Lori C. (dollycas) reviewed on 12/4/2016 + 707 more book reviews

Dollycas's Thoughts

Again the wonderful cover drew me right into this book and the story held me tight.

Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus's Treasures, and the rest of the town of Rudolph is getting ready for Christmas. The Yuletide Inn is a popular place to gather and Merry's parents are best friends with the owners, Grace and Jack Olsen. After having dinner together Jack is rushed to the hospital for what looks to be a heart attack. With Jack out of commission for awhile and it being the busiest time of year, his son Gord and his wife come to Rudolph to help. But Gord is not happy just running the hotel. He has big plans that will not only change things at the inn but could change things for all of Rudolph. When Gord it found dead, there are plenty of suspects, even Santa Claus. Merry wants Christmas to shine without a murder overshadowing everyone's festivities so sets out to catch this Grinch herself.

I love this town and I love these characters.

I want to visit Rudolph right now. What a special place to celebrate the holidays.

Vicki Delany's characters are so well developed they leap right off the pages and into your heart. Her dad, former mayor, and resident Santa Claus leads the town in a special way. Everyone loves him and wants to work with him to keep the town a happy place even when there is a murderer on the loose. I should say everyone, but the current mayor. She does get her nose out of joint when people defer to him instead of her. With daughter's named Merry, Eve, and Carol, there is no doubting Noel Wilkerson loves Christmas. Guess when his birthday is? One of the characters, Jackie, Merry's employee, is a bit Scrooge-ish, in the way she treats Merry, but Merry does leave her on her own quite a bit as she sleuths out the killer.

Delany balances the Christmas theme with a magnificent mystery. With pretzel like twists and turns the reader is really kept on their stocking footed toes. I was so surprised at who the culprit actually was, I had no inkling at all. Love, love, love when that happens.

The author also adds just the right amount of romantic and humorous elements to the story.

This story checks all my cozy boxes and having it set at Christmas time in a wondrous Christmas village/town puts it over the top from A Perfect Escape to Paradise. Thank you Vicki Delaney, you have kicked started my Christmas Season in a grand way!

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