Lucy Score: The Heist Before Christmas

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252375097-the-heist-before-christmas

Book Blurb:

'Tis the season for mayhem, mistletoe, and one very unfortunate mall uniform.

Engaged. Overwhelmed. Running a small business with a purple-haired octogenarian who thinks "Rhonda El Bano" is a convincing alias. For reluctant psychic Riley Thorn, the holidays are less "magic in the air" and more "fire in the living room." Between the backlog of invoices, a PI license teetering on revocation, a disapproving grandmother lobbing ominous predictions about the upcoming wedding, and the fact that Riley cannot see a single thing about her own future with Nick Santiago, she just wants to survive until December 26th.

Nick Santiago doesn't do "mellow." He does Christmas. Hard. He's the man who owns a twelve-foot inflatable Santa and feels no shame about it. So if closing out the year means going undercover at the East Shore Mall to catch a slippery theft ring―even if it costs him one truly terrible security uniform and several shifts with the world's most punchable assistant manager―fine. The sooner he catches the bad guy, the sooner he can haul his fiancée under the mistletoe and convince her everything is going to be fine.

Between mall chaos, psychic guild parties, warring families descending for Christmas Eve dinner, and one stray kitten who has personally destroyed two rooms and a dog's dignity, they have five days to catch a thief, save a license―

And figure out why the future looks so suspiciously blank.

Tropes:

*Hambright PR ALC *Cozy Mystery *Holiday Rom-com *Psychic *Paranormal *Undercover

*heist *Grumpy x Sunshine *Protective MMC *Quirky side characters *fun animal side kick

*Christmas  *danger *💀

Thoughts: 

This is book 5 in the series and I naturally didn't realize this before I requested this ALC, it can be read/listened to as a stand alone but I feel it would have been better if I had read these in order.

In this we have Riley Thorn (FMC) she is kind of feeling overwhelmed with the upcoming holidays and trying to plan her wedding.  Riley and members of her family have psychic abilities, she has a grandmother who feels she isn't living up to her full potential and she is also worried that while she can see the future she can't see her wedding in it... but she loves her fiance and knows that they are meant to be.

Nick Santiago (MMC) is a private detective his most recent case has him and his team working at the local mall to try to solve the case of the missing items after multiple thefts throughout the mall and Christmas coming fast the mall manager hires this motley crew to help crack the case and get the missing items back... preferably before the mall needs to be shut down.

When Riley learns that her fiance's PI license might expire she jumps on the case to not only help him with his current case, but also figure out how to get his liscense renewed in time.

This was a funny cozy mystery with a side of romance.  Our Couple also struggles throughout the book with family drama (as in their families don't get along...).  There are many quirky characters that come into play throughout especially Riley and Nick's elderly room mates who cause a set of problems all on their own.  They have a sweet dog and a kitten has decided to move in and cause problems... but doesn't want to be caught.

There are several shady characters making you wonder who could be responsible for this series of crimes.  

Will They be able to wrap up this case so everyone can have a happy holiday season? 

I enjoyed this and hope to go back to read the rest of the series at some point!  The narrator Natalie Duke does a great job bringing this festive holiday caper to life! 

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Amy Boyles: Witch's Block

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61444132-witch-s-block

Book Blurb:

At forty-three, Paige Provey is at the height of her career. As the author of a successful paranormal book series, she has a legion of fans who all believe she has powers herself. But when Paige's ex-husband reveals that she's a fraud, she quickly finds herself and her career canceled.

But Paige is still under a publishing contract, so she must put out a new book--one that will save her career. The only problem is her crippling case of writer's block. So she heads to a lakeside community to refill her creative well.

Only while she's there strange things begin to happen: Paige speaks to a woman who she swears is transparent, and everyone in town dresses as if it's Halloween. Not only that, but there's a very mysterious (and attractive) man who claims to hunt monsters.

As if that's not weird enough, when Paige's ex-husband winds up dead, she becomes the primary suspect in his murder. Can Paige write another book, figure out the mystery surrounding Willow Lake, and also prove her innocence? Or will all her dreams go up in flames?

Tropes:

*Cozy Mystery *paranormal *Witch *Magic *Different magical beings *Crime 

*amateur sleuth *author FMC  *ghosts  *small town

Thoughts:

Paige (FMC) finds out that just as quickly as she can rise to fame she can crash just as fast when her ex-husband reveals during an interview that she is a fraud, she has built her career by saying she is a medium seeing ghosts for whatever reason even though her ex is a total tool the public believes him and she is now cancelled.

Paige is still in need of producing more books per contract but she is out of ideas and her moron of an ex outing her has led to her being a pariah... all while demanding more money from her while not working himself... due to an injury that happened when he was being a peeping tom (gross!).

Paige wanting to get a fresh perspective goes to Willow Lake she used to love going there for vacation maybe it will help spark some inspiration... only things go downhill quickly when a series of unfortunate events lead to her seeing things that she was never able to see before like why is the woman in her cabin see through, and is everyone in town in on some kind of joke?  

She also runs into a movie star handsome man who reports that he hunts monsters... what that can't be a real job!

Things get worse when her evil ex shows up in town demanding more money from her (that she doesn't have) and then ends up dead... guess who the prime suspect is, now she has to clear her name, write a new best seller, and deal with all the wildness going on in town.

likes/dislikes

easy to follow world building, there was magic, paranormal activity, and many different beings living in this magical town... our FMC is confused as well so we are learning right along with her.

Fun, cozy mystery with some laugh out loud moments, was it chaotic --> yes, did I enjoy it anyways --> yes

There is a subplot for romance so we have the whole brooding, handsome stranger MMC (Grim), I see you!

The ex-husband was so ridiculously awful that he was almost cartoonish but it fit the vibes of the book

Paige is 43 but has been telling everyone she's still in her 30's, but acts like she's way younger than that and is a bit naive at times.

Overall this was a fun mystery that ended on a cliffhanger I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes next! 

Have you read this one?  What did you think?

Amanda Sellet: Ticket to Die

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250727442-ticket-to-die

Book Blurb:

High school junior Virginia Tillis isn’t jetting off to Florida for spring break, so she figures the highlight of her week will be sleeping in . . . until her eccentric Grandma Lainey shows up at her house and invites her merry band of retired actor neighbors to crash the party—along with Felix, Virginia’s new long-distance boyfriend.

When the entire group takes a ride on a murder mystery train run by her grandmother’s old friend Teddy, they expect to solve a fictional crime in theatrical style—until the leading lady vanishes. Did Teddy do away with his co-star? Or is there another culprit on this mystery train?

With a storm closing in and suspects galore, Virginia, Felix, and their golden age crew have to figure out what happened to the missing actress, clear Teddy’s name, and decide if dating someone in a different state is worth the aggravation . . . before they reach the end of the line and spring break is dead in its tracks.

Tropes:

*Netgalley ARC *Cozy Mystery *Teen/YA *closed room situation *forced proximity

*trip gone wrong *Teen romance *Who Dunit?  *Amateur detective *Quirky side characters

Thoughts:

Virginia not wanting to go with her mom and her fiance on their trip ends up spending spring break with her grandmother... but her grandma has a surprise they are going on an adventure with her partner and her actor friends... best of all Virginia's long-distance boyfriend Felix is coming along too!  Spring Break is looking great.

This is book 2 in the series but can be read as a stand alone, I didn't read book 1 and there are some mentions of book 1 with some spoilers so I would recommend reading them in order.

The group meets up with more of Grandma Lainey's actor friends on their trip and everything starts out as expected on a fun mystery train... until things go off script and now there is an actual missing woman... could this be murder?  Will the group be able to figure out what happened?

This was a cute cozy mystery with Virginia and Felix doing their best to help the rest of the group solve the mystery... while occasionally sneaking off for kisses.  

Due to being on a train together there could only be so many suspects... but did anyone have the motive?  Could it be her soon to be ex-husband?  or her current boyfriend who is co-star of this mystery train?  Or maybe even the reporter who went to high school with her? 

There is an actual detective on the train but since we get the mystery from Virginia's side we don't really know how far along the detective was in the case.  

Teddy (the current boyfriend of the missing woman) was obnoxious and self centered he had been in a popular tv show and acted as if everyone should give him a standing ovation any time he came into the room... are you even that concerned your girlfriend is missing?  

The pacing was kind of off for me with a lot of places that felt slower where there didn't seem to be any forward progression in the plot.      

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey: Home for the Homicides

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244967410-home-for-the-homicides

Book Blurb:

'Tis the season . . . for murder.

When Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd report to the idyllic town of Christmas to investigate a very less than idyllic murder, they’re in for more than the average whodunnit.

Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season and it’s the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth—after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn't exist?

The stakes are the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town's entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes—and there's only one spot.

Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption, if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it's not only their jobs on the line, it's their hearts, too—regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer—without killing each other—is on.

Tropes:

*Netgalley ALC *Cozy Mystery *Enemies --> more *Small town romance *forced proximity

*one bed *Hallmark meets mystery *Spice *Christmas season *holiday town *work relationship

*police officers *Insta lust/love (ish) *Who dun it 

Thoughts:

Holly and Mark have a history together last year at the office christmas party they may have given into temptation in a closet... against Holly's better judgment it's not happening again especially since Mark got the promotion to Major Crimes that Holly wanted. 

Now Holly and Mark are both in trouble at work due to different reasons... and basically to set an example and because no one else can do it they are sent to a small town crime scene where the town could double as the set to a hallmark movie... these types of things don't happen in this town and the local law enforcement has requested assistance in the investigation.

They can do this they just need to get along and work together... only things start going wrong pretty much right away there is only one room at the Inn.  Solving this case means everything to both of them they need to wrap up the case to save their jobs, and with Christmas quickly approaching in this Christmas town it's important to everyone that the culprit gets caught before the big annual festival.

Naturally these two working so closely together rekindles something between them that they have a hard time resisting.

This book was like a hallmark movie and a cozy 💀 mystery had a baby, The jokes are fairly cheesy throughout and a lot of things that happen in this book were ridiculous, I thought it was a good time that had me laughing throughout... don't go into the book expecting things to be super serious, it's not.

Thank you to the authors and Netgalley for this ALC the narrators Angela Dawe, Colin Donnell and Patti Murin did a great job bringing this story to life.

The story is fast paced and added enough shady characters that it made it interesting to figure out which shady character was naughty this christmas.  

I enjoyed this one but here are some Negatives:

*Holly believes that everything Mark does is to get one over on her and get the promotion (he already has the promotion)

*comes off as a parody trying too hard

*Names are too corny, over the top cheesy/cringe dialogue

*Nothing really happened between the couple to make it feel like their feelings were as strong as they were, too insta lust/love

have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Danielle Garrett: Batter and Broomsticks

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246171210-batter-and-broomsticks

Book Blurb:

Nothing says “small-town journalism” like stumbling over a corpse.

The magic from the amplification stones is gone, and we have no idea where to find it, but by a stroke of luck, we meet a fairy who might.

Unfortunately, she’s got a problem of her own. The deal is simple we shut down the thief who’s been stealing botanicals from the fairy's sacred grove, and she’ll tell us what she knows.

Simple enough. Orion has his shiny Arcane Order badge, after all. Stopping a small-time plant thief should be all in a day’s work, with maybe enough time to spare for a late lunch at Whimzee’s.

But when we go to issue the official warning and retrieve the stolen goods, we walk into a crime scene.

Now we’re stuck solving a murder to honor our end of the bargain. But the deeper we dig, the more suspects we find.

The clock is ticking, the fairies are growing impatient, and we’re running out of time to get answers.

To catch a pair of thieves, first we’ll have to catch a killer.

Tropes:

*Netgalley ALC *Fantasy *Cozy Mystery *Magic *witches *magical beings *romance

*crime mystery *just kisses *amateur sleuth 

Thoughts:

Per usual with my requests for ALC's I didn't really do much research only briefly reading the blurb before requesting I somehow missed that this was book 9 in this series, even though it's later in the series I never felt lost so in that way I'm gathering it can potentially be read as a stand alone... but better to read in order as previous situations were mentioned throughout the book.

This starts out with Rosella, a witch who can speak with animals, receiving a late night visit from her owl friend who is distressed that there is a Pixie caught in a trap in the woods several miles away, feeling she needs to help she wakes up her boyfriend Orion and they rush to the rescue.

Once there on scene they realize that there is more going on than they originally thought and that the Pixies are all upset and nervous about someone who has been coming into their homelands and not only poaching endangered resources but also trapping pixies.  Rosella and Orion who had been working on a case to find out why the magic is gone from the amplification stone finds that one of the pixies might have some information... but it will cost them catching the person setting traps and stealing from the forest.

Tracking down this thief uncovers additional shadyness as they end up at the suspects home and find him deceased of unatural causes and shortly before the police arrive.  Now they not only have a smuggling operation but a murder mystery... but who could be behind this whole situation?

Orion and Rosella are sweet together as they work to solve this case and steal kisses along the way.  While Orion is good at his job it is getting a bit old going anywhere the order sends him on missions and maybe it would be nice to settle down in one spot.

Rosella wants to help but perhaps burns the candle at both ends trying to help Orion with the case and work at her families bakery where she has recently been tasked with training a new employee... like she has time for that!

This was a cute cozy mystery that kept me interested in the story, I liked the lead and side characters and loved the element of magic where Rosella could speak with the animals.  I think that I may have enjoyed this slightly more if I had read the previous books first as I do feel that I missed a chunk of back story and getting to know you elements by dropping in so late in the series. 

The story had enough shady characters throughout so that I wasn't entirely sure who the real suspect was until the very end so I appreciated that aspect.  

This was single narration by Kelsey Navarro Foster and she did great with all the characters the voices were clear and it made it easy to do some house chores and still follow along.  

If you're looking for a low stakes, cozy mystery this might be the vibes your looking for.  I do plan to check out more in this series.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Christine Lawrence: To Have & To Kill

 read in 2025

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235961651-to-have-and-to-kill-book-2

I found this author on facebook in one of the ARC groups I'm a member of they were actually offering this book to someone else and I have been regularly checking the different groups to find new (to me) authors/Indie authors.  I usually read romance novels and occasionally branch out to read something in a different genre.

I really enjoyed this book it was a good cozy murder mystery with the feel of old school Murder She Wrote episodes with the small town vibes, the amateur detective work and continuing the investigation even though law enforcement has discussed how dangerous it could be to continue.

I have not read the first book in the series but I didn't feel lost with how the author added some bits of info from the story that took place previously.  Leah is the owner of a wedding planning business/hall in Ohio the story starts with her and her friends/co-workers planning an expo at their job site bringing in other people who run wedding related businesses for potential brides & grooms to peruse.

Leah is pretty soon after called in to act as a go-between for two vendors having a dispute one vendor believing they needed more space to air out their wedding dresses from their shop and moving into another vendor's space while this heated discussion is quickly doused a mystery begins when a few days later the wedding dress vendor is found dead in their home from unnatural circumstances with the other vendor (who owns a flower shop) being the lead suspect.

At first not wanting to get involved Leah gets talked into helping by her co-worker knowing that her friend needs their help.  Leah gets help from a private investigator (who helped with the case in the last book) and they begin to unravel the mystery finding that there were plenty of others that could have a motive for murder the victim had made several enemies prior to her passing.

This was a fast paced old fashioned who done it where you kind of have to believe that the people will that willingly give up information to a random person (not working with the police) really liked that small town amateur investigator feel, and since so many people popped up as a possible suspect it kept me guessing as to who the culprit was.  I enjoyed the story and plan to go back and read the first one at some point!  

*Cozy Mystery  *Murder mystery  *amateur detective  *quick read  

*2nd in series but could be read as a stand alone