Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas
Vicki Delany
282 pages
Crooked Lane Books

From Goodreads: It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America's Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol. But it’s not a happy set, as rivalries between cast and crew threaten the production.

Tensions come to a head when a member of the group is found dead shortly after a shopping excursion to Mrs. Claus's Treasures. Was someone looking to cut out the competition? Everyone in the cast and crew is a potential suspect, including Aline, Merry’s mother, and Merry's shop assistant Jackie O'Reilly, who was desperate for a starring role.

It could be curtains for Christmas—and for Merry—unless the killer can be ferreted out of the wings.

I was so, so thrilled to see a sixth book in this series by Vicki Delany, which I thought had ended on book five in 2020, but I guess enough fans got together to convince the author to go back to Rudolph, New York at least one more time. If I had known about that effort I would have joined because the Year-Round Christmas series is my absolute favorite cozy series. I sincerely hope Delany keeps writing for this series if she can.

Moving on, this newest installment takes place two weeks before Christmas and someone is murdered in Merry's Christmas shop! What's more, the murdered is a member of the town's dramatic society where there is a lot of infighting a drama regarding the upcoming Christmas Carol production. Of course, Merry's mother is the big start and it's not long before she's spooked by the killer, too! 

I'll pat myself on the back for figuring out who the murderer was ahead of time, but I didn't know why until the end. I thought the way Merry tried to keep herself out of this investigation was amiable, but in the end she had no choice, especially since her own mother was involved.

Four stars! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy; as usual, all opinions are my own. If you haven't started this series yet and love a good holiday setting, this is definitely a cozy series you'll want to check out. 

Delicate Condition

Delicate Condition
Danielle Valentine
432 pages
Sourcebooks Landmark

From Goodreads: Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone's playing a twisted game with her.

When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope.

Then her doctor tells her she's had a miscarriage—except Anna's convinced she's still pregnant, despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. Could it be that her mind is playing tricks on her? Or is something more sinister at play? As her symptoms become ever more horrifying and the sense of danger ever more present, Anna can't help but wonder what exactly she's carrying inside of her...and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong. 

Whoa, whoa, what a journey. This fast-paced, grueling book left me on the edge of my seat throughout its entirety. The longer the narrative goes on, the more desperate Anna gets and the more her pregnancy sounds... monstrous. She has common pregnancy symptoms, but many negative ones piled together at extreme levels. By the end, she seemed absolutely gaunt, ghostlike, and weak. Very weak. 

But none of her doctors will believe her, neither will her husband! It's frustrating to read a book where no one believes the main character, but this was a whole new level. We see Anna struggle, but almost no one supports her, instead choosing to placate her and urge her to "take a bath." So many baths! There is nothing the reader can do, of course, to help Anna. Where could she go for safety? To find a doctor who would listen and treat her accordingly? I wanted to yell at her, "Just get on a plane to another state and find a new hospital!"

Generally, I don't concern myself with trigger-warnings or content warnings, but this is the one time I will say: trigger warning for pregnancy loss, pregnancy, and birthing. If you're unsure if this is a book for you, I suggest reading the author's afterward and then deciding. 

Overall, this was a fantastic, edge of the seat thriller with a couple twists and an ending that I didn't predict. Thanks so the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy. As always, opinions are my own.