'Tis The Season - White Elephant Review

TITLE: White Elephant
AUTHOR: Trish Harnetiaux
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
PUBLISHING DATE: November 1, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: There are only a few rules in a White Elephant gift exchange: 1) Everyone brings a wrapped, unmarked gift. 2) Numbers are drawn to decide who picks first. 3) Gifts don’t need to be pricey—and often they’re downright tacky. 

But things are a little different in Aspen, Colorado, at the office holiday party for the real estate firm owned by Henry Calhoun and his wife Claudine. Each Christmas sparks a contest among the already competitive staff to see who can buy the most coveted gift: the one that will get stolen the most times, the one that will prove just how many more commissions they earned that year than their colleagues. Designer sunglasses, deluxe spa treatments, front row concert tickets—nothing is off the table. And the staff is even more competitive this year as Zara, the hottest young pop star out of Hollywood, is in town and Claudine is determined to sell her the getaway home of her dreams. 

Everyone is puzzled when a strange gift shows up in the mix: an antique cowboy statue. At least the sales agents are guessing it’s an antique—otherwise it’d be a terrible present. It’s certainly not very pretty or expensive-looking. In fact, the gift makes sense only to Henry and Claudine. The statue is the weapon Henry used to commit a murder years ago, a murder that helped start his company and a murder that Claudine helped cover up. She swore that no one would ever be able to find the statue or trace it to their crime. So which of their employees did? And why did they place it in the White Elephant? What could possibly be their endgame? 

Over the course of the evening, Henry and Claudine race to figure out who could have planted the weapon, and just what the night means for the secrets they’ve been harboring. Further adding to the drama is a snowstorm that closes nearby roads—preventing anyone from leaving, as well as keeping law enforcement from the scene. And by the end of this crazy night, the police will most definitely be required… 

MY THOUGHTS: First of all let me say this is an extremely short thriller at roughly 230 pages.  While sometimes I find shorter books lacking, that wasn't the case with White Elephant and the fact that I was able to sit down and read it in its entirety during one Saturday, only made me love it even more.

So pretty much the synopsis from Goodreads, shown above, pretty much tells you more than you need to know about the plot. It's a snowy holiday season in Aspen and Claudine's real estate business desperately need to see a mansion her husband built in order to make a comeback.  She's in luck because pop star Zara is very interested, so much so that she has been invited to the holiday party at the location. 

I loved so many things about the tale.  First of all, the setting is an isolated mansion during a blizzard.  Second of all, there are some really great characters, and some who you just love to hate. Claudine is not likable at all, which I found only increased my fondness for Henry.  I felt badly that he was married to such a self-centered woman and if you read this novel, I believe you might just feel the same.  And finally, I actually made it to the end of the book and didn't know the culprit.  It was clear someone was out to get Claudine and her husband, but there were several people to chose from.  I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all.

And I feel I must mention Zara.  She's a spoiled pop star who really isn't spoiled at all.  And she just so happens to be a true crime buff meaning she ended up in exactly the right place this holiday season.  I really connected with her and think she added a lot to the overall plot.  Plus she has a cute dog.

So if you love mysteries and thrillers, and just happen to be looking for a holiday read, you should consider picking up White Elephant.  It's definitely worth the time it takes to read and is a wonderful way to usher in the holiday reads.

RATING: 4 PAWS