Reading Fanatic Reviews

Christmas Mysteries & Suspense

Mince Pies and Murder by Carly Reid

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Mince Pies and Murder*

Murder and Christmas in Small-Town Scotland

I have read every book in this series, including the prequel. The series, where a young American woman goes to a small town in Scotland to stay with her aunt, immediately charmed me. Each book has felt infused with such a Scottish flavor and quirky characters like we love in any cozy mystery. This book, in particular, felt steeped in Scottish tradition—it is Christmas, after all—what fun! Who murdered Santa Claus after a big Yule festival? Dalkinchie, despite its small size, always seems to have an adequate pool of suspects! I feel like each of these books is getting better and better, though I did enjoy the first one. The author has a way of building a community of fascinating characters, throwing in blind turns and red herrings, and still making it all seem realistic. My hats off to the author, and I sincerely look forward to the next book of the series.

A Snowflake at Midnight by Anne Renwick

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Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo, Bol.de

A Snowflake at Midnight*

Christmas Steampunk Romance

I don’t read as much steampunk as I might like, but I do find it a very fascinating sub-sub-genre. This book had all the steampunk elements I enjoy, like all the science, airships, clockwork, a focus on industry, and harkening back to ancient traditions. I know once I read the description that it would be a book I’d like. I love the fact that the heroine is a librarian and the hero a botanist. I am intrigued by ancient texts myself, so I loved that that was an element in the mix. I absolutely adored the fact that the key to possibly finding a cure for her father had to do with a special type of mistletoe! Perfect for a Christmas story. I found both the main characters to be believable and relatable, and I loved that they were willing to sacrifice in the hopes of saving her father.

The Candy Cane Caper by Josie S. Kilpack

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Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo, and Bol.de

The Candy Cane Caper*

Sweet Christmas Cozy

For me, reading holiday romance and mysteries are the equivalent of watching all those syrupy holiday Hallmark movies; I’m more of a reader than a watcher. I am so glad to have found this particular holiday mystery. While I don’t mind a mystery with dead bodies and the like, of course, it is refreshing to read a holiday cozy mystery where there is nothing too heavy. The mystery involved in this book has to do with missing Christmas ornaments. As such, I would call it a rather gentle, even sweet mystery. Honestly, it is more about the family and friend relationships in the community of the book. Amateur sleuth and baker Sadie is stressed because she wants to make the perfect holiday for her blended family. She and husband, Pete, are having all their children and grandchildren from their first two marriages coming to town for the big day. I love watching the interaction between Sadie and Pete. They are a loving couple, and I appreciate it when stories feature a middle-aged couple. Why should all the young people always have all the fun? The mystery involves the disappearance of the valuable ornaments of a very dear nonagenarian whose eyesight and Health are failing. Despite everything else that she has going on, Sadie can’t help but get involved. Another cool aspect of this book is that recipes are scattered throughout, starting with Snow Flurry cookies and ending with a delicious-sounding Cunningham’s Candy Cake with chocolate ganache. If you enjoy reading holiday mysteries and don’t mind that they’re on the kinder side (no death), this sweet caper cozy mystery may be right up your alley.

Witch Myth Christmas by Alexandria Clarke

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Free with Kindle Unlimited

Witch Myth Christmas*

Paranormal Christmas a la Groundhog Day… Plus!

The first part of this book feels like a paranormal holiday version of Groundhog Day. Christmas day keeps repeating over and over with slight variations. Only one person seems to be aware of the time slip. I quite enjoyed this author’s writing style. She uses active verbs and deep point of view that makes you feel like you are living the story along with Noelle as she tries to figure everything out. There is a little bit of an information dump at the beginning, including the rather hackneyed use of a window so that a first-person narrator can describe herself, but this is written better than most, so I can forgive it. I loved following the twists and turns of the story. A fun and engaging read.

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The asterisks (*) by the book title denote the source of the book copy.

One star = I received it as a free advance/review copy or directly from the author.

Two stars = I borrowed it through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Three stars = I purchased the book outright (sometimes for free).

The Amazon book links on this site are affiliate links, which means I make a tiny percentage if you choose to buy a book linked from this site.

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