4 out of 5 stars.
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Synopsis
It’s Christmastime three hundred sixty-five days a year in Rudolph, New York, and as Christmas Day approaches, shop owner Merry Wilkinson is enjoying a rare evening off at the Yuletide Inn when she runs into owners Grace and Jack Olsen. With Jack’s health failing, Merry is relieved to hear that his son Gord will be taking over the day-to-day running of the Inn.
But then Gord reveals that his new plans have no room for Christmas at the Inn, and Merry and the other shopkeepers start to fret about the effect a bland franchise hotel could have on their livelihoods.
When Gord is found stabbed to death, there’s an entire town of potential suspects—and it’s up to Merry to find whoever brought homicide home for the holidays…
Review
We Wish You a Murderous Christmas is the second book in the Year Round Christmas series by Vicki Delany. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, though I have to admit that I have never been so happy that a particular character has died than I was in this one.
Our victim seemed to actually thrive on conflict and enjoyed causing it. I don’t always do well with conflict whether real or fictional and I ended up putting the book down for about 30 minutes when I first started it. The man is just that disagreeable! I don’t want to give away any spoilers thought, so I won’t say anything more.
I enjoyed learning more about the various characters in the book. They’re becoming even more well-rounded and complex as we get further into the series. I particularly like that when dealing with a series. I don’t need the character’s entire back story up front in the first volume. I like getting to know the character little by little throughout the series. I was also thrilled to see that at least for the moment the “love triangle” (for lack of a better term) has been settled. It frustrates and annoys me when those last for too many books.
The setting hasn’t changed much since the previous book, but the setting descriptions were fine. I felt that there was enough detail to firmly imagine the scene, but it wasn’t overwhelming or too tedious.
The plot line moved along at a steady pace and I had absolutely no idea of who the villain was until the heroine figured it out. I never suspected that person at all, which personally, I like. I like it when I’m stumped. If I figure out too early who the villain is, I get bored with the book.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Year Round Christmas mystery series. I highly recommend this to Christmas lovers, to cozy mystery lovers, or anyone else who likes a good story!
*** I was given a free copy from the author. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. ***
Valerie's Musings 