Happy Homicides: 13 Cozy Christmas Mysteries

Bubby: I can hear it already. “A Christmas review? It’s not even Halloween yet!” True, but have you looked around your local Costco or Wal-Mart or any other store lately? It’s full on Christmas season as far as retail is concerned. This is just a chance to grab 13 bite-sized cozy mysteries (some with murders, some not) that can deliver little doses of holiday cheer from now until New Year’s Day.

Sissy: I think this collection should have been called “Christmas Canine Cozies” since many of the stories feature dogs.

Bubby: Then why is there a cat on the cover?

Sissy: What, you want it to be “Christmas Kitty Cozies”? Regardless of what pet you might find featured within the pages of this collection, let me tell you that it was really fun to have 13 stories of vastly different flavors to read. Yes, they all had Christmas woven in but the settings, characters and situations were all unique.

Bubby: Speaking of different flavors, I want to toss a little warning in here. There is one story that is a bit more suggestive than our usual fare. There was no explicit sex or language, mind you, just…almost. (Contingent on Approval by Jenna Bennett, in case you’re wondering). Otherwise, the collection is PG clean, just like we like it. My favorite of the bunch was The Dog Who Came for Christmas, by Joyce and Jim Lavene. (We received the sad and shocking news last week that Joyce Lavene unexpectedly passed away. The world has lost a great storyteller. Hugs and prayers to Jim and family). My kids are desperately hoping the a dog will come to our house for Christmas. I have mixed feelings on the subject.

Sissy: I liked the one by the Lavenes as well and I really liked Dying for Holiday Tea by Linda Gordon. Plus Menace at the Christmas Market by Sara Rosett and…well I enjoyed a lot of them, some better than others. Let’s just say there’s something for everyone here, from poisonings to stolen jewels, mob hits to dognappings and of course, a few murders topped off with a little romance. There’s even cookbook theft for people like Bubby who would commit murder over recipes.

Bubby: Darn straight! I actually had to check my secret hiding place where I’ve stashed recipes from three different grandmothers to make sure no one had done the five-fingered lift! If you want the recipe for Grandma Juchau’s rhubarb and strawberry pie, you’ll have to kill me first! (Or just ask. It’s really not that big of a deal. I’ll share!) I love collections like this because I am introduced to new authors I haven’t read yet. Not that I need any additions to my TBR pile, but finding a new author to love is as good as finding a new chocolatier whose wares I haven’t sampled yet! Happy Homicides made me want to take down the scary spiders and cobwebs that are currently festooning my mantle and dive right into green, red, silver and sparkles. Merry Christmas!

Sissy: That just sounds wrong. And I love Grandma Juchau and all but the last few memories of any of her pies were sullied by the fact that they’d spent many months in her freezer. So I won’t be killing you for the pie recipe. I won’t kill you for any food, actually. I’ll just come over to your house and eat it after you make it for me. See? Christmas peace and joy! Happy Homicides is actually the perfect read for right now because it combines murder and mysteries (which goes with Halloween) with Christmas to whet your whistle for the upcoming season. Overall, a very entertaining compilation. Oh! I almost forgot! We have TWO giveaways to go along with this book tour. First off, we are giving one lucky winner an e-book copy of Happy Homicides. All you have to do is comment on this post (here on the website, not on Facebook).  This contest is open until Friday, October 30th. The second is the Rafflecopter contest below for a $50 etsy giftcard. Imagine what fabulous things you could find! But you only have until midnight tonight to enter, so hurry up!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Click HERE to buy Happy Homicides for only 99 cents!