Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Book Review: Dying in a Winter Wonderland by Vicki Delany (Year-Round Christmas #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Charming characters, great plot, and Christmas
Cons: None for me
The Bottom Line:
Some wedding chaos
Makes Christmas complications
In book I enjoyed



After Christmas Murder

Over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed visiting the town of Rudolph, New York, in the pages of the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries.  Inspired by the name of their town, the residents have created a tourist town that always celebrates Christmas.  Merry Wilkinson, the main character, owns Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a Christmas themed décor and gift shop, for example.  Of course, the books have mainly taken place around the holidays, and that’s the case once again in Dying in a Winter Wonderland.

Because of her history working for a lifestyle magazine in New York City, Merry has gotten talked into doing the decorating for Luanne Ireland’s upcoming wedding.  However, on Christmas Eve, Luanne drops the bomb that the wedding has been moved up from this summer to Valentine’s Day.  Merry isn’t the only one who is upset by the news, but she begins planning how to get everything done in time.

However, the day after Christmas, Luanne’s fiancé is found dead outside the Yuletide Inn.  Merry’s brother, Chris, found the man, and because of Chris’s past relationship with Luanne, the police begin to look at him as a suspect.  Merry knows the police are looking in the wrong direction, but can she find evidence to change their mind?

While the focus may have been on the ill-fated wedding, the book still feels so Christmassy.  It helps that the book is set between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.  And, of course, the town itself makes everything feel like Christmas.  I mean, if I were to visit Merry’s story, I’d have to stop myself from buying half of the items.  They sound so wonderful.

The characters we know and love are all back as well.  Okay, so love may be a bit extreme for a couple of them, but they make Merry’s life interesting, and there are some fun developments with them.  Merry and her family and friends make up a wonderful core cast of characters, and I loved getting to spend time with them again.

Even before the murder takes place, there is plenty of conflict and drama.  I was pulled into the book from the very first chapter, and I didn’t want to put the book down until Merry figured everything out.  I was surprised by the outcome, although everything made perfect sense when I reached the end.

Dying in a Winter Wonderland is another charming entry in this super cozy series.  Anytime you want to be put in the Christmas mood is the perfect time to catch up with Merry.

If you need more Christmas, check out the rest of the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

3 comments:

  1. I'm about halfway done with this right now and thoroughly enjoying it!

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  2. Sounds like one I should put on my list for December, or maybe the first in the series.

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  3. Sounds lovely! I love a Christmas cozy any time of the year.

    ReplyDelete

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