Cabot Cove is pulling out all the stops for Christmas this year as they are vying to be named Christmas Town in Maine's tourist brochure. Many events are planned including Christmas caroling parties, readings, cookies, along with visiting elves, a boat parade, and a Christmas Day Parade.
While most of the residents of Cabot Cove are working on plans for the holiday, Realtor Eve Simpson has another iron in the fire. She has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead. Boston tycoon John Bragdon is ready to sign on the dotted line and get renovations started immediately. Then a man thought to be dead because he has been missing for years returns to town. Kenny Jarvis is back and he is livid that his sister was trying to sell their childhood home. He plans to stop her at any cost.
Eve basically ignores all the drama and organizes a dinner to welcome John Bragdon and his wife Rose Marie to Cabot Cove. She invites many of the town's prominent citizens including Jessica Fletcher and Dr. Seth Hazlitt and the Bragdons bring several of their employees.
A couple of days later Kenny finds Rose Marie at Hill House and threatens her saying the woman will never live in his family's home. Just a few hours later Rose Marie is found dead in her room. The easy assumption is that Kenny Jarvis is responsible for the woman's death but Jessica believes it will be someone else's holiday that will be ruined. She just needs to figure out who.
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Christmas in Cabot Cove didn't disappoint. All my favorite characters were back. The author brings them all to life so well. So much so, that I hear their voices loud and clear as if I watching an episode of the television show. Jessica is a dynamic character with a keen mind. She gets along with everyone and volunteers to help in any way she can. This time she was fully involved in the Christmas festivities in the quest to make Cabot Cove, the Christmas town. She gets her friends involved too, sometimes when they don't want to be. :-) She juggles it all even when she gets caught up in another murder.
Readers were introduced to some interesting new characters too. All unique, they quickly develop throughout the story with some finding their names on Jessica's suspect list.
The story unfolds at a very comfortable pace. I enjoyed following along with Jessica on all her tasks. Surprisingly while doing a common everyday task she had her A-ha moment making all the clues fall into place. I gave myself a quick pat on the back for being right. I had pinned down the killer earlier in the story but wasn't positive about how they did it.
I loved everything about this cozy mystery. Cabot Cove is the ultimate cozy town all decked out in its Christmas finery and Ms. Moran captures it all with her wonderful descriptions. The residents of this cozy town feel like old friends, fresh and genuine after almost 60 books penned by different authors. It takes a special author who can capture the characters and continue their storylines seamlessly. Ms. Moran does an excellent job. She also plotted an intriguing mystery bringing out her reader's armchair sleuthing skills. And after the murder mystery was solved Jessica got her wish. I treasure a happy ending.
Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit with a little murder mystery to solve on the side. Festive, fun, and heartwarming. I truly recommend you visit Cabot Cove this holiday season.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As Cabot Cove plans its biggest Christmas season ever, someone adds murder to the Calendar of Events.
A Killer Christmas is the 59th novel in the long-running Murder, She Wrote mystery series penned by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran, and this latest tale does not disappoint. All the regulars are present and accounted for, with some newbies on hand, just in time for the holidays and a homicide.
Reading a new mystery set in Cabot Cove is like returning to your cozy book hometown. Jessica Fletcher, Dr. Seth Hazlitt, Sheriff and Maureen Metzger, and so many others feel like family. With each added adventure, I'm always left in awe of how the authors maintain such perfect continuity from story to story and are able to work in so many familiar residents. In this story, the whole town comes together to plan a Christmas calendar of events to rival any in the state to win the title of Maine's Christmas Town.The plot unfolds quietly with a lot of focus on the planning of the holiday events, setting arrangements in motion, and Eve trying to secure the sale of a large mansion on the cliffs overlooking the cove that will net her substantial commission. While interesting because I like Jessica and her circle of friends and acquaintances, I thought the build-up toward the murder took too long, Rose Marie's death not occurring until over halfway into the book. Her death occurs almost on the page, in front of several women, including Jessica, and no one saw anything to make them believe that her time was imminent. And a recent altercation with another character distracts everyone on the case. However, the truth does not stay hidden long, and there is an interestingly calm but tragic resolution to the investigation.
I recommend A KILLER CHRISTMAS to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy holiday-themed stories.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
