NGL, I have struggled with finding the Christmas spirit for the last few years now, so I'm always on the hunt for a book that will add a little merry to my step. Enter Jacqueline Frost's Twelve Slays of Christmas: A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery. This one appeared on my radar a few weeks before Thanksgiving for $1.99 {gotta love those Kindle deals!} and I loved every second of it. You guys...this literally made me so excited for Christmas!
Despite hailing from Mistletoe, Maine, twenty-six-year-old Holly White is not experiencing a holly jolly Christmas. With less than two weeks left until her Christmas Eve wedding in Portland, Holly's fiance cancels their nuptials {having been swayed by a bendy yoga instructor}, sending her packing back to Mistletoe to mend her broken heart with a little help from her parents at their Christmas tree farm, Reindeer Games. Not to mention a large dose of snickerdoodles, peppermints, and rich cocoa from the Hearth...the very location where all of Holly's troubles begin.
As Holly's family gears up for the Twelve Days of Christmas event, wherein the entire town of Mistletoe, along with out-of-towners, converge on Reindeer Games for shopping, games, and sweets leading up to Christmas Day, unheard of tragedy strikes the charming town. After an altercation with Holly's father at the Hearth, Margaret Fenwick, President of the Mistletoe Historical Society, is found bludgeoned to death. Her body left in a sleigh display on Reindeer Games' property. The murder weapon? A wooden stake used to identify trees at the farm.
The first murder Mistletoe has experienced in 40 years, Holly's father, Bud, is the prime suspect, and Holly is not having it! Reeling from her recent breakup, Holly resolves to clear her father's name and bring the true murderer to justice. An investigative feat that places her toe-to-toe with Sheriff Evan Gray, a handsome newcomer to Mistletoe hailing from Boston who vows to keep Holly safe at all costs. But as Holly continues her line of questioning with the residents of Mistletoe, she finds herself moving towards the murderer's naughty list. If she doesn't solve this mystery soon, she just might not make it to Christmas Day.
Oh, how I loved this one! The characters within the pages of Twelve Slays of Christmas really drive the story, and keep you captivated. Sheriff Evan Gray is charming and someone you'd love to find standing under the mistletoe. Holly, though she oftentimes acts younger than her twenty-six years, making her come off as a Nancy Drew-esque character, is BFF material, and someone you would love to make jewelry with IRL. Then there's Cookie and Caroline, and their fondness for cupcakes, cocoa, and other sweets; not to mention Holly's adorable parents, and a slew of other characters you wish you would encounter in the everyday. I will admit that I pinpointed the killer very quickly; but Frost peppered the story with enough red herrings to keep you guessing. A truly charming tale to be devoured by a roaring fireplace in your coziest pjs, a steaming mug of cocoa in hand. I cannot wait to pick-up book two, Twas the Knife Before Christmas!
xx
5 comments
Sounds a bit mad haha I like that! :-D
Oh, it looks pretty darn adorable. Love the cover! Thanks for the review! All the best to your Christmas reads!
So fun! Love your review! I will have to look for this one!
Sweet review! thanks so much!
So great to hear about this one! Sounds like a wonderful mystery!
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