“We can’t afford that.”
Margaret had spent a good chunk of time helping a customer select a pattern and yarn. In a second, that customer’s husband killed what would have been Margaret’s best sale in months.
Roxy and Patrick Cane have been blissfully married for a year, and have finally arranged to put aside their very busy schedule for a romantic date night. The Bean Hive has been on holiday overdrive, and Patrick’s construction company has been booming, so some quiet, delicious food, and melting in each other’s eyes was just the prescription for their weariness.
Joseph is a Domestic Short Hair cat who has been at Valley Animal Center since February of this year. Joseph is approximately seven years old and resides in the Cat Adoption Center, napping the days away. Joseph hopes to find his forever home soon, so he can nap in the comfort of a warm home.
The end of the year is almost here and KRL is playing catch up on our mystery reviews! Here is another great group of mysteries for your tbr list-Molded 4 Murder Sophie Kimball Mystery by J. C. Eaton, An Ale of Two Cities: Literary Pub Mystery by Sarah Fox, Murder at Icicle Lodge: Ferrara Family Mystery by J. D. Griffo, and Last Pen Standing: A Stationary Shop Mystery by Vivian Conroy.
As the days shorten and the air turns cold and crisp, thoughts turn to the holidays and all of the chaos that they conjure. ‘Tis the season of mad dashes on Black Friday, packed parking lots, a veritable flood of Christmas parties and gift exchanges, and the scramble of last-minute everything.
Kate Hamilton is an antique dealer in the U.S. Her daughter, Christine, has followed a boyfriend to England and is working alongside him as an intern on an estate in Suffolk, England. During a visit to Scotland a couple of months before, Kate met Detective Inspector Thomas Mallory of the Suffolk Constabulary. Even though a relationship seems impossible given the 3,200 mile commute to see each other, neither wants to give up on the idea. Since the holidays are usually a slow time for crime, Kate is visiting both Tom and Christine.
The prodigal son returns! Gemma’s first introduction to the handsome stranger was awkward, but fortunately his escalating advances were curtailed by an important phone call he couldn’t decline. Later, Gemma’s mother pressured her to agree to last minute catering for her friend Annabel Floyd, daughter of Sir Hugh Morecombe, whose Sinterklaas Foundation is having a Christmas tea party for underprivileged children at her family’s estate, Thurlby Hall.
As a child, I didn’t realize that our family Christmas traditions were not everyone’s Christmas traditions. I thought everyone went to mass on Christmas Eve, then gathered at their grandparents’ house, ate hotdogs and potato salad, and opened gifts (insert the screeching sound of a car coming to a halt here). This was the ritual that happened annually and that my siblings and I longed for each year. Hotdogs and potato salad!?
At “Florida’s 55-Plus Beautiful Bird Recreational Vehicle Park,” snowbirds and seniors from all around have retired in the sunny climate where Christmas doesn’t include shoveling snow or the lack of accessible hospitals.
Snow in Charm, North Carolina? Who would have thought? The timing is right though as Christmas is close at hand.
It’s Everly Swan’s first Christmas at her new iced tea shop. She’s overwhelmed by the number of special orders for holiday cookies, the progressive dinner menu, and her Aunt Fran’s decision to run for mayor against a long-time incumbent. Aunt Clara is fighting seasonal stress by painting garden gnomes as gifts for friends and family.
