I'll Be Home for Mischief by Jacqueline Frost Series: Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #5
Published by Crooked Lane Books on November 12, 2024
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: eBook
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It’s Christmastime in Mistletoe, Maine, and the Historical Society has launched a widespread campaign to celebrate the town’s 150th anniversary. Descendants of the founding family, the Snows, have returned for the first time, and Holly is determined to make the family’s visit magical. In an attempt to put Mistletoe on the map, Holly’s mother, a respected local baker, attempts to break a record by baking the world’s largest gingerbread man, but her plans are whisked away when Mr. Snow’s body ends up in the batter.
When Mr. Moore, the local mistletoe farmer, is accused of the crime, Holly reprises her role as amateur sleuth to protect the sweet older man. Between hosting the inconsolable Mrs. Snow and other guests at the inn, receiving threatening messages telling her to stop her investigation, and preparing for her first wedding anniversary with Sheriff Evan Gray, she might need a Christmas miracle to survive.
When someone breaks into Holly’s office and scratches a warning into her desk, she knows she has little time left. Can Holly uncover the killer before someone else gets burned, or is her involvement a recipe for trouble?
Poor Holly. It’s Christmastime again at Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm and, for the fifth December in a row, someone is killed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting is wonderful. Mistletoe, Maine sounds like such a cute place. I love how close Holly and her family and friends are. They have fun together and work together and they’re people I’d like to hang out with . Holly and her husband, Sheriff Evan Gray, have a good relationship.
The plot was put together well and it moved along at a good pace. We have several potential suspects and the whodunnit wasn’t overly obvious.
The book and the series are so Christmassy. From the town to the food to the way the man was killed, it just screams Christmas, which I enjoy. It would be a perfect December read. And it has several touches of Christmas magic that set it apart.
About Jacqueline Frost
Jacqueline Frost is a pen name of Julie Anne Lindsey. Julie is an award-winning and bestselling author of mystery and romantic suspense. She’s published more than sixty novels since her debut in 2013 and currently writes series as herself, as well as under multiple pen names.
Julie is the 2022 Maggie Award Winner for romantic suspense, the 2020 Golden Quill Award Winner for Series Romance, a double finalist (and winner) of the 2020 National Readers Choice Award for Romance Adventure, a 2019 double-finalist (and winner) of the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Mystery & Suspense, the 2019 Stiletto Award for Romantic Suspense and the 2019 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award for romantic suspense.
She is a member of national Sisters in Crime, as well as a local board member, a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Independent Book Publishers Association, Midwest Book Publishers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writing Association, and Novelists Inc.
Julie’s recently expanded her industry knowledge and experience by taking the self-publishing plunge. She founded Cozy Queen Publishing LLC in 2020 and coordinated her efforts with a team of professionals from her traditional writing world to launch a new cozy mystery series in September 2021, with 12 titles available now.
When Julie’s not creating new worlds or fostering the epic love of fictional characters, she can be found in Kent, Ohio, enjoying her blessed Midwestern life. And probably plotting murder with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.
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