This Christmas mystery has all of the elements a cozy should have. It is a very cute book that leaves you wanting to read more about the characters. If you read a cozy expecting it to not be fluffy, you are reading the wrong genre! It is meant to be fluffy and cozy and not deep. People who criticize cozies for these reasons must not know that that's what cozies are. Mistletoe and Mayhem is set in the southeastern coast of England in the Pennyfoot Country Club. The curse upon the Pennyfoot awakens and dead bodies start turning up left and right. Of course, this would never happen in real life, just like Jessica Fletcher would never have as many murders happen around her as she does. That is the joy of reading. You leave reality behind and just pretend that it could happen. We would miss the characters if the murders happened elsewhere! I really enjoyed the characters in this book. The cameo appearance was great :) (I did figure out who it was right away but it was still cute.)I really loved the twins bugging everyone. The murderer was not immediately obvious, so that was nice. If you like cozies, you should read this one! GEMS: A cozy holiday murder mystery with a special cameo star character guest. Mistletoe and Mayhem is an easy read that is surprisingly light despite the occurrence of four murders. Out of politeness and not wishing to ruin the guests holiday, the staff of the Pennyfoot do their best to keep the unfortunate events secret. However, this proves to be difficult and soon rumors spread dampening the holiday cheer. In the good old fashion tradition of whodunit mysteries, the actual investigator is an idiot. If left up to him, no crime would ever be solved! Thankfully, Cecily has a keen eye and knack for detection and puzzle solving. It also doesn't hurt that her good friend is gifted with a six sense. Together, they're sure to solve the mystery by Christmas Eve. FLAWS: Although the characters background are well-developed, the actual motive for the murders is glazed. I believe this is the result of trying too hard to not give away the culprit, but in doing so, decreased the suspense and 'ah-ha' moment. Looking back, there are parts/scenes of the story that are irrelevant. I assume they were included to throw the reader off the trail. Normally, I do not mind, but I felt this wild goose chase was rather benign and left me wondering why some of it was written into the story. I had a few, 'Why am I suppose to care about this?' moments. Overall, an entertaining seasonal read. Good to curl up with and include on holiday reading challenge lists. Recommend checking out from the library, swapping with a friend -- or scoring at the half-price bookstore. Rather light in mayhem, suspense and complexity.
What do You think about Mistletoe And Mayhem (2010)?
i thought i had grabbed a karen Kingsbury book. wasn't horrible but definitely not a favorite.
—satiar
Great holiday book! Loved these characters!
—Katie
