by Sarah Erwin

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

A mystery surrounding fireworks at Christmastime makes A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket, book three in Heather Weidner’s Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe mystery series, an exciting and fast-paced read.

The small beach town of Mermaid Bay, Virginia, is abustle as they prepare for and celebrate the Christmas season. The local business council is sponsoring a competition for the town’s summer fireworks contract, which would be a lucrative contract to secure. The competing teams, however, take the competition to new lows with corporate espionage, feuds, and sabotage. One especially intense feud between two family operations brings out the worst in the competitors – especially when one of the competitors turns up murdered near Jade’s ‘Tis the Season Christmas store. Of course Jade is on the case to help her boyfriend Sheriff Nick solve the murder so Christmas isn’t ruined.

Like past entries into this series, this latest is well-plotted and page-turning. There’s much to enjoy, and while I had a guess as to the suspect, there’s no shortage of folks to consider, and it was fun to sort out all the pieces with Jade. I also enjoyed the clever way Heather tied Christmastime to summer time in the mystery. Mermaid Bay is a charming town, one I’d love to visit, and it was enjoyable to escape there during the holiday. Her descriptions are vivid and the cozy details brought the setting to life.

In addition to the murder mystery, there’s also an anonymous blog (Mermaid Whispers) on the scene that is causing a lot of buzz around town. This was a fun side plot, and I could not guess the true author.

There’s the usual fun cast of characters with some quirky ones as well. I love all of Jade’s great friendships in town – if you like the found family theme in your stories, I get this vibe as I read about Jade and her life in Mermaid Bay.

Enjoy this entertaining read any time of year or save for your Christmas TBR – it’s a treat no matter what!

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win an ebook copy of A Tisket a Tasket Not Another Casket, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “tasket” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen February 22, 2025. U.S. residents only for print version, and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Sarah Erwin started her career as a children’s librarian, later becoming a public library director and now she’s a stay at home mom. While her career might have changed, her love of reading has been a constant since 4th grade and she reads over 200 books a year. Read along with her on her blog Sarah Can’t Stop Reading or on Instagram. Sarah lives in St. Louis, MO with her two kids, her husband and a family dog and cat.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.