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.