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After the past two Christmases were less than festive with homicides each year, Alex and Hanna, owners of the book and chocolate shop, Murder and Mayhem, are hoping for a more peaceful holiday season this year. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
After Alex serves as a judge in the Deck the Halls contest, holiday decorations in the cozy town start disappearing. Worse than that, a dead body is found and Alex's boyfriend is the prime suspect. She and Hanna embark on a mission to uncover the truth and clear Tom's name. While doing so, Alex is also dealing with Regina, Tom's daughter, who is not thrilled they are dating.
I cannot express to you enough how much I enjoyed this book. It is told from third person point of view, which sometimes makes it difficult for me to become fully immersed in the story. That was not a problem here at all. It held my interest from beginning to end. While I also enjoyed the first two in the series, this third installment is without a doubt, my favorite. It has everything I love in a holiday-themed cozy mystery.
Alex and Hanna are twin sisters running the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop that specializes in mysteries and poison-themed chocolates. To be clear, the chocolates they make are not poisonous. They just have names that refer to poisons. How clever! Maggie is also an employee of the shop and she is equally likeable. There are several other main characters, and when they get together, I am reminded of the close-knit family and friendships in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson series. That was the series that first made me a fan of cozy mysteries, so references to those books are always a plus for me.
I appreciated that although not everyone was a fan of Sheriff Summers, she is recognized as being competent in doing her job. I'm never a fan of the authorities being portrayed in a negative light. I liked the way this was handled in this book.
I loved reading about how the characters' lives are progressing and it was fun to see this aspect intertwined in the mystery. Their lives aren't perfect, yet the tone still feels cozy. I was surprised at how this one ended, but I'm okay with it and I look forward to reading more about them in what I hope are future installments.
I also love the setting throughout this series. I mentioned the book and chocolate shop, but even more than that, the Christmas feels are strong. While the premise of the series is not specifically about Christmas, the first three installments are set around this holiday. The holiday merriment was especially noticeable in Deck the Halls with Homicide. Not only is there lots of talk about the holiday decorations, etc., but the writing is so vivid that I reread several lines simply because I enjoyed them so much. The strong writing really made me feel like I was there to experience the festivities with the characters.
Contrasted with the festive feels was a solid mystery with lots of twists, turns, and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. Just when I thought I had the whodunnit figured out, something happened to change my mind. This happened a few times. I changed my mind back and forth. In the end, I was partially correct, but I did not have the entire mystery solved. I love to be surprised and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It all made sense in the end, and yet I was still shocked at the outcome.
I also loved the way the whodunnit was revealed. Alex definitely showed the "amateur" part of being an amateur sleuth. She didn't always make the wisest decisions, but that's part of what cozy mysteries are about. She is not a professional detective. While she was very smart with some of her sleuthing, which there was plenty of, her plans were not without flaws and I'm okay with that in a cozy mystery.
Another element of this book that I enjoyed was the light humor. The storytelling is filled with moments that made me chuckle. It had just the right amount of humor in all the right scenes to lighten the mood.
Those who enjoy bookish references will be pleased to know there are several of them throughout Deck the Halls with Homicide. There are a variety of ideas to add to your TBR. I also enjoyed the sprinkling of references to murder mystery television shows. These mentions are seamlessly woven into the flow of the story.
There are no recipes in this book, but at the end, the author directs readers to her website. There, you will find two delectable recipes you might want to try. They are good for any time of the year.
I do want to mention a few things that didn't affect the quality of the story, but did bother me. One is a scene where one of the characters temporarily parks in an accessible parking area while unloading her vehicle. This is not only illegal in the U.S., but it truly does impact people with disabilities. Being disabled myself, there have been times when I couldn't find a parking space because the accessible ones were being used as unloading zones. The character did not do it to intentionally hurt anyone, so it did not make her unlikeable. However, she needs to know that it is unacceptable. I would have felt better about it if it was addressed by the authorities. Even if she wasn't ticketed, I wish she was asked to move her vehicle immediately.
The second thing that bothered me is related to this incident. In the book, it is referred to as a "handicap zone". The term handicap is outdated and viewed by most people in the disabled community as offensive. I won't go into the details here, but if you research how the term came to be, you will understand what I'm taking about.
The last thing I thought about was accessibility. I'm not sure if there is an accessible entrance to the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop. There is some talk in the book about stairs. It isn't too late to rectify this. Perhaps there is an accessible entrance (preferably not hidden away in a back alley somewhere) or maybe they can renovate it. If the fictional building was built before the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect it is exempt from the law, but it would still be better if wheelchair uses and others with mobility impairments could access the shop.
These are brief moments in the book, but it is important to recognize them. I want to emphasize again that while these aspects bear mentioning in my review for the purpose of awareness, they did not affect how much I loved Deck the Halls with Homicide. It is one of my favorite books of the year so far and I hope there will be more in the series. This is certainly a series I want to continue reading.
Thank you to author Christina Romeril for providing me with an ARC of this book.
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