AUTHOR: Jacqueline Frost
PUBLISHER: Crooked Lane Books
PUBLISHING DATE: October 10, 2017
FROM GOOREADS: When Holly White's fiance cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime--exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly's family tree farm.
When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly's father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn't help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list in Twelve Slays of Christmas, Jacqueline Frost's jolly series debut.
MY THOUGHTS: If you are looking for a cute cozy to get you in the Christmas mood, look no further because "The Twelve Slays of Christmas" does just that. Holly has just returned home to Mistletoe, Maine for the holidays after her fiance called off their wedding. In order to get over the loss, she immerses herself in work on her parents Christmas tree farm and it's there that the reader becomes introduced to the entire zany cast of characters. Soon after the book begins, a townswoman named Margaret is found dead on the property after making numerous people upset. The tree farm is now abuzz with investigations from the new detective in town and it is ruining the annual Reindeer Games.
This book is just so much fun. I'm not even a huge reader of Christmas-themed tales but I devoured it in a few days. The tree farm is so quaint and the activities associated with Reindeer Games sound like so much fun even a Scrooge would enjoy them. I really enjoyed meeting all the residents of Mistletoe, Maine and of course the mystery kept me on my toes as well. This book is Christmas through-and-through and I am wondering what the author has planned for the next installment because I can't imagine anything other than Christmas tales in this setting. I mean, even Holly's cat (where's the dog love cozy writers???) is named Cindy Lou. I will warn you there that there is tons of talk about food in the book though - from pies and cookies to cocoa and cupcakes. I was seriously hungry through half of it.
"Twelve Slays of Christmas" earns 5/5 because the mystery kept me on my toes, the characters were a blast and the setting definitely put me in the Christmas mood. If any of that interests you, then I suggest you start this series as well!
RATING: 5 PAWS
I actually been looking for a seasonal themed book! Thank you so much for this lovely review! Can't wait to read this one. New sub xoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks for subscribing. This is a perfect book to read this time of year and I hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up.
DeleteYou're welcome! 💖
DeleteI just grabbed this and can't wait to read it. Thrilled that you loved it.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll enjoy it. Stormi and I didn't plan to read this one together but we ended up doing so and both have it 5/5.
DeleteAdding to my TBR immediately!!
ReplyDeleteYea! Hope you love it. It's so much fun.
DeleteThis does sound like a lot of fun! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteIt was a blast.
DeleteI'm not huge reader of Christmas books either! so I think it's great you loved this one that much! :) Maybe I should try it since it has all that food! [or maybe that's a reason NOT too lol ]
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to hit my goal of 5 Christmas reads but not doing so good so far.
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