by Sandra Murphy & Tracy Condie

This week we have reviews and giveaways of 4 Christmas mysteries for your holiday reading-Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines, Rockin Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews, Silent Nights Are Murder by Libby Klein, and Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of all 4 books and links to purchase them from Amazon at the end of each review.

Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines
Review by Sandra Murphy

Sarah Booth, Tinkie, Cece, and Millie are set to enjoy the Christmas holidays at the Hound Dog Hotel in Tupelo, Mississippi. Their significant others will be along in a day or two. In the meantime, they can enjoy the Elvis impersonators who have overtaken Tupelo. There’s a bit of “Love Me Tender” on every street corner with “Hunka Hunka Burning Love” in the air. The sheer number of sequins and rhinestones could almost blind a person.

The biggest attraction (at least the one not in a white jumpsuit), is a jeweled belt, a perfect replica of the belt Elvis wore when he performed in Las Vegas. It’s valued at three million. There are security guards watching over it, alarms on the case, and still there’s worry something might happen to it. The woman who owns the belt is named Grace Land. Her mother was a huge Elvis fan, in case you can’t tell.

Against all odds, the belt is stolen. Grace hires Sarah Booth and Tinkie to find the thief and hopefully, recover the belt before it’s melted down for the gold and the jewels sold a few at a time.

It would help if anyone told the truth, including their client. Either Grace’s mother died years ago or she’s alive, the belt was insured or maybe not, the artist who designed it may or may not hold a grudge against Grace who didn’t pay for his work or he might be in love with her. The local Sheriff might be on the up and up or he might just be as bad as the people he arrests. It’s another working holiday but they’re running out of patience with their client—and just about everyone in Tupelo who isn’t ‘Elvis.’

This is book 28 in the series. Jitty, the ghost only Sarah Booth can see, manages to tag along to Tupelo and make several appearances in the form of various stars like Wayne Newton and Cher. Tinkie’s baby is on her first holiday road trip and the men even bring the dogs along to celebrate with everyone. Cece gets a big break, Millie falls in love with every Elvis who sings to her, and really, it would be a fun vacation if not for that darn stolen belt.

Look for book 29, Doggone Bones, to publish in May, 2025, available for pre-order now.

You can click here to purchase the book from Amazon.

Rockin Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews
Review by Sandra Murphy

Meg Langslow is the go-to person when an event needs planning, a place to stay overnight or for weeks is needed, to find a hot meal, or if a person needs to meet up with any one of her many friends or relatives.

The living room has been converted to a waiting room of sorts—waiting for her sister-in-law, Delaney, to have a baby. She’s been put on bedrest and if she was alone, it would drive her crazy. At Meg’s there’s always someone around, including Rose Noir who is hovering to make sure all goes well. No one has been able to agree if a baby born on or near Christmas Day is good luck or bad. Delaney’s main form of entertainment is watching the chickadees. They don’t mind when she has an involuntary nap.

Meg’s grandmother, Cordelia, is hosting a conference where the topic is exonerating those who were wrongfully imprisoned. Attendees range from those who have friends or relatives who they believe should be released from jail to those who can tell them what steps to take to make that happen—plus amateurs who love tales of true crime.

Then there’s The Gadfly, aka Godfrey Norton, also a fake name. He’s there to stir up trouble. It doesn’t take long for trouble to find him and he’s banned from the conference. He doesn’t take it well. Sadly, it’s Rose Noir, normally a very Zen-minded woman, who finds Norton’s body on Meg’s property. He’d been shot and exposed to below freezing temperatures for most of the night.

The number of people who didn’t necessarily want him dead, but who didn’t go so far as to wish him well, are in the double digits. The problem is, everyone claims to have been at the hotel for the entire night—and security cameras can’t prove differently.

This is book 36 in the popular series, thankfully with no end in sight. Meg is so organized it should be annoying but she’s so generous, no one can resent the number of tasks she can get done. It helps that she knows everyone in town and they’re willing to pitch in when needed. Her relationship with her husband Michael and her twins, who are almost teens, is one to envy.

Humor is a necessity in a situation like Meg’s and there’s plenty to be found. This is a series I look forward to reading for years to come, which includes: For Duck’s Sake, book 37 in the series, publishing in August 2025. It’s available for pre-order now.

You can click here to purchase the book from Amazon.

Silent Nights Are Murder by Libby Klein
Review by Sandra Murphy

Poppy has a bad habit of finding dead bodies. It’s not like she makes them dead, she just finds them. When Amber, the policewoman who often has to follow up on the dead body, shows up at Poppy’s house at seven in the morning, it’s definitely not going to be a good day. Poppy didn’t discover this body. However, its location is a problem and then there’s the note. Dead guy, unknown to Poppy, has a note pinned to his shirt—“Get Poppy.”

It’s not like this is the only thing she has to worry about right now. Christmas is almost here. Aunt Ginny thinks her absent-minded boyfriend, Royce, might propose. Figaro, the resident cat, found a small jewelry box with a diamond ring inside. So far, none of the potential suitors have said they’re missing such a thing. Poppy’s former mother-in-law, Georgina, is sure Smitty is going to ask her the Big Question. Sawyer, Poppy’s friend, says her boyfriend Ben might be the groom-to-be. Poppy is worried that the man in question might be her Gia. She loves him and his young son, but there are so many questions to be answered. She both hopes he’s the one and hopes he’s not. A holiday dinner with all the suspects on hand should push one of them to pop the question.

In the meantime, there’s the body to deal with. Amber convinces Poppy to go undercover to find out who had access and motive.

With Aunt Ginny around, a body or two is never enough excitement. Now she and one of the neighbors are in a decorating war to see who can have the most light-up Santas, nativity scenes, candy canes, and plastic on their lawns without draining all the available power for the neighborhood.

Poppy and Gia are a great couple. Her adoration of his son shows clearly in every scene they’re in. Figaro, the cat, adds his own brand of humor, this time by stealing feathered bird ornaments from the Christmas tree as fast as they can be replaced. It may be in retaliation for ‘someone’ (Aunt Ginny) swaddling him into submission and adding him to the nativity scene.

This is a series I always look forward to and this, book number nine, doesn’t disappoint. I hope the series continues for many more escapades.

Poppy has shared gluten-free recipes too: cherry-coconut balls, peanut butter fudge (only three ingredients), gingerbread biscotti, Christmas stollen, gingerbread muffins, chocolate-orange scones, and what’s now known as Aunt Ginny’s Second Place Because She Was Robbed Black Walnut Cake. That alone should tell you these books are a fun read.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She’s the editor for the upcoming Yeet Me in St Louis, an anthology with stories from twelve St. Louis writers. Her own short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Magazine, and anthologies such as The Perp Wore Pumpkin and I (Almost) Died in Your Arms. ‘Lucy’s Tree’, published in The Eyes of Texas, won a Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She lives in St. Louis with Ozzie the Westie Impersonator and his sidekick in crime, Louie the Cat.

Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney
Review by Tracy Condie

Book four of the Cambridge Bookshop series starts out with Molly Kimball decorating the Thomas Marlowe––Manuscripts and Folios bookstore for the Christmas holiday. Taking her inspiration from the dollhouse at the Pemberly Toy Shop down the street, Molly makes a display of dollhouse related books. Dolls figure prominently in this cozy mystery, from a VERY rare Madame Alexander to the storybook, Charlotte’s Dollhouse, which we get to read right along with Molly. Interestingly enough, Charlotte is the name of the girl who has inherited the Pemberly Toy Shop. Not only did Charlotte’s grandad leave Charlotte the shop but also a scavenger hunt that is supposed to lead to the rare Madame Alexander doll. In addition to the scavenger hunt, there are a few poisonings, some toxic relationships, an engagement, a Madrigal song experience, and a little mayhem.

Molly is an American of many talents who has joined her English mom and great-aunt in running the family bookstore located in Cambridge, England. Things to know about Molly: she can research books and help run the family bookstore; she can think fast on her feet especially when asking tricky questions; and apparently, she can sing quite well. Molly is also a fast friend as demonstrated by her desire to help Charlotte not even an hour after meeting her. Poor Molly has a hoard of vipers for a family, well a stepfamily, and they aren’t even that nice to each other.

Elizabeth Penney has done a superb job of creating such unlikeable people that you instantly empathize with Charlotte and can’t wait to see how Molly will get to the bottom of the shenanigans. Shenanigans that include break-ins and messing with the toy store dollhouse. Molly knows that Detective Inspector Sean Ryan is more than capable of hunting down the clues and getting the bad guy, but Molly can’t help it if she seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Molly is able to pay close attention and she notices things, things that most people don’t. It is this attention to detail that has helped her solve more than one mystery in the past. (I can attest to how enjoyable the previous books are.)

The hidden doll mystery and the murder mystery keep you turning the pages of this holiday who-done-it in a picturesque English town. The clues are well laid out, and the misdirection had me second and third guessing. The only thing missing is the recipe for Daisy’s cranberry white chocolate scone.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of all 4 books, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Christmas tbr 2024” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 30, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Tracy Condie is a paralegal by day and cozy armchair sleuth by night. When she is not working or reading, she enjoys preparing the recipes found in culinary cozies or researching recipes of meal items described therein and sharing reviews of both books and food on Instagram and on KRL. She lives in Corona, California with her husband and dog Zoolie, and looks forward to visiting with their grown sons when their time permits.

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.