Authors: Carlene O'Connor; Maddie Day; Peggy Ehrhart
Genre: Mystery/Christmas
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496737229
Kensington Cozies
384 Pages
$21.49. $9.06 Amazon
September 27, 2022
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CHRISTMAS SCARF MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR: When grinchy thefts steal the good cheer at a local nursing home, Siobhan O'Sullivan manages to to identify one missing item before Kilbane, Ireland's Christmas tractor parade -- a hideous shamrock scarf wrapped around a very dead body. Now, with her holiday farmhouse bash approaching, Siobhan must dash to stop a deadly Secret Santa from gifting another unwanted surprise.
SCARFED DOWN by MADDIE DAY: It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas at Pans 'N Pancakes, as twelve days of menu specials dazzle hungry locals. But the festivities go cold the instant a diner dies while knitting a brilliant green scarf. With Aunt Adele tied into a murder investigation, it's all on Robbie Jordan to find out who's really been naughty or nice in South Lick, Indiana.
DEATH BY CHRISTMAS SCARF by PEGGY EHRHART: Suspects pile up faster than New Jersey snow when frosty-tempered Carys Walnutt is found strangled by a handmade scarf auctioned at Arborville's tree-lighint ceremony. Between a winning bidder hiding behind the alias "S. Claws" and a victim who deserved coal in her stocking, can Pamela Paterson and the crafty Knit and Nibble ladies freeze a killer's merry murder plot?
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The blurb pretty much tells you all about the plot in each of these short novellas, so I am not going to expand too much on that, because adding much more would spoil the entire book, but I will try to do my best.
I love Christmas, and I love reading about Christmas. I also love mysteries, so this book was perfect in more ways than one. I could put it down after reading one story and not feel guilty that I had decorating to do, and then pick it up and go on to the next. It also gave me a chance to digest the previous story and gather my thoughts. Since I love all these authors, that didn't hurt, either.
The first story by Ms. O'Connor was definitely my favorite. I don't know if it's the idea of family at Christmas, or just the Irish setting, or even her protagonist's way of thinking; but I loved the way Siobhan came to her conclusion as to whom committed the murder, and why. The entire novella was fun, mostly centering on solving the thefts and the murder, but we did get a glimpse of Siobhan doing was everyone else is doing at Christmas, and that made it more enjoyable for me. The ending wasn't as big a surprise to me, but as I've said on and on, I read a lot of mysteries and am pretty good at figuring out the killer. Still and all, a quite enjoyable read.
The second story also came in second place. Ms. Day's protagonist is a smart woman, and she always shares her information with the police, which I like. None of this 'I'll figure it out before them even if it puts me in danger.' Or, as we also call it, TSTL. When the victim is murdered, it involves her beloved Aunt Adele, and Robbie has no choice but to get involved herself. The information she gleans from locals actually helps, but it isn't until the climax that we get to find out who the real killer is, and the reason for the murder. Of course, a Merry Christmas at the end as we expect.
The third by Ms. Ehrhart is also very good, but I felt that there was so much more extraneous information that wasn't needed, such as what dishes were being used and why (is it really important to the story?) and every food item Pamela bought was organic or special. I would have liked to have a little more of the investigation to go on. However, I do love Bettina's energy and the fact that she and Pamela are the best of friends. They also make the best of sleuths together, too, which is where this story shines. A nice ending to the book.
In the end, this is a very good read for the holiday season and I would definitely recommend it to others.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
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