Cute Heading? I Got Nothing - A Christmas Peril Review

TITLE: A Christmas Peril
AUTHOR: J.A. Hennrikus
PUBLISHER: Midnight Ink
PUBLISHING DATE: September 8, 2017

FROM GOODREADS: When Edwina “Sully” Sullivan’s life imploded, she left behind her job on the police force and her unfaithful husband to start a new life as the general manager of her hometown theater, the Cliffside Theater Company. For five years, she focused on budgets instead of crimes and kept the Cliffside running alongside its mercurial artistic director.

But when her best friend is arrested for killing his father, the rich and powerful Peter Whitehall, no one is looking for another suspect. So, in between keeping A Christmas Carol on budget and Scrooge sober, Sully dusts off her investigative skills to find a killer. Her two lives collide when her ex-husband gets on the suspect list and she’s forced to confront her past in order to save her present.

MY THOUGHTS:  I picked up "A Christmas Peril" as part of my #HoHoHo RAT and it did serve the trick of reading something with Christmas undertones which wasn't over-the-top.  However, while I think this is a solid first installment in a new cozy series, it didn't pull me in like I had hoped.

Edwina "Sully" Sullivan has moved back to her small hometown after quitting her job as a Detective and leaving her unfaithful husband.  She immediately takes a job working for the Cliffside Theater Company as the primary manager, and has settled in to the job quite nicely.  Just when the troop is getting read for their annual Christmas Carol run, a wealthy but not so liked individual in the community is murdered.  His son and Sully's best friend is accused of doing the deed so Sully and her ex husband, who is also a lawyer, work together to clear Eric's name and figure out who really killed Peter Whitehall.

First, I need to say I think this book was written well enough.  I really wasn't able to figure out the mystery until the very end and even then was only half right.  That's always fun when reading a cozy mystery.  I also liked a lot of the small town characters and especially enjoyed Sully's relationship with Regina, the detective assigned to the case.  However, I don't feel this book needed a love-triangle, especially in the first installment, and for some reason, I never really connected to Sully.  There is just something about her that makes her seem aloof.  I couldn't see myself being friends with her in real life, and sometimes,  it's that connection which makes me enjoy cozies.  

For anyone who loves theater this would be an ideal book to pick up.  There's just enough mention of the production and rehearsals to keep your interest and add to the overall depth of the book.  I will probably pick up the next book in the series and see what the author does with the characters, as well as see if I end up liking Sully more eventually.

RATING: 3 PAWS