Twelve Slays of Christmas (A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #1)
by Jacqueline Frost
Narrated by Allyson Ryan
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MF
Blurb:
When Holly White’s fiancé cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime—exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly’s family tree farm.When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly’s father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn’t help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn’t watch out, she’ll end up on Santa’s naughty list in Twelve Slays of Christmas, Jacqueline Frost’s jolly series debut.
My Review
I was tempted to request this book when I first saw it on Netgalley, as it sounded so fun, eventually I decided not to request it as I wasn’t sure if I could read it on time. Then when I got into audiobooks I realized this was on audio and Storytel had this one, I figured I would get it on audio instead. We were having some grey weather here and I figured what could be better than an uplifting Christmas mystery and started this book.
Twelve Slays of Christmas follows the story of Holly White who returns to her hometown of Mistletoe after her fiancé cheats on her weeks before their wedding. Hurt and in need of comfort she packs everything and goes back home. Where she lands in the middle of a murder mystery. After being seen arguing with multiple town member Margaret Fenwick, a member of the historical society for the town, gets murdered and Holly’s father is the main suspect. Holly is determined to get the attention away from her parents and their business and tries to figure out who has killed Margaret Fenwick.
The mystery was a solid one, although for a long time I wasn’t fully invested in it. For some reason none of the suspects seemed solid and the mystery moved a bit slowly at times. There seem a lot of people who didn’t like Maragaret Fenwick, but it was interesting to learn a bit more about her throughout the investigation. And while there is enough focus on the mystery, there is just as much other things going on. The murderer starts with threats quite quickly and I had the feeling they should be much closer to figuring out who did it, but by then it still takes a while. It does has a bit of that creepy vibe with the murderer seeming to keep a close eye on Holly. In the end who is the murderer made sense, but there was a clue you only figure out at the end and without that I think it’s quite hard to figure out. I did like how things progressed and how Holly got involved in the mystery as it did feel quite natural.
I liked Holly, she return home and is a bit lost, but here in her hometown she finally feels home again. She slowly figures out some things about herself. She also has a adorable cat. I also liked the close bond she has with her parents. And Cookie was a great friend too. As well as some others she meets along the way. I thought Holly was sensible and likable and while she tried to help solve the mystery, she didn’t put herself in unnecessary danger. I am looking forward to see what will be going on with her in future books.
While there is a mystery to solve, there also is a lot of focus on Holly finding her way again in town and also on the Twelve days of Christmas celebration of reindeer games, which her parents run. There are also some interesting side characters. It was a lot of fun to read this book and it made for a perfect Christmas themed mystery. The Christmas feel is really present and I really could picture the small historical town of Mistletoe well and feel the Christmas vibe.
There also is a bit of romance and a hint of a love a possible love triangle, although with the way things end I am hoping it won’t turn into a love triangle after all. I was firmly in the team for the Sheriff Gray as it felt like he and Holly had the best chemistry. I really liked them together. There are some great scenes with the two of them and I was happy with how the romance plot line got some attention and felt like it was worked out enough and at the same time didn’t overshadow the plot.
The narrator did a great job with this. I easily got used to her style and I liked the way she did most of the voices. I especially liked Cookie’s voice. She also did both the female and male voices pretty well and made each person sound just a bit different from others.
To summarize: all in all this was a great Christmas themes mystery read. I enjoyed reading about this small town before Christmas. The mystery didn’t fully grip me, but was still interesting enough. The mystery progressed a bit slowly, but that worked well as there’s enough other things going on. I liked reading about the Christmas celebrations and Holly finding her place now that she’s back home. There also are some great side characters and a well done romance. I liked the Christmas vibe and reading about the twelve days of Christmas celebrations that were going on. if you’re looking for a Christmas themed cozy mystery I would definitely recommend this one.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– Audible
– B&N
– Kobo
You can also read my review on Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon.
That worked out nicely that you were able to find it on your audio package and listen to it at your own pace instead of the pressure a review date brings. I like that there is a blend of the mystery with her coming home and getting her life back on track. Neat how it focuses on a Christmas theme, too. It does have me curious to try eventually.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Review: Lachlan by D.B Reynolds
I am glad I found it on audio now and was able to listen to it. And bonus book 2 is out too, so I am almost done with that too. I liked the combination of the mystery and her getting her life back on track. The Christmas theme was a fun addition too.
Cheated on right before getting married, that sucks. What a cute cover.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: Target Beauty Box- April
Yeah it sure seemed like a difficult situation, although the story doens’t focus as much on the actual event. It’s more an event that causes her to change her life.
I thought this was cute as well so I am kind of glad you enjoyed it 😀 it sounds kind of fun and I hope I get around to reading it.
It was a cute read and I thought it was fun to read a cozy set around Christmas time :). I hope you’ll enjoy it if you get around to reading it.