by Cynthia Chow & Kate Carlisle

This week we have a review and giveaway of the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery by Kate Carlisle which also happens to take place at Christmas. We also have a fun Christmasy guest post from Kate. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

The Knife Before Christmas: Fixer-Upper Mystery By Kate Carlisle
Review by Cynthia Chow

The day after Thanksgiving heralds the start of the Christmas season for Lighthouse Cove, California, and the entire town kicks into high gear with an abundance of holiday festivals and business events. The historic Cliffs Hotel has built its reputation on over-the-top celebrations, and this year the Garrison family is hosting an old-fashioned carnival with its own antique carousel. Third-generation hotel owners Bill and Lillian Garrison are longtime friends of Shannon Hammer, and her family’s construction business has always been contracted to renovate and repair the massive estate. Shannon has grown up alongside the Garrison family, so she is very familiar with the adult children and their respective partners. Both Shannon and her sister Chloe may have briefly dated Logan Garrison, but he is now married to Randi, bestie to Shannon’s nemesis Whitney Reid Gallagher. Randi continually bah humbugs the senior Garrison’s plans to stage a friendly family competition to renovate another wing of their mansion, and her arrogant attitude definitely makes her a Scrooge in what should be a happy family reunion.

At least Shannon and her bestselling author fiancé are able to embrace their own happy celebrations, which they share with their construction team and friends. This year Shannon and her friends have also managed to book highly sought-after reservations for one of the eight-course dinners taking place in the hotel’s gourmet restaurant every night until Christmas. Unfortunately, the discovery of a body endangers everyone’s holiday plans and jeopardizes the town’s happiest season of the year.

What makes this such an especially entertaining holiday mystery is that the murder doesn’t occur until later in the novel, allowing readers to revel in the Christmas setting and homebuilding details. Gourmet meals, descriptions of priceless antiques and decorations, and the town’s festivals all make this the perfect setting for those looking for an ideal holiday read. This generous opening also permits the introduction and building up of the numerous new characters, who quickly become as familiar – and complicated – as Shannon and her Hammer Construction crew. Shannon’s adorable Westie Robbie is sure to please his fans, while her family and their partners bring along their own good cheer and support. Living in her hometown though also means that Shannon must always contend with her rivals and foes from high school, mean girls who never grew past their petty grievances and jealousies. Randi takes up much of this space vacated by the venomous Whitney, whose presence is thankfully brief and felt mostly through friendships with two of the Garrison women.

Shining through this 11th of the series, is love of the Christmas season and appreciation of family and friends, making this a warm-hearted, funny, and very rewarding holiday mystery.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

3 Cute, Creative, and Easy Ways to Wrap a Book
By Kate Carlisle

Book lovers know that books make the best gifts! They’re both universal and personal, as you carefully curate a selection specifically designed to appeal to the people you love.

Kate Carlisle

Here’s a peek at page one to get you in the spirit:

It was the day after Thanksgiving in my hometown of Lighthouse Cove, California, which meant that suddenly, without any warning, the Christmas season was upon us. It happened the same way every year, so why did I never see it coming? All I knew was that one day we were baking pumpkin pies and discussing the best turkey stuffing recipes, and the next day we were struggling over Christmas gifts and draping our homes in a few gazillion strings of twinkle lights.

Massive blow-up balloon characters were the trend this year. On my street alone, there were at least two dozen huge cartoon faces staring down at me from my neighbors’ houses each evening. They reminded me of all those floating creatures in the annual Macy’s parade. Unlike Macy’s, however, the giant balloon faces on my block were deflated each morning, turning my little neighborhood into something resembling a Salvador Dalí painting. Melting bodies and stretched out faces were draped across the lawns. It was weird. But ’tis the season.

If you haven’t read the previous books in the Fixer-Upper Mystery series, you can jump in with The Knife Before Christmas. Grab it today at KateCarlisle.com.

Here are three cute, creative, and easy ways to wrap a book. (Bonus: The books aren’t touched by even a single piece of tape, so you won’t cause any damage.)

Double Kimono Gift Wrap
This is a truly elegant way to wrap a gift. (Although it would be more elegant with wrapping paper that didn’t have cartoon reindeer.)

1. Start with a piece of wrapping paper that is long and wide enough to exactly wrap around the book each way, with very little overlap. Center the book on the paper. Bring the paper up over the bottom half of the book.
2. Pressing the paper against the front of the book with one hand, with the other hand, push a channel of paper against the book’s spine. This will create two triangular “wings”—one in the front and one in the back. Crease the front wing and fold across the front of the book. Repeat by pushing a channel of paper against the page edge of the book.
3. Repeat step two over the top half of the book.
4. The “wings” at the back of the book should now be making larger wings. Crease the folds and wrap them around to the front. Tape to hold the whole package together. Adorn with a bow.

Book-on-Book Gift Wrap

This fun embellishment at the top of the gift reminds me of an open book.

1. Measure the thickness of the book. You’ll need at least 10 times this number of extra inches of wrapping paper at the top. For example, The Knife Before Christmas is one inch thick, so you would need at least 10 extra inches of wrapping paper at the top. You’ll fold these excess inches to make the “pages”.
2. Wrap the bottom of the book.
3. Fold the excess inches of paper accordion style, with each fold being the width of the book. Don’t worry if you’re not exact. Close enough is good enough.
4. Tie a thin ribbon around the book vertically to create the page effect.

Ultimate Book Tease Gift Wrap

From first glance, your loved one will know they’re getting a book—but they won’t know which book until it’s time to open the gift. That’s a sweet anticipation that bookworms will savor. It’s similar to the Blind Date with a Book that some bookstores offer.

1. Cut a piece of wrapping paper about four inches taller and six inches wider than the book you’re wrapping, while the book is open.
2. Fold a two-inch flap at the top and the bottom, then lay the book on the paper. Put a crease three inches from either end and slide the book cover into the pocket.
3. Wrap a wide, flat ribbon or piece of fabric around the pages to hold them shut so your loved one can’t peek at the wonderful story that’s inside.

Free Gift Tags for Book Lovers
I’ve created a free PDF of gift tags for book lovers. Some are holiday-specific, and some can be used for any occasion. The free Bibliophile Gift Tags are available in the Secret Room at KateCarlisle.com, my gift to you. Happy holidays!

To enter to win a copy of The Knife Before Christmas, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “knife christmas” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 14, 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.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.

Kate Carlisle is the New York Times bestselling author of two ongoing series: the Bibliophile Mysteries featuring San Francisco bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, whose rare book restoration skills uncover old secrets, treachery and murder; and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries (as seen on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), featuring Shannon Hammer, a home contractor who discovers not only skeletons in her neighbors’ closets, but murder victims, too.

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.