I meant to be timelier with this, but the holidays got away from me. Around the end of November, I went searching for Christmas themed cozy mysteries and I stumbled upon what I'm hoping to be a new series. They were relatively quick reads so I'm going to review them here together. Both are the Kindle version.
Twelve Slays of
Christmas by Jacqueline Frost
💖💖💖💖
Admittedly, this book took me by surprise. It had good
reviews, but that happens all the time with books that I end up disliking. That
didn't happen here, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Nursing the hurt of a broken engagement – two weeks before
the Christmas Eve event, no less – Holly has packed up her life in the big city
(Portland, Maine) and moved back to Mistletoe, Maine and her parents' Christmas
tree farm. Her efforts to drown her sorrows in her mother's baked goods and the
annual Reindeer Games that take place on the tree farm are interrupted by the
murder of the Historical Society president – a woman who was seen haranguing
several people before her demise, including Holly's dad. To make matters worse,
it seems to have happened on the tree farm, putting a dent in the holiday business
and creating suspicion in the locals. Of course, much to the chagrin of Evan, former
Boston Homicide Detective and the new Sheriff in Mistletoe, Holly takes it upon
herself to find whodunnit, to save Christmas and the family tree farm.
The mystery kept me guessing, which is, on its own, a reason
to like this book. There are red herrings aplenty, charming characters and a
lot of humor. It's a "clean" read, in that there is no sex or even coarse
language, but it's not in an artificially prim or uptight way. Also, with a
town name like Mistletoe, and it taking place largely on the Christmas tree
farm, you can expect a lot of Christmas. But if you can handle a Christmas-y
theme at all, it's an all-around great read that you will enjoy anytime of the
year.
Twas the Knife Before
Christmas by Jacqueline Frost
💖💖💖
It's Christmastime again in Mistletoe, Maine, and the small,
historic town has another murder. The town's Christmas tree lighting is the
scene, and the large container meant to be filled with peppermints for a 'guess
how many' game has an extra something not so festive in it. This time, Holly's
baker friend Caroline is in the frame, as the victim was her handsy blind date,
whom she loudly and publicly rebuffed. Luckily for Holly, the victim, despite
being handsome and wealthy, was not a great guy, and there are many more
suspects for her to check out, even with the threatening notes and ominous
peppermints.
This one, too, I didn't know whodunnit until the end. There
were many of the same characters and humor, as well. There's a lot to like here,
but I do have to say, I enjoyed it slightly less than the first for a few
reasons. Holly's love interest, who made a bold gesture in the end of the last
book, cooled off almost immediately for a reason later disclosed, but I can't
help wondering about an entire year passing that way. I'm not sure the reason
was good enough or even really sensical, either, for him to basically ignore
Holly for so long. Also, there was a sort of … supernatural element that was
unexpected and I think would have been better if left in a way that would allow
for non-supernatural explanations, as well. The ambiguity would have been
better for the book's genre, though I'm not complaining overmuch as I enjoy a
little magic – it just seemed out of place in something that had previously
been grounded in a non-magical reality. In any case, it was still another
enjoyable read.
I'm hoping there will be more in the series, but it's hard
to tell. The second book ended with a lot of neatly tied Christmas bows, which
gave me a sense of finality. For now, though, I guess I'll be glad to have
found these two and keep an eye out and my fingers crossed for more.
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