Mulled Murder by Kate Kingsbury

Cozy Mystery

It's Christmas time at country club Pennyfoot. There's a Christmas Eve wedding, caroling in the library, and an annual production put on by owner Cecily's friend. Needless it say it's a busy and slightly chaotic time of year for this hotel! When the body of a guest washes up on shore, Cecily knows this will just add to the craziness. The man was stabbed and the name he checked in under wasn't his real name. The detective is more interested in leaving for holidays than investigating, which leaves Cecily to investigate herself. When a young girl appears on her grounds with no memory of who she is, Cecily puts her to work and wonders if there's any connection to the other crime.

Getting more history from this hotel, we learn that its past could be part of its present predicament. There are tunnels and illicit card rooms that have since been bricked up and boarded off. Could the criminals be using these tunnels to move goods or hide?

I don't usually read cozy mysteries because I like the gritty part of mysteries. I want detectives and blood, the rough streets and sketchy characters. There's none of that here. Everything moves a bit slower and everyone is a bit more careful. The detective only shows up for a few pages and the regular folks are left on their own to figure out whodunnit. Even though this isn't my usual fare, it was still fairly enjoyable right up until close to the end, where the description of the crime and criminal were packed in the end as a character recounted it rather than it actually happening. I felt a bit cheated by that.

First Line: "'Really, Frederick!'"

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

Holiday

It's a few days before Christmas and, like usual, Stephanie Plum is less than prepared. She keeps putting off everything, including finding her latest skip Sandy Claws. Suddenly a not-too-bad-looking man appears in her kitchen. He's going to help her get in the Christmas spirit and find Claws. But how exactly did he just appear like that? Typical to Stephanie's chaotic nature, there's a car fire and other craziness that follows her around.

I was pretty disappointed with this book compared to the rest in the series. It was rushed and not nearly as funny as most the books in this series. Perhaps that's because there wasn't enough time to have grandma or Lula get up to their regular antics. The book just ended and I was left with the feeling that I was missing something.

First Line: "My name is Stephanie Plum and I've got a strange man in my kitchen."

Rating:
(2.5/5)

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Fiction

The Kranks spent way too much on Christmas last year. This year, with their daughter having flown down to South America to volunteer over Christmas, the Kranks have decided to skip Christmas this year. They won't be putting up a tree or lights, there will be no frosty on top of their house, calendars will not be purchased from the firefighters or police officers, and gifts will not be bought. Instead they're going to leave on Christmas for a cruise and enjoy some time in the sun. This doesn't make them a very popular couple on their street, which competes each year to be the best decorated street. Nor do their local police or firefighters appreciated their ungenerous spirit. Despite this, the Kranks vow to keep their resolve and skip Christmas.

The neighbours in this book were something else. All of them were cranky and mean spirited towards the Kranks. Where's the warm holiday spirit in this novel? It wasn't until the very last pages that we saw it and even then it seemed rather forced.

I kept thinking that I'd heard of the "Kranks" before and sure enough this book was made in to a movie "Christmas with the Kranks". It too has a low rating on IMDB, probably to match the rather weak story.

First Line: "The gate was packed with weary travelers, most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment of plastic chairs had long since been taken."

Rating:
(2.5/5)

Books I got for Christmas

I was very lucky this Christmas and received 8 books! And here they are:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - this is a classic on the BBC list as #44 (I think)
In Golden Blood by Stephen Woodworth - this is the third book in the violet series.
Rory & Ita by Roddy Doyle - my very oldest wish and my favourite Irish author!
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich - the next book I needed in that series (even though I'm only at #3!)
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich - the last book in the series as of right now!
Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson - I believe this was a book that was on the 1001 books you should read before you die list
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket - I have already read this one but it was borrowed from a friend and I wanted it for my PC
The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket - This is #10 in the Series of Unfortunate Event series and the one I'm up to (minus 6, which I'm still missing)

As you can see, a successful Christmas for me!
(I rhyme!)