Mystery of the Missing Christmas Spoon
Since I’m a fan of Laura Bradford’s Amish Mysteries, I snagged a copy of the short story “A Christmas Mourning” a few years back. I’ve been meaning to read it at Christmas some year, but then I run out of time each December. Until this year. I’ve been getting extra reading done this year, and that gave me time to visit the town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania.
Claire Weatherly is going to enjoy a rare day off with her aunt Diane, and the two are going to play tourist, visiting the Amish sites that are open for tours. When Claire mentions this to Jakob Fisher, her new boyfriend, he tells her a story about a Christmas years ago. Raised by a local Amish family, Jakob actually attended school in the one room school house Claire and Diane will be visiting. The last year he was there, he took a fancy Christmas spoon his mother owned to show off to his friends, and it got lost. Claire decides to see if she can figure out what happened to it. But can it be recovered all these years later?
I think the biggest surprise to me is that the present day parts of this story weren’t set at Christmas. Instead, it’s June when Claire begins her investigation. I just assumed it was set during Christmas time, I guess. I quickly got over that as I got once again lost in Heavenly.
If you are a fan of the series, you need to read this story. It’s a nice, quick visit with old friends. No, not everyone pops up in the story, which isn’t a surprise since it is a short story. But it was still wonderful to see those who did. I love them dearly, so any time spent with them is wonderful.
The mystery is just right for a short story. There is enough plot to keep us engaged without dragging things out too much. And the ending may have made me tear up, but in a good way.
I’ve got to admit it’s been long enough since I read the earlier books in the series that I’m not completely sure where this story fits in the chronology of the series. I think it fits in between books four and five, but don’t quote me on that. There are a couple of blink and you miss them references to events in the series, but just know that going in.
As I’ve mentioned, this is a short story, and it took me just about an hour to read. You might even be able to sneak it in this week before Christmas.
But even if you wait to read it another time, you’ll be glad
you picked up “A Christmas Mourning.”
This is an enjoyable quick visit with friends we love.
I have the first few books in this series but haven't read them. This sounds so good and this kind of dual timeline really appeals to me. Need to grab the first book!
ReplyDelete