Death by Eggnog (A Bookstore Cafe Mystery)
Krissy Hancock is staying in her adopted hometown of Pine Hills, Ohio, for Christmas this year—and she even has a whole week off from her combination bookstore-café. But a killer is about to dampen her spirits . . .
Unfortunately, Krissy’s been roped into filling in for a sick elf in the local holiday musical extravaganza. With a demanding director, backstage gossip, and two men in fierce competition for the starring role, it isn’t all sweetness and Christmas lights. Then a murder puts a stop to the production, and Krissy is faced with a pageant of suspects.
Could her ex-boyfriend, a fellow elf, really be the culprit as the police are claiming? Or will the actor playing Santa be trading his red suit for an orange jumpsuit? When her behind-the-scenes investigation starts getting dangerous, the only thing Krissy really wants is to make it to Christmas dinner alive. But first she’ll have to finish wrapping up this case . . .
Unfortunately, Krissy’s been roped into filling in for a sick elf in the local holiday musical extravaganza. With a demanding director, backstage gossip, and two men in fierce competition for the starring role, it isn’t all sweetness and Christmas lights. Then a murder puts a stop to the production, and Krissy is faced with a pageant of suspects.
Could her ex-boyfriend, a fellow elf, really be the culprit as the police are claiming? Or will the actor playing Santa be trading his red suit for an orange jumpsuit? When her behind-the-scenes investigation starts getting dangerous, the only thing Krissy really wants is to make it to Christmas dinner alive. But first she’ll have to finish wrapping up this case . . .
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Community Reviews
These types of cozy-mystery-with-a-romance-undertone rarely enter my orbit, but I'm participating in a Christmas themed reading challenge and this fit one of the prompts... so...
Okay so, I'll start with what I liked: the basic plot. It reminded me of one of those Hallmark movies that stars Brooke Shields or Alison Sweeney, and if you know me you know that I'm all about the Hallmark Countdown to Christmas lineup.
That's it.
The rest made my eyes roll. HARD. None of it was for me.
I didn't like Krissy very much. When she wasn't reminding us that she is co-owner of a bookstore cafe called Death by Coffee and that adding eggnog coffee to the menu was a big hit and her idea, she was forever complaining. About her mischievous cat or her barking feet (her words) or the snowy weather or her inability to dance or how badly her ex-who-was-arrested-for-murder treated her or her current doctor-boyfriend-who-is-very-busy-and-important. I get that these are all things that make characters relatable, but it really started to grate on me.
The prose was filled with cheesy lines ("Let's just say Lance kept himself extremely fit and he filled out his own pair of tights nicely.") and at times felt like it was just rambling on and on without adding anything to the story. Given that it's written in first person, I guess that was supposed to make you feel like you were in Krissy's head?
Early on, I stopped caring about the character and the mystery.
And I think it may have turned me off eggnog too. If I hear another word about nog-flavoured coffee, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.
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