Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun characters, plenty of Christmas spirit
Cons: Mystery side-tracked by sub-plots
The Bottom Line:
Murder at Christmas
Who was intended victim?
Festive cozy book
Killer at Christmas
With as much as I love Christmas, reading cozies set at
Christmas is one thing I look forward to each year. More and more series seem to be offering
Christmas entries, too, which makes me happy.
Wreath Between the Lines is
the latest in this trend, and lets us visit Jenna Hart and her Cookbook Nook.
It's a couple of weeks before Christmas in the town of Crystal
Cove on the coast of California, and just about everyone is getting into the
spirit. The shops in town are putting
wreaths on all their doors since that is the theme of this year's Christmas
festival, and many residents are going all out in decorating their houses. Jenna has several themed events planned for
the Cookbook Nook as well. Dampening the
Christmas spirit is a visit from her sister, brother-in-law, and niece, bringing
family drama with them.
However, the Christmas spirit is truly dampened when Jenna's
neighbor, Jake, comes to her one night in a panic. His visiting friend has been murdered at his
house, trussed up with Christmas lights and stabbed in the back with a star. Jake once saved Jenna's father's life, so
Jake has been close to Jenna's family for years. What worries everyone is that Jake might have
been the intended target. Can Jenna
figure out who the killer is before he or she gets a chance to strike again?
If you are looking for a book with plenty of Christmas
spirit, this is the book for you.
Between the talk of Christmas themed cookbooks, Christmas decorations,
Christmas carols, and Christmas treats, you'll find lots of, well, Christmas
between the covers of this book. Even
though it is still November, it was enough to wish I'd spent a little more time
this weekend decorating for Christmas so I could enjoy the book surrounded by
my own Christmas decorations.
However, the lack of Christmas decorations around me didn't
keep me from getting fully involved in this book. We had yet to spend much time with Jenna's
sister or her family, so it was nice to see them and get another side of Jenna
as a result of these relationships. Of
course, we get to see plenty of the various series regulars as well, and it is
always great to spend time with them.
The suspects are strong and easy to keep straight, which always helps
with the mystery.
I did feel the mystery was a little on the thin side. We had several sub-plots that kept crowding
in on the main mystery, slowing it down at times. Having said that, we did get some good
surprises and complications on the way to a fun climax.
If all the talk of food and recipes leaves you craving a
Christmas treat, you'll be happy to find the wealth of recipes at the back of
the book. There are recipes for such
things as Brownie Reindeer or Christmas Trees, Christmas Wreath, White
Chocolate Crackle, and a Yule Log. We also get some gluten free alternatives to
a few of these recipes as needed.
If you are looking for Christmas spirit mixed with some
murder and mayhem, look no further than Wreath Between the Lines. Grab a mug of
peppermint hot chocolate, curl up next to your Christmas tree, and savor.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I'm reviewing this book as part of a blog tour. Check out the other stops here.
And use the Rafflecopter below to enter the tour wide giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'm reviewing this book as part of a blog tour. Check out the other stops here.
And use the Rafflecopter below to enter the tour wide giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for your wonderful review on "Wreath Between the Lines" by Daryl Wood Gerber and for being part of the book tour.
ReplyDeleteLove this author and love this cover! I have this book on my TBR list and can't wait for the opportunity to read it.
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