deaths, threats, and life-taking attempts all hold a level of darkness that some others I’ve tried don’t have. And book four is no different for me, I fell right back in with the cast and crew.
While Holly runs around managing the Inn, her side business of glass jewelry making, her Christmas shopping and detective work—all of which are familiar to readers at this point—the author also serves up a fresh mystery, taking some things left unfinished from helping out Libby to add another layer of tension. Oh, and don’t forget that she’s also trying to get things in order to get married. While I personally think making friends and family travel and turn their holiday into something all about you is a little much, it definitely makes sense for these characters, and most importantly in a book four, it feels like earned screen time.
This mystery had me going, with Holly really digging her heels in for a character that felt destined to be the murderer. I also thought the way the dancer was poisoned was unique and made sense, how something not necessarily deadly could turn that way when you don’t know the full picture of someone’s health/lifestyle. The ending does get tied up into a neat little bow as you’d expect for the genre, but I once again enjoyed my time with the characters.
Book 4 in this seasonal series I didn’t expect to like but now can’t get enough of.
The town of Mistletoe, Maine is gearing up for Christmas again and it’s busier than ever. Not only are Holly and Sheriff Evan getting married on the big day, but the mayor has secured a series of shows from a dance troupe performing the Nutcracker. But on the day of the town’s big parade, the lead dancer is poisoned—and worse, it appears to be foul play again in their little town. The group is shacking up at Reindeer Games Inn though, allowing Holly all the nosy, amateur sleuthing her heart desires. Red herrings, complaints from the sheriff, and the all too familiar threats to Holly’s life and livelihood begin all over again.
I’m really not sure what it is about these that works for me so well, but at least in part, it’s the fact that while they are cozy in nature, the author maintains the thread of stakes and suspense. The deaths, threats, and life-taking attempts all hold a level of darkness that some others I’ve tried don’t have. And book four is no different for me, I fell right back in with the cast and crew.
While Holly runs around managing the Inn, her side business of glass jewelry making, her Christmas shopping and detective work—all of which are familiar to readers at this point—the author also serves up a fresh mystery, taking some things left unfinished from helping out Libby to add another layer of tension. Oh, and don’t forget that she’s also trying to get things in order to get married. While I personally think making friends and family travel and turn their holiday into something all about you is a little much, it definitely makes sense for these characters, and most importantly in a book four, it feels like earned screen time.
This mystery had me going, with Holly really digging her heels in for a character that felt destined to be the murderer. I also thought the way the dancer was poisoned was unique and made sense, how something not necessarily deadly could turn that way when you don’t know the full picture of someone’s health/lifestyle. The ending does get tied up into a neat little bow as you’d expect for the genre, but I once again enjoyed my time with the characters.